oh wow, that is cool! i'm always surprised seeing stuff from the forums turning up in articles, but it's really interesting too
This does depend on region mind you, here in the Columbia Gorge I have had few problems with squirrels and that is mostly because of the strategic placement of the farms I've worked on, usually near large cliffs or water, where the squirrels are much more content interacting with their natural habitat then even coming close to the human farm, though having worked in many different farms I completely know what you mean, squirrels can be a hell of an annoyance, crows I've only had major problems when on larger farms, I used to have scarecrows dressed as British redcoats in my old farm, however, crows are smart little bastards and this only worked for a little bit.
Yes! Predators can really wreak havoc on livestock. We had a fox family living on our land when we were still in Virginia, and they were unfortunately smart enough that they learned how to flush our chickens through the electronet. I had to start completely locking them up at night after that, and the few that refused to roost in the coop were pretty quickly eaten by the foxes. That has made me paranoid enough that even now, when we're living in town, I'm going to be buying a coop with a welded wire enclosure. The most dangerous thing we have that comes near our yard is hawks, but those foxes taught me a lesson.
(Forum guidelines: "If the topic is not about a game suggestion or a bug report, it's better to make a new thread over replying to an inactive one.")
Loved your post I wish that farming was more accessible than it is now I hate that trades are dying and those willing to teach it are gone because it's so fascinating to learn about.G'day to ya!
As you may or may not know I am a farmer in the Northwest and Stardew Valley is a game about farming in a region largely based off of the Northwest, and so, Stardew Valley really made me feel at home playing it for the first time...and really any time after.
However, Stardew Valley does not hold itself up well in terms of accuracy, as you may have already guessed, this is a thread and post dedicated to educating people on the differences between farming in Stardew Valley and farming in real life.
Also, in no way is this a criticism towards the game, I really don't care if it's inaccurate to actual farming, this is all for fun and also to teach folks a thing or two about agriculture.
An obvious inaccuracy is the seasonal growth of crops and plants, for the most part, concerned ape got the seasons in which plants grow correct, and in a simple farming game like Stardew Valley, that's all that has to matter, however in real life, the time plants are planted and harvest is largely the same, in which during the summer and spring a farmer will plant the seeds, and it's only during the fall when they all grow. When it comes to seasonal crops like Cauliflower, Corn, and Pumpkins, this is usually the case, Cauliflower is often planted in the Spring, and becomes mature in the late summer or early fall, Corn and Pumpkins are planted in early summer and become mature in late fall, this is why fall is often referred to as the harvest season, as most crops become harvestable in the fall.
However, in real life, it is never that simple. In Stardew Valley, growing crops isn't all that difficult, keep the plants watered and rid of any critters and crows and she'll be grand. Now you'll remember I mentioned about how Cauliflower is planted in spring and harvested in late summer, but this is implying that the cauliflower even grows to begin with. Cauliflower is a sensitive plant and demands a consistent temperature, so this is why most farmers (Myself included) start growing cauliflower in early spring inside a greenhouse, early spring is far too cold for cauliflower in the northwest but it is economically smart to grow in early spring to get crops ready to harvest early and ready to sell, so greenhouses are very helpful in that regard, but even this doesn't guarantee the growth of the cauliflower, cauliflower is difficult to grow, even some of the most experienced farmers have trouble with it. It is a popular saying that if you can grow cauliflower, you can grow everything, which I believe to be true.
Corn is also a tough crop to grow, corn is a type of grass that requires good pollination to grow well, the yellowest corn is the corn that got the best pollination. So how do you maximize corn pollination? Well, unlike flowers and some other crops, corn doesn't get pollinated by bees and other pollinators, instead, they get pollinated in their early stages in life, pollen gets blown by the wind and into the soil that corn is growing, and this is why farmers tend to plant corn in flat open areas without trees or cliffs blocking them (though keep in mind that just about all plants have specific ways to be planted and cared for) corn also demands a good bit of nitrogen, it was always interesting to me why you couldn't toil the soil and plant seeds on grass tiles in the game because planting crop seeds in the grass is sometimes the best option depending on the crop you're planting, corn, for example, grows better with grass, and a simple way of growing corn would be to shovel up a tuff of grass, flip it over and then plant the corn seeds after that.
