Old School Runescape – The Complete Farming Guide

Farming is one of the P2P skills in the game thus can only be trained by using P2P Methods. The best thing about training this skill is that you can do it while being totally AFK or even offline. But that also means it takes a long time to achieve a certain level.

There are other methods to train this skill quickly, but it is not efficient at all since you won’t be AFK and it requires your attention every few mins which makes this skill lose it’s AFK advantage. Methods like these are only good for impatient players and not recommended at all.

Farming is the process of planting seeds to grow crops to harvest later. This process takes time depending on what type of seed are you planting. There are many types of seeds to plant and all of them will be mentioned later.

In this article, we will be introducing the leveling guide of how to train Farming in the most efficient way means that you will be AFK 90% of the time by following it. An alternative method will be mentioned but it won’t be AFK at all. Making money through this skill can only be that profitable by Farming Herbs since their price is really high.

Also, keep in mind that Farming can sometimes be very expensive, so be ready to spend some coins.

Make sure to check out all 23 OSRS skills in our relevant guide.

OSRS Farming 101

First of all, you should know that Farming is probably the easiest skill to train in the game according to the few minutes it requires per day to plant and harvest your crops. Having a high level of Farming allows you to plant more seeds and increases the number of crops you get by harvesting one plant.

Planting seeds can only be done in the farming patches, these patches can only be found in some places around the map. Each patch is made for some specific seeds, meaning that you can’t plant all the seeds in the same patch type.

The crops you plant have different types, these types are either Normal trees, Fruit trees, Herbs, Allotments, Flowers, Vegetables, Hops, Bushs, or special plants. Each type has its own seeds and its own farming patches. Note that the Tree seeds will need to be made into a Sapling first before planting it.

Any plant or tree can be diseased while growing and it requires your care, but alternatively, players can pay for the NPCs near the patch to look after the patches for you. Each plant has a different payment and not all of them are protectable by paying to the NPCs. Generally, Herbs and Flowers are not protectable in addition to some other plants.

There is also another NPC (Tool Leprechaun) near each patch, he will store your Farming tools and note the crops for you to free some inventory slots.

Farming Tools

To plant a seed, you will need some tools, each tool can be bought from any Farming shop which is located near every farming patch in the game. You can check every tool and its use in the table below.

Sapling

Turning a Seed to a Sapling is required to plant trees, this can be done by using planting the seed into a Filled Plant Pot while having a Trowel. An Empty Plant Pot can be filled by using it on any empty farming patch while having a Gardening Trowel in your inventory. After using the seed on the Filled Plant Pot, you will need to water it by using a Watering Can on it.

A Sapling with “w” at the end of its name is a watered Sapling and ready to be planted. Usually, 5 minutes is needed for each Sapling to be grown after watering it.

The table below shows every kind of Sapling in addition to the required level to plant it and many more details.

Note that the normal Trees can be chopped using the Woodcutting skill and it is only visible for you. But it is advised to pay 200 coins for the Farmer to cut down the tree to train Farming as efficient as possible.

Seeds

Every seed in the game is generally obtained by killing the various monsters in the game. More details on each seed can be found in the table below. Note that the tree seeds details are the same as the Sapling mentioned above.

Farming Patches

There are many types of Plants, each type can only be planted in its own farming patch. All the details needed for each farming patch are shown in the tables below.

To do farming efficiently, you will have to use the closest teleport to the patch. This can be done in a circle, so you use a teleport to the next patch after planting and the same goes for harvesting. Choosing the teleport is totally depending on you and what you can afford.

Farming Guild

It is a place where you can plant additional seeds to the available patches in the game. The Place has various farming patches that can be used to gain more Farming XP.

The Guild can be accessed at level 45 Farming in addition to having 65% Hosidius favor. It also has 3 different stages; beginner, intermediate and advanced. Each stage has a required Farming level; 45 for beginner, 65 for intermediate and 85 for advanced. Every stage is limited to some Farming patches, unlocking all of them will let you access to all the patches inside the guild.

There are also 4 unique Farming patches located only inside the guild, these are the Anima patch, Celestrus patch, Redwood patch, and Hespori patch.

