Farming

**Farming** in The Betweenlands is different from farming in the Overworld, requiring extra work and attention to produce a successful harvest.

## Process

Instead of vanilla Minecraft's tilled farmland, most Betweenlands plants are grown in Dug Soil (Dug Swamp Dirt, Dug Swamp Grass, Dug Purified Swamp Dirt, or Dug Purified Swamp Grass) that has been filled with Compost. Plants also do not require nearby water to grow, nor can they be trampled by players or mobs.

Dug Soil can be created by right-clicking Swamp Dirt, Swamp Grass, or their Purified variants with a Betweenlands shovel. They can then be right-clicked with a Compost item to fill them with Compost, after which the plant can be planted on top. Compost is created by composting plant based items in the Compost Bin.

After 3 harvests, the Compost will be depleted. If it is not refilled, the Dug Soil will eventually revert to it's un-dug variant.

### Speeding up Growth

As Bone Meal does not work in the dimension, Ground Dried Swamp Reed, made by grinding Dried Swamp Reed in a Mortar, can be used in its place for the same effect. Although this can only be used to speed up crop growth, and not the other farmable plants.

A Censer filled with Bottled Fog can also be used to speed up plant growth in the area around it.

## Types of Plants

There are 4 main types of Farmable plants in The Betweenlands: crops with multiple growth stages, basic plants, Sludgeon plants, and plants that do not require Compost.

### Crops

Crops each have multiple growth stages, maturing over time much like vanilla plants.

* White Pear Plant: A fruit-bearing bush; its fruit can be eaten standalone or combined with Donuts or Jello. Planted with White Pear Seeds, drops White Pears.
* Yellow Dotted Fungus: A farmable mushroom-like crop; its fungus can be eaten standalone, or crafted into a Mire Scramble. Planted with Spores, drops Yellow Dotted Fungus.
* Aspectrus Plant: A unique plant used for Infusing. It is grown on rubber fence posts and imbued with a specific Aspect, acting as a farmable version of it. Planted with Aspectrus Seeds, drops Aspect-infused Aspectrus Fruit, which cannot be eaten.

### Basic Plants

Basic Plants can be farmed by placing the plant (harvested with Syrmorite Shears) on top of Compost-filled Dug Soil. The plant will then begin to spread to nearby plant-supporting blocks around it in a 3x3 area, provided there is space for them. Like crops, the compost will eventually be depleted, although unlike them, basic plants won't pop off of unfilled soil.

Some of these plants must also be grown partially or fully submerged in water, such as Marsh Marigold or Mire Coral. To do this, simply place the Dug Soil underwater, and the plants will grow otherwise normally.

### Sludgeon Plants

Sludgeon plants (Cryptweed, Edge Leaf, Edge Moss, Edge Shrooms, Pale Grass, Rotbulb, String Roots, and Tall Sludgecreep) grow similarly to basic plants, but will only grow near a Censer filled with Bottled Fog.

### Plants that Don't Require Compost

Several plants such as Hangers, Poison Ivy, Moss, Cave Moss, Thorns, Lichen, Swamp Reed, and Swamp Kelp do not require compost to grow, and will simply spread on their own. Hangers and Cave Moss only grow when placed by a player, however.

Swamp Reed can be grown both in or on a block directly adjacent to water, but will grow faster, and taller, when underwater. *(For more details, see Swamp Reed)*

Although not technically a plant, Barnacle Larvae also require no additional steps to grow, beyond player harvesting and replanting.

## Hazards

Betweenlands Farms face multiple hazards, which can damage or completely destroy the farm if not properly managed.

### Rain

The Heavy Rain weather event will gradually cover the ground in Puddles. If these Puddles generate over a crop-type plant, they will instantly destroy them. However, Puddles cannot generate over the other plant types, so they are unaffected. Puddles will only generate on top of opaque blocks exposed to the sky, but can also spread to empty neighbouring blocks on the same level as them. To prevent this, players can cover their farms, and surround them with a "wall" of blocks that Puddles cannot spread past.

### Decay

Dug, Compost-filled soil will randomly decay over time, turning a sickly green, visually decaying crops planted in it, and halting any plant growth. This decay can also spread to other nearby unpurified Compost-filled blocks. If the plant is left on a decayed block for too long, it will eventually be destroyed, also destroying any basic plants in a 3x3 area around it.

Decay can be temporarily cured by right clicking the soil with a Plant Tonic, which will remove any decay in a small area. Plant Tonic can also be placed in a Censer to cure and prevent any decay in the area around it. Purified Swamp Dirt will also never decay, completely bypassing the mechanic.

## History

* Beta 2.0.0: Added Dug Purified Swamp Grass.
	+ Grass can now spread to Dug regular and Purified Swamp Dirt, without affecting the process.
	+ Basic Betweenlands plants can now be farmed using an alternative method.
* **Beta 1.0.0**: Introduced.