Stages of farming
This section describes the stages of agricultural activity in the order in which they occur, forming the cycle of farming in the Golden Clone. The actions listed in the current phase must be performed in order to advance to the next phase. Some of the actions of the stage are mandatory, some are not.
Step 1: Fertilize
Maximum agricultural production is achieved by increasing soil fertility. Fertilizing is an important (though optional) step in farming. Crops will grow without fertilizer - but the yield will be smaller. An experienced entrepreneur will always find the golden mean and be able to calculate his benefits - both when using fertilizers and when not using them.
Soil fertilization in the clone state can be done by two methods:
- Manual application of specially made fertilizers in the field.
- Grazing peacocks in the field.
These two methods are complementary - they can be used together or separately. If used at the same time during one agricultural cycle, their effect is summed up. The order of execution is not important - you can manually fertilize the field first and then start grazing the peacocks, or you can do the opposite.
You can produce fertilizer yourself in "Business → Livestock → Manure and Fertilizer" from manure produced by your livestock or poultry, or buy it from other players at the Fair.
The manual fertilization period at the maximum possible fertilization of the site (100%) takes 5 days (120 hours). The time required is proportionally reduced according to the amount of fertilizer applied (you can also fertilize the field with less fertilizer).
The duration of peacock grazing in the field is 2 days (48 hours).
A few important things to consider when fertilizing plots of land:
- Fertilization (with both methods) can be done only before the sowing stage.
- Fertilization is done first on those plots out of all available plots to which the irrigation system is attached (if any), and then on all others.
- The duration of the manual fertilization phase can be reduced by hiring servants.
- The duration of the peacock grazing phase cannot be reduced by hiring servants.
- Work in the Manual Fertilization phase requires 1 stamina unit per day by your clone on each field he fertilizes (for each day of work, even if it was not done for 24 hours).
- The work at the grazing stage of the peacocks does not require an expenditure of endurance.
- If you release your clone from the field while you are manually fertilizing or grazing, that area will immediately go into "black fallow" and the fertilizer applied will be lost.
- Fertilizing the soil with animal fertilizers is done after one agricultural cycle, i.e. if you fertilized the field in the current cycle, you can no longer fertilize the field in the next cycle. Peacocks can be grazed every cycle.
Step 2: Planting
The next step is sowing the seeds in the field. Sowing can be done on both fertilized and nonfertilized fields. This is a mandatory step of the agricultural cycle, which lasts 2 days (48 hours).
Crop seeds must be purchased from the Biotechnology Department at the State Farm to plant plots of land. One bag of seeds is enough to sow one plot of land with the appropriate crop.
Table. Cost of seeds
| Type of crop | Cost of seeds  (gold) |
|---|---|
 Lucerne | 0,02 |
 Oats | 0,1 |
 Turnips | 0,02 |
 Fodder beet | 0,1 |
 Swede | 0,1 |
 Tomatoes | 0,1 |
 Potatoes | 0,1 |
 Cabbage | 0,1 |
 Eggplant | 0,1 |
 Bow | 0,1 |
 Flax | 0,1 |
 Amaranth | 0,11 |
 Any kind of flowers | Free |
The sowing process is carried out in the following order: first the fields fertilized in the current farming season are sown, then those that cannot be fertilized in the current season (fields fertilized last season), and then all the remaining fields. Having an attached irrigation system on a field increases the priority of seeding on that field in each category listed.
A few important things to consider when seeding plots of land:
- The duration of the seeding stage can be reduced by hiring servants.
- Sowing stage work requires 1 unit of stamina per day by your clone in each field it sows (for each day of work, even if it was not done for a full day).
- If you release your clone from the field during the sowing process, that plot will immediately go into "black steam," and the seed (and fertilizer) applied will be lost.
Step 3: Growing and ripening crops
Immediately after the completion of sowing work will automatically begin the ripening period of the harvest. This period lasts 15 days (360 hours).
The rate at which the crop ripens can be increased, thereby shortening the ripening period. If more than one condition is present, the corresponding speed increases are added together.
- The rate at which crops ripen in all fields within a principality or metropolis in which a Great Spike Miracle is built increases by 5% relative to the initial rate. With Miracle in both the principality and the metropolis, the maturation rate will increase by 10% relative to the initial rate.
- The rate of crop ripening in all fields in the Principality where the megalithic Aqueduct structure is built increases by 5% relative to the initial rate.
- If there is an irrigation system attached to the field, the ripening rate increases by 10% relative to the initial rate.
A few important things to keep in mind as the crop ripens:
- The duration of the ripening phase of the harvest cannot be reduced by hiring servants.
