Every crop in the game carries exactly the same risk of pests, weeds and drying out, so the crop you choose cannot change any of them. Two other things can: the pot, and your Farming level, which takes up to 40% off the same chance on its own. The pot also decides how fast the crop finishes, which means the same seed is worth different amounts of Satiety per day depending on what you planted it in.
No power yet
Clay Flowerpot (Medium) Package Furniture Packages 2000 g 2×2 cells Keeps indefinitely . Every powered planter stops working in a blackout with your crops in it, and this is the only protection that costs nothing to run. A day of Spinach takes 15 cells.
Power to spare
Hydroponic Station (Large) Package Furniture Packages 2000 g 2×2 cells Keeps indefinitely . 1.5× growth, no pests, weeds or drying out, 6 power drawn continuously. A day of Spinach takes 10 cells instead of 15. Read what it takes to keep the lights on before you commit, because a blackout costs you the crop and the light together.
Spending as little as possible
The biggest standard flowerpot you can fit, starting from the Standard Small Flowerpot Supply Box Furniture Packages 1000 g 2×2 cells Keeps indefinitely . Every standard pot costs $10 a cell whatever its size, so size is not a discount, and a day of Spinach takes 15 cells. You carry the full pest, weed and drying risk, which your Farming level can take up to 40% off at level 5.
Open the equipment list Every planter with its price per cell, growth, risk controls and power draw.
What a pot cell costs
| Planter | Cells | Price | $/cell | Growth | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Small Flowerpot | 1 | $10 | $10 | 1× | none |
| Standard Medium Flowerpot | 2 | $20 | $10 | 1× | none |
| Standard Large Flowerpot | 4 | $40 | $10 | 1× | none |
| Clay Flowerpot (Medium) | 2 | $25 | $12.5 | 1× | none |
| Clay Flowerpot (Large) | 4 | $50 | $12.5 | 1× | none |
| Clay Flowerpot (Small) | 1 | $15 | $15 | 1× | none |
| Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Small) | 1 | $20 | $20 | 1.3× | −2 |
| Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Medium) | 2 | $40 | $20 | 1.3× | −3 |
| Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Large) | 4 | $80 | $20 | 1.3× | −4 |
| Weed-Resistant Flowerpot (Large) | 4 | $80 | $20 | 1× | none |
| Plant Grow Box (Small) | 1 | $25 | $25 | 1.3× | −1 |
| Plant Grow Box (Medium) | 2 | $50 | $25 | 1.3× | −3 |
| Plant Grow Box (Large) | 4 | $100 | $25 | 1.3× | −4 |
| Pest-Resistant Flowerpot (Medium) | 2 | $50 | $25 | 1× | none |
| Exquisite Flowerpot (Medium) | 2 | $50 | $25 | 1.2× | none |
| Fertilized Flowerpot (Small) | 1 | $30 | $30 | 1.3× | none |
| Hydroponic Station (Large) | 4 | $150 | $37.5 | 1.5× | −6 |
Two things fall out of that table immediately.
Size is not a discount, except once. The standard flowerpots cost exactly $10 per cell whether you buy the one-cell or the four-cell version, so there is no reason to prefer either on price. The Clay Flowerpot is the exception: its small version costs more per cell than its medium and large ones.
3 planters are beaten outright by another planter, same cells or more, no worse on growth, no worse on any of the three risks, no more power, and cheaper per cell. There is no situation in which buying one of these is right.
| Do not buy | $/cell | Buy instead | $/cell |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Flowerpot (Small) | $15 | Clay Flowerpot (Medium) | $12.5 |
| Plant Grow Box (Medium) | $25 | Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Medium) | $20 |
| Plant Grow Box (Large) | $25 | Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Large) | $20 |
What the risk controls are worth
The three risks are pests, weeds and drying out. Every crop carries the same chance of each, and the planter is the only thing that reduces them.
| Planter | Pests | Weeds | Drying | Premium per cell |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay Flowerpot (Medium) | 20% | 20% | 0% | $2.50 |
| Clay Flowerpot (Large) | 20% | 20% | 0% | $2.50 |
| Clay Flowerpot (Small) | 20% | 20% | 0% | $5.00 |
| Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Small) | 20% | 20% | 0% | $10.00 |
| Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Medium) | 20% | 20% | 0% | $10.00 |
| Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Large) | 20% | 20% | 0% | $10.00 |
| Weed-Resistant Flowerpot (Large) | 0% | 80% | 0% | $10.00 |
| Plant Grow Box (Small) | 20% | 20% | 0% | $15.00 |
| Plant Grow Box (Medium) | 20% | 20% | 0% | $15.00 |
| Plant Grow Box (Large) | 20% | 20% | 0% | $15.00 |
| Pest-Resistant Flowerpot (Medium) | 80% | 0% | 0% | $15.00 |
| Exquisite Flowerpot (Medium) | 20% | 0% | 0% | $15.00 |
| Hydroponic Station (Large) | 100% | 100% | 100% | $27.50 |
Clay Flowerpot (Medium) Package Furniture Packages 2000 g 2×2 cells Keeps indefinitely is the cheapest protection in the game. It costs $2.50 a cell more than a bare pot, takes 20% off pests and 20% off weeds, adds 1 heat, and needs no power at all. If you are buying pots during the prep window and do not yet know whether you will have electricity, buy these.
