Table of Contents
Gardening is one of the skills available in The Sims 4. This skill allows Sims to grow and care for plants, fertilize them, graft plants, and improve the quality of their harvests.
In addition to being a hobby, Gardening is also an effective way to earn Simoleons. Sims can begin learning the skill as early as the Teen life stage, giving them plenty of time to develop their garden and improve plant quality.
The ideal mood for developing the Gardening skill is Focused, as it can help Sims gain Skill progress more efficiently while tending to plants.
After reaching Gardening Level 10, Sims will receive the Green Thumb Achievement, marking their mastery of the skill.
About Gardening in The Sims 4
The Gardening skill in The Sims 4 allows Sims to grow various types of plants to sell or use as cooking ingredients. Higher-quality plants can also help produce higher-quality dishes.
At first, Sims can only perform basic activities such as planting and watering plants. As their Gardening level increases, new abilities become available, including fertilizing, taking cuttings, grafting plants, and experimenting to produce new plant varieties.
Regular care such as watering, weeding, and fertilizing helps improve plant quality over time. Higher-quality plants generally have a higher selling value and produce better harvests.
This guide covers various aspects of Gardening in The Sims 4, including the fertilizer system, plant evolution, quality levels, how to take cuttings, and the grafting system for producing hybrid plants.
Recommended Traits and Aspiration for Gardening
Choosing the right Trait can help Sims develop the Gardening skill more efficiently.
Genius
Helps Sims naturally obtain the Focused mood. This mood is particularly useful for improving Gardening more quickly.
Loves Outdoors
Provides positive moodlets when Sims are outdoors, helping them maintain a good mood while gardening.
Loner
Suitable for Sims who spend a lot of time alone tending their garden. This Trait slows the decline of the Social need, allowing Sims to garden longer without frequently interacting with other Sims.
The third Trait can ultimately be chosen according to your preferred playstyle. However, Loner is a popular choice for Sims who focus on gardening for long periods.
Freelance Botanist
For Sims who want to maximize their Gardening skill, Freelance Botanist is the most recommended Aspiration.
This Aspiration focuses on various gardening activities, from planting and tending plants to improving their quality.
In addition to providing direction for character development, completing each Aspiration milestone awards Satisfaction Points, which can be used to purchase various rewards from the Reward Store.
Skill Levels
The four basic Gardening abilities are Plant, Water, Weed, and Harvest:
- Plant — Plant crops.
- Water — Water plants.
- Weed — Remove weeds.
- Harvest — Harvest crops.
These basic abilities are available from the beginning of the game. To start gardening, Sims only need to purchase seed packets or harvest wild plants found throughout the world.
In addition to gardening activities, the Gardening skill can also be improved by reading Gardening books. As the skill level increases, new abilities become available:
- Gardening Level 2 — Unlocks the Research Gardening interaction through Computer > Web > Research Gardening. This activity can help trigger the Focused mood.
- Gardening Level 3 — Unlocks the ability to apply Fertilizer to plants, which helps speed up the evolution of plant quality.
- Gardening Level 4 — Sims can talk to plants. This interaction helps fulfill the Social need while also providing Gardening experience.
- Gardening Level 5 — Unlocks Take Cutting and Graft, allowing Sims to combine two types of plants into a single plant.
- Gardening Level 6 — Unlocks Weed Area, allowing Sims to remove weeds from several plants at once.
- Gardening Level 7 — Farmer and Uncommon seed packets become available for purchase. Sims also gain the Tend Garden interaction, allowing them to water and weed the entire garden with a single command.
- Gardening Level 8 — Unlocks Super Sell, allowing all harvestables to be sold at once. Sims can also pay §50 to regrow Bonsai trees so they can be reshaped.
- Gardening Level 9 — All gardening interactions become more efficient. Sims can water and weed plants more quickly.
- Gardening Level 10 — Unlocks Rare seed packets costing §1,000. These packets contain random rare plants and can be purchased multiple times to increase the chance of obtaining a desired plant.
Plant List in The Sims 4 (Base Game)
The The Sims 4 base game has 35 types of plants that Sims can collect and cultivate. These plants can be obtained through various methods, such as finding wild plants throughout the world, purchasing seed packets, or producing new varieties through the Grafting system.
