Field

A field is a space alotted for a regions crops to be sown, grown and harvested by farmers employed at a Farmhouse.

Construction

A field is free to be constructed by the player via flexible placement. They can be placed anywhere in a player's region and can not be relocated once placed. The in game interface will let the player know how large, in morgens, the field would be before being built after the last of 4 corners is placed. One morgen is roughly 2.1 acres.

Use

Each field allows for one type of crop to be grown per season; either wheat (emmer), barley, flax or rye.

Families assigned to a Farmhouse will see to it that the fields are plowed, then crops are sown, grown and eventually harvested in harvesting season. Farmhouses upgraded to a Plowing Station may also employ oxen for plowing and collecting harvested crops. Like construction, fields may also be given higher or lower working priority to control work.

Yields are principally defined by fertility rate: each crop has its own one, which can be checked by activating its respective overlay in the construction menu. High fertility areas are shown in green, whereas those low in it in red. Soil fertility levels shown are the max they will ever be, but they will decrease as that crop type is grown. To combat this decreased fertility yield, use crop rotation to either leave a field fallow, or growing a different crop the following season. As the soil under the field recovers, fertility will increase again.

To counteract lower fertility, you can invest into the Pollination affinity by building Apiaries, as well as establishing a large area of meadows, increasing yields.

Harvesting season is the only time crops can be collected in, so vigilance is required to ensure taking in all yields. Unharvested crops are susceptible to rainfalls and occasional droughts in the summer, losing part of their yield.

Notes:

• The oxen plowing upgrade allows faster plowing with an oxen, but villagers can not hand plow the same field an oxen is plowing.
• Especially early in, keep your fields reasonable for the amount of labor your region has. It will be easier for few families to handle 3 or 6 half morgen fields than 3 full morgen or larger fields. Any field that has not been completely sown before winter dies off.

Appearance

The field can vary in appearance due to the flexible placement ability. All fields will be flattened land with shrubbery on the edges, destroying any trees that were previously placed.