Crop Guide for the Novice Meridell Farmer

     Recommended Meridell Crops

      10. Nutritional Blockberry: This crop is not for the faint of heart - each individual nutritional blockberry is crammed full of all the nutrition you need for a single meal! A successful nutritional blockberry farmer requires high-quality soil and plenty of supplemental irrigation. This crop grows best with lots of sunlight and does not thrive in shaded areas. It peaks in the height of summer when the days are longest.

     Pros: Healthy, nutritional meal.

     Cons: Tasteless and chewy, hard to grow in poorer quality fields.

      9. Conkerberry: These berries are a great choice for a novice farmer. These hardy berries can grow in almost any soil type. They mature rapidly, allowing for multiple crops each year. Once mature, these berries are so heavy that they will drop right off the bushes. This makes for an easy harvest, allowing them to be gathered straight off the ground. Just be sure to get them quickly, so pests and petpets don’t gnaw on your harvest.

     Pros: Grows quickly and easily!

     Cons: Harvest requires extra protective gear, such as a helmet, to avoid being injured by a falling conkerberry.

      8. Voidberry: This unique berry has become very popular in recent years, however, grow it with caution as fads change as quickly as harvest. In order to develop the rich, dark pigment, voidberries can only be successfully grown in complete darkness, or the colour will degrade. These will do best if nursed in pots with moderate sunlight as the bush matures. Upon maturity, they must be moved into a cool, dark environment, like a cellar before the fruit begins to develop.

     Pros: Tasty crop with a high consumer demand.

     Cons: Requires special housing to prevent exposure of the berries to light.

      7. Super Juicy Berry: This berry is a favourite for its sweet, juicy taste. Growing this berry requires significant irrigation, and it can be challenging as it is particularly susceptible to pests. These berries are loved for their unique texture – they have thin skin, but extremely juicy innards that burst in your mouth. Unfortunately, the thing that makes them so wonderful is also the thing that makes them so challenging – farmers must take care while harvesting, as a dropped super juicy berry is likely to burst and splatter the delicious juice everywhere!

     Pros: This berry has a high demand which makes it easy to sell, due to its delicious juicy taste.

     Cons: Can be challenging to provide sufficient water to develop maximum juiciness in the berry.

      6. Eyeballberry: This berry is off-putting to some farmers due to its interesting colouration, resembling an eye. Some believe this was an adaptation to scare off natural predators. Still, don’t be put off by their appearance! These berries are delicious, nutritious, and popular with berry consumers looking for something a little different than your plain old snidberry or loveberry.

     Pros: Easy to grow in any conditions.

     Cons: Farmers of eyeballberries often become paranoid and suspicious due to the constant illusion of being watched.

      5. Sparkle Berry: These tiny, beautiful berries are elusive, but when found, are renowned for their great taste – commonly used in pies, enjoyed with cream, or even eaten on their own! Sparkle berry bushes are extremely delicate, so they are best grown in a sheltered area. If left exposed, they are too susceptible to the elements and risk being flattened by a sudden gust of wind.

     Pros: These pretty sparkling berries are attractive, which makes them very easy to sell.

     Cons: They are also attractive to certain Petpets such as Crokabeks, and fields will require an increased scarecrow presence.

      4. Unguberry: This delicious little berry grows well in a range of conditions. The unguberry bush is a resilient plant that can survive drought and frost remarkably well, and won’t require much supplemental watering or careful attention to sunlight. This is an ideal crop for a novice farmer as it is impossible to get wrong!

     Pros: Very easy to grow, sweet and delicious.

     Cons: Due to their unmatched sturdiness, once you plant unguberries they are impossible to remove from the field, and special care must be attended to prevent spreading into other areas

      3. Loveberry: This sweet little berry is an excellent crop. It grows best in colder climates, which makes it best to grow over the winter. It is typically ready to harvest in February, which is convenient as the consumer demand for Loveberries increases exponentially for Valentine's Day!

     Pros: Winter crop which rotates well with summer crops such as marrows and other types of berries.

     Cons: Requires a special type of packaging to contain the berries, as they twitch and pulse.

     2. Marrow: Marrows are a unique speciality of Meridell, and every farmer should try their hand at it at least once! Marrows are delicious and versatile, all parts of the harvest can be used for both culinary and practical needs. Once harvested, the innards can be made into delicious dishes, while the tough marrow skin can be made into sandals or even weapons! The most elite marrow farmers often compete to grow the largest marrow, and growing the largest marrow is associated with considerable fame and fortune in Meridell.

     Pros: Tastes great with chocolate.

     Cons: Lots of competition from other marrow farmers.

      1. Potatoes! Everyone loves potatoes. They grow extremely well in any Meridellian field. They can be served in almost any way you can imagine, including stuffed in a pepper, piled into the shape of various Neopets, filled with various delicious toppings, mashed, baked, wedged, in a magical potion, or even raw! Counting your potatoes will provide you with endless entertainment. The best farmers can even occasionally find a rare Pootato, a gourmet delicacy!

     Pros: Delicious, nutritious, provides both food and entertainment.

     Cons: None at all!

     Crops to avoid

     In addition to the wonderful crop options discussed above, there are a few crops that the novice farmer should know to avoid! I hope these explanations below are enough for you to heed my advice.

      3. Aquaberry: While this berry is aesthetically pleasing, it serves no practical purpose and may even prove detrimental. It will consume all the water in the field and invade nearby fields to search for more water, choking out and destroying other crops. It is a very persistent plant that is impossible to get rid of once it infests your fields. In addition, this berry is 97.3% water with no nutritional benefits what-so-ever!

      2. Orfaberry: This berry is gritty, hairy, and extremely unpleasant to eat. Farmers who choose to grow orfaberries will have a very difficult time selling them, as there is no consumer demand. I strongly recommend novice farmers avoid this berry if they wish to have a successful, prospering farm.

      1. Fishberry: This is a very niche crop that is not suitable for novice farmers. This peculiar berry is grown by planting seedlings next to a raw fish, and requires very precise conditions for successful development. Furthermore, the smell of the fields is extremely unpleasant, and it is therefore recommended to only grow fishberries near the rubbish dump, so the smell of the rubbish will cover up the stench of the fish.

     I hope that this article has been useful and educational! I wish all of you prospective farmers the best of luck and hope that all your fields are fruitful in the coming growing season!