{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/rpg-grind--crop-cycles","type":"mechanic","id":"rpg-grind--crop-cycles","lang":"en","title":"Crop cultivation","summary":"Seeds, care and time become a harvest. The player plans plantings, tends the plots and chooses when to harvest within seasonal limits.","updatedAt":"2026-10-21","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/rpg-grind--crop-cycles/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--crop-cycles.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--crop-cycles.md","aliases":["Growing crops"],"tags":["RPG grinding","Gathering and production"],"sourceIds":["source-5f6cb2e78b518764"],"sources":[{"id":"source-5f6cb2e78b518764","title":"Stardew Valley","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/Stardew_Valley/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Planting, tending and harvesting form a recurring cycle converting seeds and time into produce."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"crop-cycles-options\"></a>\n\n- Grow crops for recipes. <a id=\"crop-cycles-option-1\"></a>\n- Rotate plantings for steady yield. <a id=\"crop-cycles-option-2\"></a>\n- Select seeds for the next harvest. <a id=\"crop-cycles-option-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"The player alternates fast herbs and slow fruit crops for different orders."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A systematic RPG grind reference: 110 mechanics and 330 variants in 18 sections. Four layers answer different questions: what the player repeats, what develops, how rewards arrive and what constrains the loop. It covers single-player RPGs, ARPGs, MMORPGs and adjacent management and accumulation systems. Every mechanic has an explanation, variants and a hypothetical example; coverage, combinations and verified game observations follow the catalog."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"rpg-grind","id":"crop-cycles","title":"RPG grinding","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/rpg-grind/#crop-cycles","categoryIds":["resources-production"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-21","title":"Growing crops","description":"Seeds, care and time become a harvest. The player plans plantings, tends the plots and chooses when to harvest within seasonal limits.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/stardew-valley-crops.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"crop":{"x":180,"y":300,"width":825,"height":488},"game":"Stardew Valley","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/Stardew_Valley/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/413150/ss_a3ddf22cda3bd722df77dbdd58dbec393906b654.1920x1080.jpg?t=1786554168","credit":"ConcernedApe","rights":"© ConcernedApe. All rights reserved.","caption":"Plots with crops at different stages","alt":"Stardew Valley: young sprouts and more developed crops grow beside each other on a farm protected by scarecrows.","markers":[{"x":49,"y":51,"label":"Young crops need time and care"},{"x":61,"y":55,"label":"A more developed crop approaches harvest"}]},"tips":["Show the growth time before seeds are purchased.","Make mature crops distinct from intermediate growth stages."],"examples":[{"title":"Stardew Valley","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/Stardew_Valley/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial RPG grind taxonomy authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and expanded to cover activities, progression goals, reward rules and constraints. All original thirty family/branch/variant identities are preserved. Official developer and publisher sources support only the specifically described released-game observations; design variants and scenarios are hypothetical.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/rpg-grind"}}