Compost Bin & Supercompost

A Supercompost is an item obtained by filling the Compost bin found near the allotment patches with 15 crops. The Compost bin should be closed for 90 minutes to rot so the players can later use an empty bucket on it to fill it with Supercompost.

Only the items shown in the table below are used to create Supercompost (15 of any of them for a full Compost Bin).

The Supercompost used on the soil before planting to reduce the disease, but this is only useful for plants that are unprotectable by paying for the Farmer/Gardener near it.

Supercompost is also used for increasing the crop yield, meaning that it is very useful for planting Herbs to increase the gold profits. This can only be done to Hops, Allotments, and Herbs.

Useful Farming Items

The following items are very useful and recommended while training Farming. However, they are not a requirement to follow this guide.

Magic Secateurs

Magic secateurs is used instead of the normal Secateurs as it increases your Herb, Allotment, and Grapes yield by 10%. The Magic secateurs can only be obtained after completing the Fairytale I – Growing Pains Quest or during it.

Note that completing this quest will get your Farming level from level 1 to 17 immediately.

Farming Outfit

It is an outfit that boosts your Farming XP by 2.5% when it is fully equipped, each piece of it gives different XP bonus. Outfit pieces can be bought from the Tithe Farm shop for 400 points which are only gained during the Tithe Farm minigame.

This outfit is not very important and not required to follow this guide.

Farming Quests

The Quests below is going to significantly help you to pass the first few levels, especially the Fairy Tale I – Growing Pains as it is essential in our guide to be completed.

Farming Training – Level 1-99

Follow the guide below to reach level 99 in the most efficient way. If you don’t know how to farm, please check all the information in the OSRS Farming 101 section above.

The following methods will only include planting Trees as you can do it with very low efforts because they take a long time to grow meaning that you can be AFK for a longer time. Check the Sapling Section above if you don’t know how to make a Sapling.

Paying 200 coins for the Gardener to cut down the tree each time after checking its health is required for quick training. You click on the tree once it is fully grown to receive the XP. The protection payment for each tree was also explained earlier.

All the items mentioned below should be directly bought from the Grand Exchange and the protection payment items should be in a noted form for more inventory slots. Note that you should use teleports to speed up the process of each Farming round.

Farming Level 1-17

• Complete Fairy Tale I – Growing Pains Quest

From level 1 to 17 you can simply complete the Fairy Tale I – Growing Pains Quest which is very recommended. Doing it via Farming anything else but Trees is going to be very exhausting, thus we advise you to complete this quest so you can start planting Trees upon reaching level 15 or above.

Farming Level 17-27

• Plant Oak Trees (481.5 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 5 x Oak Sapling, 5 x Basket of Tomatoes, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closest Teleports you can use to the Tree patches
Round Time: 200 minutes

You should plant Oak trees in the 5 available tree patches around the map (excluding the 6th patch because it is inside the Farming Guild as it requires level 65). Each Tree needs 1 Basket of Tomatoes to be paid for the Gardener to look after the tree.

Gold coins are needed to pay the Gardener to cut down the tree after being fully grown (note that you should first click on the tree to gain the Farming XP before asking the NPC to cut it down).

The Locations of the 5 farming patches can be found by checking the Tree patches table in the OSRS Farming 101 section above. Use the closest teleport to each patch to do it in a short time.

You should keep repeating the process (planting 5 Oak trees) until you reach level 27. Each round takes approximately 200 minutes if you plant all of the 5 Trees as fast as possible.

Farming Level 27-30

• Plant Oak Trees (481.5 XP / Tree) & Apple Trees (1,272.5 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 5 x Oak Sapling, 5 x Apple Sapling, 5 x Basket of Tomatoes, 45 x Sweetcorn, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closest Teleports you can use to the patches
Round Time: 200 minutes for Oak Trees and 960 minutes for Apple Trees

Apple trees are fruit trees but they are being planted the same way the regular trees do. Each Apple Tree requires 9 Sweetcorns as a payment for the Gardener to look after it. A total of 5 Apple trees and 5 Oak trees should be planted as a beginning. The Oak trees round will be repeated every 200 minutes, while the Apple trees round will be repeated every 960 minutes.

