Like many sandbox games before it, Valheim lets you enjoy a certain type of freedom. Want to defeat mighty bosses? You got it! Or maybe you enjoy the thrill of searching for resources and crafting only the best weapons. There's certainly something in this game for different types of players, and you will never feel left out.
One of the most common things is to build a base where you can rest after exploring every nook and cranny in this procedurally generated purgatory. However, just like in real life, a home isn't complete without a nearby food source. Taking the time to create a farm isn't a mandatory process to progress through the game. However, while farms are time-consuming, creating one will eventually pay off and make things so much easier for you.
Updated April 29, 2023 by Jacqueline Zalace: If you are still working on your dream Viking farm, you're in luck. We've added even more tips to this list, as well as removed some that weren't as beneficial to your Viking journey.
12 Craft A Cultivator
Before you can go out there and start harvesting crops on your Valheim farm, you'll need the proper tool to work the terrain so you can plant seeds in it. To do so, you'll need to craft a Cultivator, which is a tool that'll become available after you defeat the game's first boss, Eikthyr. To make a Cultivator, you will need the following materials.
- 5x Core Wood
- 5x Bronze
Once you have this tool, use it on a patch of land to create arable dirt, then you can plant your seeds there. Farming isn't the only thing this tool can do, as you can also use it to regrow grass on patches of dirt, as well as trees to create more wood.
11 Clear A Large Square Of Land
Your farm will take up some space, especially if you plan on growing tons of various crops. Prior to planting some seeds, we recommend taking some time to clear an area that you want to designate as farmland.
Even if you don't use all the farmland at first, it's good to set some aside. Later, when you are working on your base, you will know to not build where the future farmland is.
10 Flatten The Terrain Before Using The Cultivator
Like in real life, the terrain in Valheim isn't entirely even, so before you go and create your farm, you should first flatten the terrain where you want to place it. Why? Because a flat ground makes building easier, helps with the structure, and won't leave your construction with weaker parts.
To make the ground flat, you'll need a special tool called a hoe; you can craft it on the workbench with five pieces of wood and two stones.
9 Leave Some Space Between Seeds
A pivotal thing to keep in mind while Valheim farming is to leave a space between each crop you plant. They don't require that much room, but there should be at least a small gap between the seeds so they don't become overcrowded.
When planting tree seeds, try to space them out how trees normally grow in the world. Take a look at the forests around you and use the tree distance to gauge your own planting habits.
8 Plant Seeds While Running
Planting seeds can be a long and dull process. If you manage to work quickly, you may become a bit disorganized with your crop placement. After taking a step back, the 'rows' of seeds can look a bit wobbly.
To plant quickly and in a straight line, try running and planting at the same time. While looking straight down at the ground, use the Cultivator to plant seeds. This will make the process go by quicker, and ensure that the seeds are planted straight (as long as you don't start running sideways).
7 Learn Where To Find Seeds
To plant seeds, you will first need to find them in the world. Below, you can check out every seed type, and where you can find it.
|
Seeds |
Where To Find |
|---|---|
|
Carrot |
Black Forest |
|
Turnip |
Swamp |
|
Jotun Puffs |
Mistlands |
|
Onion |
Mountains |
|
Barley |
Plains |
|
Flax |
Plains |
|
Magecaps |
Mistlands |
|
Beech |
Beech Trees in the Meadows |
|
Birch |
Birch Trees in the Meadows and Plains |
|
Oak (Acorns) |
Oak Trees in the Meadows |
|
Fir (Cone) |
Fir Trees in the Black Forest |
|
Pine (Cone) |
Pine Trees in the Black Forest |
6 Protect Your Crops
Enemies and aggressive creatures are always lurking in the shadows, and they would love nothing more than to destroy your precious crops and throw away all of your efforts. To prevent this, protect your farm by building fences around the terrain.
You can use a roundpole fence, which is shown above. This isn't too sturdy, but you can also craft a stakewall, which is taller and harder for enemies to scale.
5 Grow More Seeds First
You can obtain seeds by going to their corresponding biomes. However, there's another way to get these seeds that doesn't require you to leave your Valheim farm.
All you have to do is plant seeds using the Cultivator to grow three seeds of whichever food you planted. When you're starting your farm, it is better first to produce more seeds instead of food. Once you have a significant number of seeds, then it's time to grow the food. We recommend using your first harvest to make more seeds.
4 Grow Crops In Their Appropriate Biome
If you know a little bit about farming (or maybe played Stardew Valley), you'll know that crops can have different growing cycles and needs. Basically, not all seeds can thrive in the same soil.
Well, farming Valheim seeds isn't any different. In addition to having varied growth times, some seeds can only be planted in certain biomes. Below, you can check out every biome, and what seeds can be planted there.
|
Meadows |
Black Forest |
Swamp |
Plains |
Mistlands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
All trees can be planted in the Meadows, Black Forest, and Plains. The Fir Tree can also be planted in the Mountain biome.
3 Cook Your Crops Into Dishes
It makes no sense to create a Valheim farm and harvest crops if you don't know the best way to use them. Rather than stockpiling your veggies, turn them into delicious meals! You can check out our guide here for a complete list of every recipe in the game.
Learning which foods you can cook and how many benefits they'll give will make things easier for you, especially in the early stages of the game. Also, be sure to have a cauldron nearby so you can actually cook these recipes.
2 Expand Beyond Crops
While there aren't any cows or pigs in Valheim, there are other animals you can tame and integrate into your farm to have a nearby supply of raw meat or leather scraps.
There are three types of animals you can tame: boars, wolves, and loxs. Each animal has a different strategy for taming, and you can even breed some of them to have higher rarity animals on your farm.
1 Add Beehives To The Mix
Besides actual food like Blood Pudding or Fish Wraps, meads are another type of consumable you should learn how to make. They'll provide you with powerful buffs that can reduce the impact of fire damage, restore health or even speed up stamina regeneration. Each type of mead will have a different effect, which is very similar to how potions work in other games.
To make these powerful concoctions, you'll need many ingredients, like Honey. Honey, of course, comes from bees that live in beehives. You'll find these hives in the abandoned buildings in the Meadows, Swamp, and the Black Forest biomes. For a complete walkthrough on making a beehive, be sure to check out our guide on how to do so.