A Guide to Gardening and how it pertains to gathering
preguide: 1.0 ) Gardening order, how to physically garden 1.1 ) How to plant 1.2 ) When seeds cross 1.3 ) Overplanting 1.4 ) Time differentiated planting 1.5 ) Theoretical advanced overplanting 1.6 ) Looping 2.0 ) Crosses and the literature 2.1 ) The "eras" of seeds 2.2 ) The Crossing Literature How to gather for gardening, how it pertains to retainers When exactly do plants cross and how long crosses could theoretically work
1.0 ) Gardening Order
Gardening is a rather simple subject when put in the frame of plant stuff that cross upon each other and let it grow. But this doesn't explain anything. Order matters. That means that the manner of how you physically plant the seeds changes exactly how they cross.
1.1 ) How to plant
Planting properly is as simple as picking clockwise or counterclockwise and planting in that direction. It seems simple because it is. Pick a direction and plant each subsequent seed next to a seed that you have already planted.
1.2 ) When seeds cross
Seeds cross the moment that they have a potential cross backward of themselves in the circle. This means that if you plant in a circle and get 8 seeds into the ground in a proper arrangement, then you will only have a potential for 7 crosses. The reason is simple: seeds cross backward from the moment they are planted.
For this same reason, planting outside of a standard circle will result in less than optimal cross potential. The original plant when placed into the dirt will see that there are no plants to cross with and will not cross.
1.3 ) Overplanting
There are ways to increase your total yield of potential crosses per plot time. Typically one would plant all 8 seeds and the aforementioned explanation would limit such an arrangement to 7 crosses. However, overplanting can come in handy to circumvent this limit by purposely uprooting the first original plant in the circle planted and replanting it. In either direction this new plant will have gone from identifying no plants as crosses when it was originally planted to seeing potentially 2 options to cross.
1.4 ) Time differentiated planting
Not all plants will grow at the same time and will result in different yields of crosses per time. Many higher end crosses will couple a mid-ranged and low-ranged seed resulting in a day or two difference between each my be harvested. There is no loss or change to the product formed by the individual plant when harvested prior to other plants within the plot being ready. Because the seed has already crossed, one may harvest and replant a same or different seed to get a head start on the new plant resulting in a higher cross yield per time.
I suspect that differentially planted plots carry overplanting over to the new plants, so it may be beneficial to attempt overplanting of the original plot each time as needed to maximize crosses between growth.
1.5 ) Theoretical advanced overplanting
Combining the ideas of overplanting and identifying time differentiation of different crosses, one may attempt to use a more intensive method to maximize plot yield per time.
A ) Begin by planting undesired seed and plant desired seed next to it. Your desired seed will cross back and is now the cross you want. B ) Two spots ahead, plant your undesired seed and plant your desired seed next in line by the seed you have already crossed. C ) Uproot the undesired seed so that you have added a single plant in the line per repetition. D ) Repeat B and C until you reach your original undesired E ) Uproot the original, plant desired seed, no cross will come of planting desired where undesired was.
The theory behind this relies on some assumptions:
*The cross does not have undesirable crosses based off a potential cross with itself. *Self crosses are not available to the seed so it will only identify the desired cross and do so
This method would be more intensive on soil and seeds, but good per plot time if the cross is based off widely available seeds. This method will not sustain looping crops methods. Rather, it has more potential use currently with volumes of chocobo food in terms of value of the crop and usefulness of the cross.
Total demands per plot: 7 cross soil, 1 yield soil (+1 junk if no yield), 6 junk soil, 6 undesired crossing seeds, 8 desired seeds
1.6 ) Looping
Looping is the term used when a desired plant will cross forward and backward with a specific undesired crossing plant to result in a wave of new seeds of the desired plant. Typically looped plants are Jute, Broombush, and Glazenuts. In each of these cases, the looped plant is laid down in a circle against the associated cross and both the looped and associated will generate desired seeds atop generating the desired product.
Other loops are theoretically possible but fall outside typical bounds as many top end gardening pets (mandragora) and "long" loop with typical high end plants and Thavnarian onions, but they do not properly loop by making product and returning seeds of that product.
2.0 ) Crosses and the Literature
Gardening can be as easy or as difficult as the gardener makes it for themselves. To make it easy, one has to learn what they can grow with what seeds that they can get.
2.1) The "eras" of seeds
Originally when gardening came out there were only these original seeds to work with and each only had one potential cross per pair of seeds. This is still the case, however now there are seeds when Chocobo feeding came along that makes some gardening paths not so clear-cut. Chocobo-era seeds have the potential for 2 crosses per pair instead of 1. It is currently unknown if they are strict half and half for seeds that have successfully crossed at all, but the fact remains that the desired cross may not be the harvested cross.
This also means that there may be more ways than one to get similar byproduct seeds with more desirable side product seeds. An example of this is with the growth of Sylkis seeds. Sylkis seeds are commonly grown against either Dzemael tomatoes or almonds. Both will successfully grow sylkis but the two are not equal beyond that. Crossing with almonds grows mandrake seeds as a side product whereas tomatoes grow midland cabbage. Mandrake is extremely useful and abundantly planted by many gardeners whereas cabbage is not. With this, it is important to see all of the potential crosses to best choose your particular choice.
2.2 ) The Crossing Literature
Knowing exactly how to plant or when not to get too excited about a cross still doesn't explain how one knows what to cross. Gardening is not new and many happily share what they know, but one must still know where to look.
Bellatrixy Thikket Admin replied
506 weeks ago