Using Teleports to the closest spot to the required patch is highly recommended. There are 5 patches for the regular trees and 5 patches for the fruit trees around the map without mentioning the patches in the guild as it requires a higher level to access.

You should harvest any Fruit tree from now on to receive the maximum XP possible per tree.

All the information you need about either patches’ location or seeds were mentioned earlier in the tables above.

Farming Level 30-33

• Plant Willow Trees (1,481.5 XP / Tree) &  Apple Trees (1,272.5 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 5 x Apple Sapling, 45x Sweetcorn, 5 x Willow Sapling, 5 x Basket of Apples, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closest Teleports you can use to the patches
Round Time: 960 minutes for Apple Trees and 280 minutes for Willow Trees

Just like the previous method, you need to pay for the Gardeners to protect your Plant for you. The payment is depending on what kind of tree you are planting, all of the payments were shown in the tables earlier.

Each round for the Willow Trees takes 280 minutes, but the Apple Trees require 960 minutes for each round.

Farming Level 33-39

• Plant Willow Trees (1,481.5 XP / Tree) & Banana Trees (1,841.5 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 5 x Banana Sapling, 20 x Basket of Apples, 5 x Willow Sapling, 5 x Basket of Apples, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closest Teleports you can use to the patches
Round Time: 280 minutes for Willow Trees and 960 minutes for Banana Trees

Keep doing it the same way you did during the previous methods. The process should be done until you reach level 39.

Approximately 3 rounds of Willow Trees will be done before you complete 1 round of Banana Trees.

Farming Level 39-42

• Plant Willow Trees (1,481.5 XP / Tree) & Orange Trees (2,586.7 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 5 x Orange Sapling, 15 x Basket of Strawberries, 5 x Willow Sapling, 5 x Basket of Apples, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closest Teleports you can use to the patches
Round Time: 280 minutes for Willow Trees and 960 minutes for Orange Trees

Keep using the 5 Tree patches and the 5 Fruit Tree patches without forgetting anyone of them to get the maximum XP.

Farming Level 42-45

• Plant Willow Trees (1,481.5 XP / Tree)  & Curry Trees (3,036.9 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 5 x Curry Trees, 25 x Basket of Bananas, 5 x Willow Sapling, 5 x Basket of Apples, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closest Teleports you can use to the patches
Round Time: 280 minutes for Willow Trees and 960 minutes for Curry Trees

Repeat the rounds once the trees are fully grown until you reach level 45. Use teleports to finish each around as fast as possible.

Farming Level 45-51

• Plant Maple Trees (3,448.4 XP / Tree) & Curry Trees (3,036.9 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 5 x Curry Trees, 25 x Basket of Bananas, 5 x Maple Sapling, 5 x Basket of Oranges, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closest Teleports you can use to the patches
Round Time: 320 minutes for Maple Trees and 960 minutes for Curry Trees

The same 10 patches should be used just like the previous methods and keep repeating until level 51.

Farming Level 51-57

• Plant Maple Trees (3,448.4 XP / Tree) & Pineapple Trees (4,791.7 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 5 x Maple Sapling, 5 x Basket of Oranges, 5 x Pineapple Sapling, 50 x Watermelon, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closet Teleports you can use to the patches
Round Time: 320 minutes for Maple Trees and 960 minutes for Pineapple Trees

The round time for each type of tree is the time needed for each tree to grow. That means if you plant them all almost at the same time, you will repeat the round only once the required time for 1 tree has passed.

Farming Level 57-60

• Plant Maple Trees (3,448.4 XP / Tree) & Papaya Trees (6,380.4 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 5 x Maple Sapling, 5 x Basket of Oranges, 5 x Papaya Sapling, 50 x Pineapple, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closet Teleports you can use to the patches
Round Time: 320 minutes for Maple Trees and 960 minutes for Papaya Trees

Do not forget to pay for the protection of your plant, otherwise, it may get diseased.

