Greenhouse

I build the greenhouse on the main farm only at a high level - it unlocks at level 34. In it I grow unusual fruit, apricots, passion fruit, figs and elderberries, which according to the game are shipped out into the world from the harbor. The trader sells me the seeds, but only once the temporary farm has become available to me.

The greenhouse is worth it mainly thanks to the special seeds, which yield an order of magnitude more fruit than ordinary seeds over a similarly long processing time, and on top of that it needs no workers at all to run. I put higher levels of the building high on my priority list, because they increase the yield from the same seeds over the same production time.

I unlock the greenhouse only at a high main farm level

The greenhouse is a late-game building - it becomes available only at level 34 of the main farm. It takes up an area of 14 × 32 tiles, so by the time you get to it, it pays to have plenty of free space on the farm.

Putting it up is not enough on its own, though. The trader will not sell me seeds for the greenhouse as soon as the building unlocks, but only once the temporary farm becomes available to me. Until I meet that condition, the greenhouse may be standing there, but I have nothing to plant in it.

Upgrading to the top level costs tens of thousands of Gold

The greenhouse has seven levels. The building only has the one level at which I unlock it, with no classic construction. Upgrading to the maximum seventh level costs me 54 500 Gold and the construction takes 1 day and 6 hours.

What surprised me most about the greenhouse is that it needs no workers at all to run - unlike the chicken coop or other animal buildings, there is no worker slot to fill here, the building simply runs on the seeds you put in.

The fruit you get depends on the seeds and the greenhouse level

I plant two kinds of seeds in the greenhouse - ordinary and special, and each one gives a different crop and a different yield.

The table shows that special seeds give a yield an order of magnitude higher than ordinary seeds of the same crop for a similarly long processing time - special apricot seeds get me 1 856 units at greenhouse level one instead of the 66 units from ordinary seeds. That is why it pays for me to plant special seeds whenever I have them and to use ordinary seeds only as a stopgap when the special ones run out.

On top of that, the higher the greenhouse level, the bigger the yield from the same seeds over the same processing time. At the maximum level, special apricot seeds give me 2 500 apricots instead of 1 856, and in the same 1 hour and 15 minutes as at level one.

The fruit I grow ships out into the world from the harbor

According to the building description in the game, fruit from the greenhouse is shipped out into the world from the harbor - so these are crops meant primarily for overseas trade, not raw goods for feeding animals or for the everyday farm kitchen. Before I start building the greenhouse, I make sure I have the harbor sorted out, and I count on only really starting to process the fruit once the temporary farm and its trader become available.

Buildings and products mentioned in the text

GreenhouseMain farm · from level 34 · 14 × 32Apricot seedsProcessed product · Main farmApricotsBasic product · Main farmSpecial apricot seedsSpecial product · Main farmPassion fruit seedsProcessed product · Main farmElderberriesBasic product · Main farmChicken coopMain farm · 5 × 5Special passion fruit seedsSpecial product · Main farm