Each plant has a different level of rarity, ranging from Common, Uncommon, to Rare. Plants are also divided into several categories, including fruits, vegetables, flowers, and special plants.
The table below contains a complete list of all plants available in the base game, including their type and rarity.
| Name | Rarity | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | Common | Tree |
| Basil | Common | Bush |
| Bluebell | Common | Bush |
| Carrot | Common | Plant |
| Chrysanthemum | Common | Bush |
| Daisy | Common | Bush |
| Grape | Common | Bush |
| Lemon | Common | Tree |
| Mushroom | Common | Patch |
| Parsley | Common | Plant |
| Plantain | Common | Tree |
| Sage | Common | Bush |
| Snapdragon | Common | Flowers |
| Spinach | Common | Bush |
| Blackberry | Uncommon | Bush |
| Cherry | Uncommon | Tree |
| Lily | Uncommon | Flowers |
| Onion | Uncommon | Plant |
| Pear | Uncommon | Tree |
| Potato | Uncommon | Plant |
| Rose | Uncommon | Bush |
| Strawberry | Uncommon | Bush |
| Tomato | Uncommon | Bush |
| Tulip | Uncommon | Flowers |
| Bird of Paradise | Rare | Bush |
| Bonsai Buds | Rare | Shrub |
| Cow Berry | Rare | Other |
| Dragonfruit | Rare | Plant |
| Orchid | Rare | Flowers |
| Pomegranate | Rare | Tree |
| Trash Fruit | Uncommon | Bush |
| U.F.O. (Unidentified Fruit Object) | Rare | Plant |
| Death Flower | Common | Bush |
| Growfruit | Common | Tree |
| Forbidden Fruit of the PlantSim | Uncommon | Tree |
How to Buy Plant Seeds
Plant seeds can be obtained in several ways. One method is through a computer by selecting Order > Purchase Seeds. You can also click a Garden Pot or Garden Planter Box and select Purchase Seeds.
If you do not have a place to plant them, Garden Pots and Garden Planter Boxes can be purchased through Build Mode > Objects by Function > Activities & Skills > Misc.
- Garden Pot can hold only one plant.
- Garden Planter Box can hold up to four plants at once.
Neither object is required because seeds can be planted directly in the ground. However, both are particularly useful for indoor gardening or areas with limited space.
When purchasing seeds, several types of seed packets are available:
- Starter Flowers
- Fruits
- Herbs
- Vegetables
Each packet contains randomly selected common plants. Therefore, purchasing several packets at once can help you obtain a greater variety of plants.
As the Gardening level increases, Uncommon and Rare seed packets also become available. These packets provide a more convenient way to obtain rare plants than relying on Grafting or searching for specific plants in the wild.
Getting Started with Gardening
After purchasing several seed packets, the next step is to start gardening. This section covers the basics of Gardening, from planting and caring for plants to fertilizing and harvesting.
Place fruits, vegetables, flowers, or herbs on the ground or in a pot as needed. Then, click the item you want to plant and select Plant.
After being planted, plants need to be watered regularly so they can grow and provide Gardening EXP. As they grow, plants will also begin developing weeds. Therefore, check your plants regularly and tend to them when necessary.
If a plant becomes covered in weeds, Sims can remove them by selecting Weed. Likewise, if a plant needs water, simply use Water to water it.
Plants that are not properly cared for, such as those that are not watered or are left covered in weeds, will experience a decline in quality and stop developing. If this condition continues for too long, the plant may die.
Keeping plants in good condition allows them to evolve to higher quality levels. Evolution takes a certain amount of time, but the process can be accelerated by using fertilizer.
In the base game, plants can be attacked by pests that may damage or even kill them more quickly than plants that are simply neglected.
Infested plants usually appear to be covered in insects. To deal with them, click the affected plant and select “Spray for Bugs”.
Plants can be fertilized using various items, ranging from harvestables to other objects. However, fish are generally considered one of the best fertilizers in Gardening.
The higher the value of a fish, the better the quality of the resulting fertilizer. In addition, some types of fish have more effective fertilizer values than others.