Farming Level 60-68

• Plant Yew Trees (7,150.9 XP / Tree) & Papaya Trees (6,380.4 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 5 x Yew Sapling, 50 x Cactus Spine, 5 x Papaya Sapling, 50 x Pineapple, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closet Teleports you can use to the patches
Round Time: 400 minutes for Yew Trees and 960 minutes for Papaya Trees

Once you reach level 65 following this method, you will unlock an extra patch inside the Farming Guild for the regular trees. Meaning that you will have to plant 6 regular trees instead of 5 from now on. So do not forget to buy extra payment items for the 6th tree ( 10 x Cactus Spine).

Farming Level 68-75

Plant Yew Trees (7,150.9 XP / Tree) & Palm Trees (10,509.6 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 6 x Yew Sapling, 60 x Cactus Spine, 5 x Palm Sapling, 75 x Papaya Fruit, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closet Teleports you can use to the patches
Round Time: 400 minutes for Yew Trees and 960 minutes for Palm Trees

Since you are above level 65 it means you can use the 6th regular tree patch inside the Farming Guild.

Farming Level 75-99

• Plant Magic Trees (7,150.9 XP / Tree) & Palm Trees (10,509.6 XP / Tree).

Required Items for each round: 6 x Magic Sapling, 125 x Coconut, 5 x Palm Sapling, 75 x Papaya Fruit, Spade, Rake, and some gold coins
Recommended Items: Closet Teleports you can use to the patches
Round Time: 480 minutes for Magic Trees and 960 minutes for Palm Trees

Magic Saplings are so expensive, that means from now on you will start spending a serious amount of money because it is advised to buy everything from the Grand Exchange.

Once you reach level 85, you will unlock the extra Fruit Tree patch inside the Farming Guild. That means you will need 1 extra set of items to make a total of 6 Palm Trees for each round.

Farming Alternative Training Method

The Following method is only recommended for the impatient players who cannot wait for days and weeks until they reach a high level of Farming. It is also a very expensive method that requires spending more gold coins than the previously mentioned ways.

Planting Grapes

Required level: 36
Required items for each round: 12 x Grape Seed, 12 x Saltpetre, Seed Dipper, Gardening Trowel, Magic Secateurs and a Spade.
Other Requirements: 65% Hosidius favor
Round Time: 35 minutes

Grapes can be only planted in the Hosidius Vinery requiring 65% Hosidius favor and level 36 Farming. It is a special plant that can be grown in a short time giving a total of 656.5 XP per plant after planting and checking it.

Planting Grapes requires you to use Saltpetre on the soil before using the Seeds. This can be done by using a Gardening Trowel. You do not pay for Protection as no plant will be diseased in this place.

The Hosidius Vinery contains a total of 12 Grape Patches, each requires 1 Grape Seed to be planted.

Harvesting the Grapes is highly recommended as you receive 40 XP per Grape. Using the Magic Secateurs will increase the number of Grapes you can harvest by 10%. Also, your Farming level highly affects the number of harvested Grapes.

Each Grape Tree will be fully grown in 35 minutes, which makes it a very fast method to train as you can plant 12 Trees in 35 minutes only. However, it requires much attention and you won’t be AFK for a long time.

Farming Money Making

The following method is a very good way to make money off Farming, but it requires a high level so you can get decent profits. It also requires much attention and has a risk of losing your Plants.

Planting Herbs

Recommended level: 75+
Required Items: Magic Secateurs, Supercompost, Rake, Spade, and Seed dipper.
Recommended Items: Closest Teleports to all of the Herb Patches.

Planting Herbs can be very risky as you cannot 100% protect the plant from the diseases. That means you can lose your Plant without being able to harvest any Herb.

This method consists of Planting the best Herb seed you can obtain according to your Farming level, then harvesting the Herbs and selling them to the Grand Exchange.

The amount of Herb you can pick from each Plant is highly depending on your Farming level. Also using a Magic Secateurs will increase your harvest rate by 10%.

Supercompost will reduce the chance of getting the Plant diseased in addition to increasing the harvest rate which is very helpful in this case. One Supercompost should be used on the soil before planting for each patch.

There are 9 Herb patches in the game, all of them should be used to gain the maximum profits possible. Using teleports will help you so much in this process.

You can check the locations of all the available Herb patches and their requirements in the tables mentioned earlier.

A Spade is used to clean the patch once a dead plant is found.