Guide:Gardening

Gardening is the practice of intentionally spawning resources in a convenient area for harvest.

There are several plants and fungi that can successfully be farmed in Terraria, though there are a few things to keep in mind.

To farm you'll first need to collect seeds.

All the grasses spread fairly quickly, so a large amount of it isn't necessary. One seed will eventually fill an entire garden, except you only get one tree per acorn. Surface mushrooms grow more abundantly when you trim your grass.

You'll then need to prepare the appropriate environment.

Normal Mushrooms*
Less useful to farm than glowing mushrooms owing the lower yield. Performing the same steps as with glowing mushroom, only above ground with grass, can produce roughly 5-10 mushrooms per screen.

Note that vines will grow down from strips of grassy dirt, preventing the growth of mushrooms. To combat this, add a layer of stone (or other non-dirt block) under each layer of dirt. Wooden platforms are an excellent option here since the player can walk through them, allowing layers to be packed more tightly.

Trees*
A tree farm is usually nothing more than a big flat area where the player uses their acorns. If the tree farm sees heavy use, the player might level off the area more carefully. It is possible to layer tree farms like the mushroom farms, but trees require far more height.

Also note tree spacing. Each sapling should have two empty spaces on either side of it; you can use underground markers such as torches to make this easier. Additionally, cut the grass around saplings as it impedes their growth.

As they have similar requirements, a tree farm may also serve as an arena for the Goblin Army (see below).

* ''Grass must be naturally lit. Trees grow on grass as long as there is enough room on either side of them. Mushrooms will sprout up randomly on grass.''

Glowing Mushrooms
The most worthwhile thing to intentionally grow. A Glowing Mushroom farm unfortunately has to be fairly deep underground; far enough that rocks start showing in the background. They usually consist of several layers of mud with planted Mushroom Grass Seeds on them. Keep a gap between them tall enough to walk through.

A small garden of this sort goes a long way. One roughly the size of the screen can provide as many as 200 glowing mushrooms in a single harvest - enough for around seven full stacks of potions.

Jungle Roses
Mud needs to be below sea level (or 0 in-game feet). Glowing Mushrooms grow on glowing blue grass, and jungle grass will sprout Jungle Roses. It is suggested you use a Depth Meter to find your elevation.

Vile Mushrooms
Vile Mushrooms grow on corrupted grass. Enemies will spawn in planted corruption, but you can control the area using corrupt seeds. If it's close enough to your NPCs, the reduction in enemy spawns will keep anything from showing up. Vile mushrooms need to be in an area big enough to dim the sunlight, and they need to be naturally lit as with trees above.

A somewhat dangerous project with potential side effects. Corrupting an area with Corrupt Seeds and layering it like a mushroom farm can provide an area for harvesting Vile Mushrooms for the production of Vile Dust. Unfortunately, a large corrupted area also spawns obnoxious corruption monsters, so this project should be undergone with careful placement and consideration.

This area may also serve as an arena for fighting the Eater of Worlds (see below). Note that an area of wooden platforms is recommended for the actual fight, however he may be summoned from within the farm.