The Fishing skill has excellent synergy with Gardening because it provides a sustainable source of high-quality fertilizer. Although fertilizer does not always make plants grow faster, it can accelerate improvements in plant quality.
To obtain Perfect-quality plants, it is recommended to use Fertilize whenever the interaction is available. This interaction has a cooldown of approximately 3–4 days before it can be used on the same plant again.
If a Sim already has a Growfruit plant, its harvest can be used as fertilizer. Growfruit is known as one of the best fertilizers in The Sims 4 because it provides a significant improvement in plant quality compared to many other types of fertilizer.
Plants follow a daily growth cycle that is periodically updated by the game. At certain times, the game checks whether plants need watering, have developed weeds, or are ready to harvest.
As they grow, plants produce harvestables until they reach the maximum amount for that day. Since harvestables will reappear during the next cycle, it is recommended to harvest plants regularly to keep production optimal.
Make sure plants also receive fertilizer regularly. Keeping the fertilizer effect active will help plants evolve more quickly and produce higher-quality harvestables.
Plant Quality
Plants in The Sims 4 have several quality levels. Each time a plant evolves, its quality increases by one level:
- Normal
- Nice
- Excellent
- Magnificent
- Perfect
After being properly cared for over a certain period, plants will begin to sparkle. This indicates that the Evolve interaction is available.
Evolving a plant increases its quality by one level, which eventually improves the quality of the fruits, vegetables, herbs, or flowers it produces. Harvestables from higher-quality plants also have a higher selling value and can be used again as seeds.
There is no benefit to waiting to harvest until after a plant evolves. The quality of a harvestable is determined when the fruit or other harvestable appears, not when it is harvested.
Therefore, it is recommended to harvest available crops immediately so the plant can grow again and reach its next evolution stage more quickly.
Cutting and Grafting
Before taking a Cutting, a plant must grow to a sufficiently large size. Taking cuttings from the same plant repeatedly within a short period can cause the plant to die, requiring the player to grow it again from the beginning.
The Take Cutting and Graft abilities are unlocked at Gardening Level 5.
Sims can take cuttings from various types of plants. However, if a cutting is taken from a grafted plant, the cutting will come from the original plant rather than from the grafted addition.
Once a cutting is obtained, Sims can use Graft to combine it with another plant. This allows a single plant to produce several different types of harvestables.
A single plant can receive multiple grafts. However, after grafting, the plant will return to a smaller growth stage. If you want to perform additional grafts, wait until the plant has grown large again.
Uncommon and Rare plants can also be obtained through certain graft combinations. However, their chances of appearing are much lower than those of common plants.
The chances of harvestables appearing based on rarity are:
- 500 for Common plants
- 100 for Uncommon plants
- 1 for Rare plants
In other words, approximately 1 out of every 600 harvestables has a chance of being a Rare plant.
Grafting is very useful because it can reduce the number of plants that need to be maintained. For example, if you have 20 different plant types, you can combine several plants through the grafting system, significantly reducing the number of plants that need to be cared for.
However, performing too many grafts on a single plant can affect its growth. Therefore, it is generally recommended to limit grafting to around 3–4 plant types per tree so that it can continue growing properly.
The table below contains a list of Grafting combinations that can be used to produce new plants in The Sims 4.
| Plant A | Plant B | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Bluebells | Strawberry | Grapes |
| Sage | Basil | Parsley |
| Pear | Lemon | Plantain |
| Tulip | Chrysanthemum | Bird of Paradise |
| Daisy | Strawberry | Bonsai Buds |
| Grapes | Rose | Bonsai Buds |
| Dragonfruit | Snapdragon | Cowplant Berry |
| Strawberry | Snapdragon | Dragonfruit |
| Lily | Snapdragon | Orchid |
| Apple | Cherry | Pomegranate |
| Orchid | Pomegranate | Death Flower |
Each combination requires two specific plant types to be combined using the Graft feature after reaching Gardening Level 5.
Using the right combinations allows Sims to obtain various Uncommon and Rare plants that are not always available through seed packets or wild plants.
Causes and Solutions for Plant Death
Plants that are not cared for over a long period can die. Therefore, it is important to make sure plants are regularly watered, weeded, and maintained.
