Please note that Coral Island is still an Early Access game, and certain features - such as fruit trees - have not been implemented. As such, even though such details are already documented, this article won't explore them until the game has been updated.
Given that Coral Island starts off as a farming game, set on a farm, it should be no surprise that the bulk of your early-game funds will likely come from farming. In this case the act of planting, growing, and selling crops, farming will quickly and efficiently pad your wallet. It also requires the least amount of labor once you get things up and running, so if you want your farm to almost run on autopilot, you should stick with crops.
This guide will help you get started on farming in Coral Island. As far as tutorials go farming is the best-explained activity in the game so far, though there are still a few things to learn that aren't fully covered by Coral Island's introductory quests.
Getting Started
There are four steps you need to follow to plant a crop in Coral Island:
- Till a plot of land using your Hoe. Use the Hoe to smack the ground and you'll leave a darkened divot in the dirt.
- Place a seed on the land you've tilled. You'll usually purchase seeds from Sam's General Store, though you can get them a few other places in the game as well.
- Water the seed you've planted with your Watering Can. If you run out of water you can refill the Watering Can in the pool to the east of your house. Later on you can purchase a Well to expedite this process.
- Wait. Water the seed each day. Over the next week or so - how long it takes varies from one type of crop to the next - the seed will grow, day by day, into a fully-fledged plant. Once it has you can either slice it down with your Scythe or take the fruit / vegetable from the plant, depending on what you've grown. Some plants regrow, some don't.
Once you've turned your plant into produce you can place it into the Shipping Box beside your house, and overnight you'll receive a tidy sum of money in exchange for your crops. There. You're a farmer. That wasn't too bad.
Farming Rules
Does farming seem simple enough? It is, though there are a few caveats you need to keep in mind as you tend to your crops:
- Seeds won't grow if they aren't watered. You need to pull out your Watering Can every single day if you want your crops to prosper. (Though there are ways to cut down on crop maintenance, which we'll explore below.)
- With a few exceptions, seeds only grow in specific seasons. If you plant seeds during the wrong season they won't grow, and any unharvested plants will wither and die when the game changes seasons. Sam only sells seeds that suit the current season, so the chances are good this won't be an issue, but you should read the description of the seeds carefully before planting.
- Plants that aren't protected by Scarecrows may be stolen by crows. Always make sure you install a Scarecrow near your fields. You'll unlock Makeshift Scarecrows early in the game, once you reach Farming level 1.
- You can either harvest ripened crops by hand or use your Scythe to cut them down en masse. If you use any other cutting tool - Axes or Pickaxes, in other words - you'll slice up the plant and ruin your crop. Only use Scythes to harvest your crops!
Advanced Watering Techniques
Watering your crops isn't a huge deal, but it uses up Energy and gets tedious after a while. There are two ways to speed up the process, and ultimately you'll want to stick with just one.
The first method to quickly water your crops is to upgrade your Watering Can at the Blacksmith. Once you've done this you can 'charge' your Watering Can by holding down the button. After a second a line of squares will appear on the ground, and when you release the button those squares will all be watered. The better your Watering Can, the more squares you'll water. You need Ore to upgrade your Watering Can, like every tool, so you'll need to pay a visit to the Cavern.
The alternative, superior method for watering your crops is to craft Sprinklers. Unlocked at Farming level 2, Sprinklers will automatically water any crops within their range each morning. If your crops are properly deployed you can leave the work entirely to your Sprinklers. The issue here is that crafting Sprinklers requires Kelp, which you'll find underwater. Delving deep enough to get the Silver Kelp needed for even Sprinkler Is can take time.
Which method should you use? Ultimately, both. Craft as many Sprinkler Is as you can early, and water everything else. Once you've gotten the hang of diving you can dip in and get more than enough Kelp to fully water your farm. In the meantime, upgrade that Watering Can.
Improving the Quality of Your Crops
Though they're easy to maintain and harvest, crops don't bring in a ton of money unless you're selling a lot of them each day. To make the most of your crops you should ensure that the majority of crops you put in the Shipping Box are better-than-average. There are two ways to improve the quality of your crops.
Early on, your primary method for improving quality is laying down Fertilizer. Fertilizer I can be crafted at Farming level 1, and is fairly easy to create (two Compost and one Sap). Place Fertilizer on a tilled space before you lay down seeds and the resulting plants will usually be bronze-level or better. The higher the quality of the produce, the more money you'll make. Note that Fertilizer only disappears once the plant above it disappears, so if you place it with a 'renewable' plant that continually grows more fruit or vegetables the produce will continue to be higher-than-average quality.
The alternative method is to purchase upgrades via Ling's Laboratory. Located on the east side of Starlet Town, Ling's Laboratory provides item upgrades to Seeds, Plants, and Fruits. All three will improve the overall quality of the crops you grow, making your farm more profitable. You'll need to distill Kelp Essence to purchase these upgrades, which, again, requires you to take a dip into the sea.