- The work at this stage does not require the expenditure of endurance.
- If you release your clone from the field during crop ripening, that plot will immediately go into "black steam," and the seed (and fertilizer) you applied will be lost.
Step 4: Harvesting
Once the crop is ripe, the plot of land goes into a state of waiting for the harvest to begin. You must pay the agricultural tax for each ripe field before the harvest. Until the tax is paid, your crop will be in the fields waiting to be harvested, but it will not go to waste. During the tax waiting period, your clones working on these fields do not spend stamina.
The amount of tax depends on the type of crop grown.
Table. Harvest tax
| Type of culture | Tax (gold) |
|---|---|
 Lucerne | 0,08 |
 Oats | 0,3 |
 Turnips | 0,08 |
 Fodder beet | 0,3 |
 Swede | 0,3 |
 Tomatoes | 0,45 |
 Potatoes | 0,3 |
 Cabbage | 0,45 |
 Eggplant | 0,3 |
 Bow | 0,15 |
 Flax | 0,45 |
 Amaranth | 0,45 |
| Any kind of flowers | Free |
Harvesting lasts for 3 days (72 hours).
The amount harvested from a plot of land also depends on fertilizer, among other things.
Agricultural tax
The tax you pay for the harvest goes to the State. From these revenues, the State makes payments to the following funds:
- 20% to the Giant Sunflower Wonderland Owners Fund.
- 10% to the Great Spike Wonderland Owners Fund.
- 30% to the State Farm Securities Dividend Fund.
- 10% to the owner of the settlement on whose territory the harvest was taken.
- 5% to the Prince on whose territory the harvest was taken.
- 5% to the Metropolitan Foundation of the Principality.
- 9% - to the University Employee Benefits Fund.
- 1% - to the Charity Fund.
A few important things to consider when harvesting plots of land:
- The duration of the harvest phase can be reduced by hiring servants.
- Harvest stage work requires an expenditure of 1 stamina unit per day by your clone in each field where he harvests (for each day of work, even if not harvested for a full day).
- If you release your clone from the field while waiting to harvest or while harvesting, that plot will immediately go into "black steam" and the seed (and fertilizer) applied will be lost. The amount of tax already paid will not be refunded.
When harvesting is complete, the clone working in the field is automatically released from work on that plot, the harvested crop goes into that clone's inventory, and the land goes into a "black steam" state.
Stage 5: "Black Steam"
Farmland needs periodic rest as protection against depletion. Such a period of complete rest of the earth is called "black steam. "Black steam" preserves moisture in the soil, enriches it with nutrients (primarily nitrogen) and cleans the soil from weeds, pathogens and pests. On Clone Earth, the black vapor period lasts for 15 days (360 hours). Plots go into a "black steam" state automatically as soon as the "Harvest" stage is completed. In this case, the clones working in these areas are automatically released from work.
Also, all areas of land where you manually release clones from work at any other stage of the farming cycle go into a "black steam" state.
The duration of the black vapor period can be reduced in the following ways (the effect of all methods is summed up):
- The presence of the Giant Sunflower Miracle in the Principality reduces the duration of the black vapor period on all lands in the Principality by 3 days.
- The presence in the Principality of the "Queen of the Night" miracle reduces the duration of the period of "black steam" in all areas of the land in the Principality by 2 days.
- The presence in the Principality of the Megalithic structure "Aqueduct" reduces the duration of the period of "black steam" in all parts of the land in this Principality for 2 days.
- Applying "Living Earth" elixirs to the field reduces the duration of the "black steam" period on this field by up to 5 days. Read more below.
Living Earth Elixir
A single application of the Living Earth Elixir reduces the duration of the "black vapor" period on a given piece of land by 1 day (24 hours). One and the same plot can be treated with the elixir no more than 5 times in one agricultural season. Thus, the maximum reduction of the period of "black vapor" with the help of the elixir is 5 days (120 hours).
The elixir can be applied to a plot by clicking on the tab of the fields below the black steam. In the menu that appears, you need to enter the amount of elixir you want to use for all the fields listed. Elixirs are applied to all your land plots in the Black Steam state in sequence, 1 elixir per field, starting with the plots that were in the Black Steam state the least. If you have entered more elixirs than there are fields in the Black Steam state, the remaining elixirs will be redistributed to the same fields, following the same rule. The maximum number of elixirs that can be applied to the same plot of land in one season is 5.
The elixir "Living Earth" can be made in the Alchemy Laboratory or purchased at the Fair.
Farming infographics
For your convenience, our experts have developed a graphic comprehensive diagram clearly demonstrating one agricultural cycle on Clone Earth.