In addition to lack of care, plants can also die from other causes, such as being burned by fire, being stepped on, or being affected by certain interactions involving ghosts produced by a Cowplant.
If a plant dies, it does not always have to be replaced with a new one. In many cases, players can revive it by paying around §100.
After being revived, the plant will begin growing again and retain the quality it had before dying.
Cowplant
The Cowplant is one of the special plants in The Sims 4. To grow one, Sims must first obtain a Cowplant Berry.
Grafting
If the Gardening skill has reached Level 5, Sims can use Grafting to produce a Cowplant Berry. The required combination is:
- Snapdragon + Dragonfruit = Cowplant Berry
Other Methods
In addition to grafting, Cowplant Berries can be obtained through the following methods:
- Exploring space using a Rocket Ship.
- Fishing in the ponds of Oasis Springs.
- Fishing at Forgotten Grotto Lake (a secret area in Oasis Springs).
- Digging for treasure.
- Purchasing a Rare seed packet, which is random and becomes available after reaching Gardening Level 10.
After obtaining a Cowplant Berry, plant it directly in the ground and leave around two to three tiles of space so the plant has enough room to grow.
Caring for a Cowplant is similar to caring for other plants: water it, remove weeds, and fertilize it regularly.
A Cowplant takes approximately three days to fully grow. Once mature, it needs to be fed regularly using the Feed interaction.
In addition to feeding it, Sims can also:
- Name the Cowplant.
- Pet the Cowplant.
- Play with the Cowplant.
Cowplants must be fed at least every 12 hours. When hungry, a Cowplant will extend a cake-shaped tongue to lure Sims closer.
If a Sim attempts to eat the cake, the Cowplant will swallow them and spit them back out, giving them the Drained moodlet.
If a Sim with this moodlet attempts to eat the cake again before the effect wears off, the Cowplant may kill them.
When a Cowplant swallows a Sim, whether the Sim survives or not, the plant will produce milk that can be collected using the Milk interaction.
The type of milk produced depends on the emotion the Sim had when they were swallowed. The milk produces various types of Essence, including:
- Angry — Essence of Anger
- Bored — Essence of Boredom
- Confident — Essence of Confidence
- Dazed — Essence of Daze
- Uncomfortable — Essence of Discomfort
- Embarrassed — Essence of Embarrassment
- Energized — Essence of Energy
- Flirty — Essence of Flirtation
- Focused — Essence of Focus
- Happy — Essence of Happiness
- Inspired — Essence of Inspiration
- Playful — Essence of Playfulness
- Sad — Essence of Sadness
- Stressed — Essence of Stress
If the Cowplant successfully kills a Sim, the milk it produces becomes The Essence of Life. When consumed by another Sim, this Essence can extend their lifespan by several days.
Making Money from Harvestables
After being harvested, all harvestables are stored in the Sim’s inventory. They can be sold by dragging them to the selling area or opening a stack and selling the items individually.
If you want to keep some harvestables for replanting or use as cooking ingredients, first place the harvestables you want to keep on a table or another surface. Then sell the remaining harvestables in the inventory and place the saved harvestables back into the inventory afterward.
The most practical way to sell harvestables is directly through the plant by selecting Sell All. Once the Sim reaches Gardening Level 8, the Super Sell interaction also becomes available, allowing all harvestables from that plant to be sold at once.
Conclusion
The Gardening skill in The Sims 4 is an effective way to earn Simoleons while also providing high-quality ingredients for cooking. Sims can start gardening as early as the Teen life stage and develop the skill through planting, watering, weeding, fertilizing, and grafting to create new plants.
As the Gardening level increases, various advanced features become available, such as Fertilize, Take Cutting, Graft, Tend Garden, and Super Sell, making garden management more efficient. Plant quality can also be improved through regular care and fertilization until it reaches Perfect quality, producing harvestables with a high selling value.
The Grafting system allows players to obtain rare plants, including the Cowplant Berry, which can be used to grow a Cowplant, one of the most unique plants in the game.
With proper care strategies, suitable Traits and Aspiration, and effective use of the grafting system, Gardening can become a highly profitable and engaging activity to develop over the long term.