The specialised pots go further on one risk and nothing on the others. They are worth it only if you know which risk is costing you harvests, which you will not know on a first run.
What growth speed is actually worth
A planter that grows crops faster is worth more Satiety per cell per day, and that is the figure a planter should be judged on rather than its price.
| Planter | $/cell | Growth | Sat/cell/day | Cells for a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Small Flowerpot | $10 | 1× | 3.38 | 15 |
| Exquisite Flowerpot (Medium) | $25 | 1.2× | 4.06 | 12 |
| Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Small) | $20 | 1.3× | 4.39 | 11 |
| Hydroponic Station (Large) | $37.5 | 1.5× | 5.07 | 10 |
That is the real argument for the expensive pots: they do not just grow faster, they need 5 fewer cells of room to feed you. Planter space is the thing farming is actually short of, so buying speed buys space.
Some planters make their own weather
Every comparison above assumes the crop takes whatever light and warmth the room gives it. Four planters supply their own light and 10 supply their own warmth, which changes what the forecast can do to them.
| Planter | Price | Light | Warmth | Left in a blackout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant Grow Box (Small) | $25 | +2 | +1 | +1 warmth |
| Plant Grow Box (Medium) | $50 | +2 | +1 | +1 warmth |
| Plant Grow Box (Large) | $100 | +2 | +1 | +1 warmth |
| Hydroponic Station (Large) | $150 | +2 | +2 | nothing |
| Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Small) | $20 | none | +2 | +1 warmth |
| Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Medium) | $40 | none | +2 | +1 warmth |
| Temperature-Stable Grow Box (Large) | $80 | none | +2 | +1 warmth |
| Clay Flowerpot (Small) | $15 | none | +1 | +1 warmth |
| Clay Flowerpot (Medium) | $25 | none | +1 | +1 warmth |
| Clay Flowerpot (Large) | $50 | none | +1 | +1 warmth |
The last column is the one to read. A grow box loses its light when the power goes and keeps its warmth; a temperature-stable box loses most of its warmth and has no light to lose. Plant Grow Box (Small) Package Furniture Packages 1000 g 2×2 cells Keeps indefinitely lights its own crop, which means the days the schedule takes the light away stop mattering to whatever is in it. It only does that with power, so a blackout costs you the crop and the light together.
Which crop goes in it is the other half of the decision, and what to plant ranks them by what a pot cell returns a day.
The clay pots are the other shape: 1 of warmth, no power needed, no light. They are the ones that keep working when nothing else does.
Power changes the shortlist
| Planter | $/cell | Growth | Pests | Weeds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fertilized Flowerpot (Small) | $30 | 1.3× | 0% | 0% |
| Exquisite Flowerpot (Medium) | $25 | 1.2× | 20% | 0% |
| Standard Small Flowerpot | $10 | 1× | 0% | 0% |
| Standard Medium Flowerpot | $10 | 1× | 0% | 0% |
| Standard Large Flowerpot | $10 | 1× | 0% | 0% |
| Clay Flowerpot (Medium) | $12.5 | 1× | 20% | 20% |
| Clay Flowerpot (Large) | $12.5 | 1× | 20% | 20% |
| Clay Flowerpot (Small) | $15 | 1× | 20% | 20% |
| Weed-Resistant Flowerpot (Large) | $20 | 1× | 0% | 80% |
| Pest-Resistant Flowerpot (Medium) | $25 | 1× | 80% | 0% |
A powered planter stops working when the power does. Before you commit to one, read what it takes to keep the lights on, the fastest-growing planter draws 6 power continuously, and a blackout with your crops in it is worse than a slower pot.
What to do
- Buy Clay Flowerpot (Medium) Package Furniture Packages 2000 g 2×2 cells Keeps indefinitely for a first planting. It is $2.50 a cell over bare pots for real protection and it never needs power.
- Never buy a planter from the beaten list above. Another pot does the same job for less.
- Buy the largest version of whatever pot you settle on, except the Clay Flowerpot, where the small one is the only size that is poor value.
- Move to Hydroponic Station (Large) Package Furniture Packages 2000 g 2×2 cells Keeps indefinitely once you have power to spare. It removes all three risks and cuts the cells you need from 15 to 10.
- Compare every pot yourself in the equipment list, and pick what to put in them from the crops list.
Quick reference
- Cheapest cells: Standard Small Flowerpot, $10 per cell, no power.
- Cheapest protection: Clay Flowerpot (Medium), $2.50 a cell more, no power.
- Fastest growth: Hydroponic Station (Large), 1.5×, all three risks removed, 6 power.
- A day of food takes 15 bare cells or 10 in the best pot.
- Never buy: Clay Flowerpot (Small), Plant Grow Box (Medium), Plant Grow Box (Large).
- Every crop carries the same pest, weed and drying risk. The pot and your Farming level are what change it; Farming alone reaches 40% at level 5.