Now, this post is getting quite long, so I think I'll end it here, but I still have so much I want to talk about in terms of the farming aspect in Stardew Valley, so I will hopefully post more after this, I implore you to give topics or ask questions about the farming aspect, and how it differs from real life, now I'm no expert, in fact, I don't even own a farm anymore, but I will try my best to give you the things I have learned from my years of experience, from animals to orchards, until then, I hope you have a good day, and that you learned something interesting.
ayo nice, this helps ive been wanting to do farming, and this should help some!G'day to ya!
As you may or may not know I am a farmer in the Northwest and Stardew Valley is a game about farming in a region largely based off of the Northwest, and so, Stardew Valley really made me feel at home playing it for the first time...and really any time after.
However, Stardew Valley does not hold itself up well in terms of accuracy, as you may have already guessed, this is a thread and post dedicated to educating people on the differences between farming in Stardew Valley and farming in real life.
Also, in no way is this a criticism towards the game, I really don't care if it's inaccurate to actual farming, this is all for fun and also to teach folks a thing or two about agriculture.
An obvious inaccuracy is the seasonal growth of crops and plants, for the most part, concerned ape got the seasons in which plants grow correct, and in a simple farming game like Stardew Valley, that's all that has to matter, however in real life, the time plants are planted and harvest is largely the same, in which during the summer and spring a farmer will plant the seeds, and it's only during the fall when they all grow. When it comes to seasonal crops like Cauliflower, Corn, and Pumpkins, this is usually the case, Cauliflower is often planted in the Spring, and becomes mature in the late summer or early fall, Corn and Pumpkins are planted in early summer and become mature in late fall, this is why fall is often referred to as the harvest season, as most crops become harvestable in the fall.
However, in real life, it is never that simple. In Stardew Valley, growing crops isn't all that difficult, keep the plants watered and rid of any critters and crows and she'll be grand. Now you'll remember I mentioned about how Cauliflower is planted in spring and harvested in late summer, but this is implying that the cauliflower even grows to begin with. Cauliflower is a sensitive plant and demands a consistent temperature, so this is why most farmers (Myself included) start growing cauliflower in early spring inside a greenhouse, early spring is far too cold for cauliflower in the northwest but it is economically smart to grow in early spring to get crops ready to harvest early and ready to sell, so greenhouses are very helpful in that regard, but even this doesn't guarantee the growth of the cauliflower, cauliflower is difficult to grow, even some of the most experienced farmers have trouble with it. It is a popular saying that if you can grow cauliflower, you can grow everything, which I believe to be true.
Corn is also a tough crop to grow, corn is a type of grass that requires good pollination to grow well, the yellowest corn is the corn that got the best pollination. So how do you maximize corn pollination? Well, unlike flowers and some other crops, corn doesn't get pollinated by bees and other pollinators, instead, they get pollinated in their early stages in life, pollen gets blown by the wind and into the soil that corn is growing, and this is why farmers tend to plant corn in flat open areas without trees or cliffs blocking them (though keep in mind that just about all plants have specific ways to be planted and cared for) corn also demands a good bit of nitrogen, it was always interesting to me why you couldn't toil the soil and plant seeds on grass tiles in the game because planting crop seeds in the grass is sometimes the best option depending on the crop you're planting, corn, for example, grows better with grass, and a simple way of growing corn would be to shovel up a tuff of grass, flip it over and then plant the corn seeds after that.
Now, this post is getting quite long, so I think I'll end it here, but I still have so much I want to talk about in terms of the farming aspect in Stardew Valley, so I will hopefully post more after this, I implore you to give topics or ask questions about the farming aspect, and how it differs from real life, now I'm no expert, in fact, I don't even own a farm anymore, but I will try my best to give you the things I have learned from my years of experience, from animals to orchards, until then, I hope you have a good day, and that you learned something interesting.
