Överblick
Everything you need to know about gardening in The Sims 4.
Gardening skill overview
Like all skills in The Sims 4, leveling up unlocks new interactions for your Sims.- Level 1: the base level that lets you buy all Starter Seed Packets and perform basic plant interactions.
- Level 2: Your Sim can research gardening on the computer, which helps them gain more skill. The Water area and Evolve interactions are unlocked.
- Level 3: your Sim can fertilize plants, and their Fun Moodlet increases while gardening.
- Level 4: The Talk to plants and Harvest area interactions are unlocked. Talking to plants will also boost your Sim’s social moodlet.
- Level 5: The Take cutting and Graft interactions are unlocked. Your Sim can now buy all Seasonal Seed Packets.
- Level 6: the Weed area interaction is unlocked.
- Level 7: The Spray area for bugs interaction is unlocked. Your Sim can now buy three new seed packets: Uncommon Seeds, Farmer Veggies & Herbs, and Farmer Fruits & Flowers.
- Level 8: Your Sim can now regrow a Bonsai Tree to reshape it, and the Super sell interaction is unlocked. This lets your Sim sell multiple crops at once instead of in separate interactions.
- Level 9: The Tend garden interaction is unlocked. This makes looking after your garden much faster.
- Level 10: your Sim can now buy Rare Seed Packets.
Are you a gardening pro? Download our gardening checklists to keep track of which seeds and plants you’ve collected and grafted:
How to garden in The Sims 4
Gardening is one of the many skills included in The Sims 4 Base Game. Your Sim can expand on their gardening skill through Game Packs, Stuff Packs, Expansion Packs, and Kits. To get started with gardening in The Sims, you’ll need somewhere for your Sim to begin planting.In The Sims 4 Base Game, you need to buy a Garden Pot or Garden Planter Box from Build Mode. If you own The Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion Pack, you can buy a Garden Patch, and in The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle Expansion Pack, you can buy a Vertical Garden.
Where to get seeds
Now that you have somewhere for your Sim to plant, you’ll need to buy some seeds.How to buy seeds
- From a Garden Pot, Garden Planter Box, Vertical Garden, or Garden Patch: select it, then Purchase Seeds.
- Using a computer: select the computer and Purchase Seeds.
- Using a phone: Select the phone icon in the bottom left of Live Mode, then choose the Shopping app on your Sim’s phone. Select Purchase Gifts and a pop-up menu will appear. Using the filter at the top left, choose Gardening.
You can buy individual fruits, flowers, vegetables, and seed packets from stalls in certain worlds, as well as Build Mode in the Outdoor Activities section. You can also harvest fruits, flowers, and vegetables from plants you see around the world and plant them as seeds.
Once your Sim buys seeds
Your seed packets will appear in your Sim’s inventory. Before they can begin planting, open the seed packets to see what’s inside.- 1Open your Sim’s inventory, choose the seed packet, and select Open Seed Packet. The fruits, flowers, and vegetables included in the packet will appear in your Sim’s inventory.
- 2Select and drag the plants to where you want to plant them.
- 3Once you’ve placed the plant, select it and choose Plant.

What’s included in each seed packet?
When you purchase seeds, it won’t say what’s included in each seed packet. Here’s an overview of what you can expect to find.- Starter Flowers: Bluebells, Chrysanthemum, Holly
- Starter Fruits: Apple, Grapes, Plantain
- Starter Growfruit: Growfruit
- Starter Herbs: Basil, Parsley Sage
- Starter Vegetables: Bell Pepper, Carrot, Green Pea, Mushroom, Spinach, Taro Root
- Farmer Flowers and Fruit: Apple, Bluebells, Chrysanthemum, Daisy, Grapes, Holly, Plantain, Strawberry
- Farmer Veggies and Herbs: Basil, Bell Pepper, Carrot, Green Pea, Mushroom, Parsley, Sage, Spinach, Taro Root
- Rare Plants: Angry Magic Bean, Confident Magic Bean, Cow Berry, Dragon Fruit, Death Flower, Flirty Magic Bean, Growfruit, Orchid, Playful Magic Bean, Pomegranate, Sad Magic Bean, Uncomfortable Magic Bean, Bird of Paradise
- Uncommon Plants: Blackberry, Bonsai Buds, Cherry, Lily, Rose, Spinach, Tomato, Trash Fruit, Avocado, Black Beans, Christmas Rose, Snowdrop, Coconut, Pineapple, Taro Root
- Catnip Herb Packet: Catnip, Madnip, Napip, Nuzzlenip
- Seasonal Fall Plants: Apple, Rose, Crocus, Holly, Lemon, Onion, Pear, Potato, Snow Drop, Spinach
- Seasonal Spring Plants: Bluebell, Carrot, Crocus, Daisy, Green Pea, Lemon, Rose, Snapdragon, Strawberry, Tulip
- Seasonal Summer Plants: Basil, Begonia, Bell Pepper, Blackberry, Cherry, Green Pea, Lemon, Lily, Plantain
- Seasonal Winter Plants: Christmas Rose, Crocus, Holly, Lemon, Onion, Pear, Snow Drop
- Pack of Bizarre Seeds: Bizarre Fruit
- Garlic Seeds: Garlic
- Plasma Fruit Seeds: Plasma
- Sizam Mosquito Trap Seeds: Sixam Trap Mosquito
- Wolfsbane Seeds: Wolfsbane

- Burtie’s Bee Box: in The Sims 4 Seasons Expansion Pack, buy Burtie’s Bee Box in Build Mode so bees can pollinate your plants.
- Patchy the Straw Man: In The Sims 4 Seasons Expansion Pack, buy Patchy in Build Mode. Sims can talk to Patchy and build a relationship. Once the relationship level hits Friend, Patchy will help your Sim with gardening tasks.
- Sheep and mini goats: in The Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack, your Sim’s sheep and mini goats can help care for plants by eating the weeds and bugs around the crops.
- Golden chickens: in The Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion Pack having a golden chicken enhances nearby plants to improve their quality.
- Enchant your plants: If you own The Sims 4 Enchanted by Nature Expansion Pack, Fairy Dust can reduce plant maintenance.
- Garden gnomes: If you own The Sims 4 Enchanted by Nature Expansion Pack, bring a gnome to life to help with garden chores. Read our Gnome guide for more info.
How to buy fertilizer
Fertilizing your plants in The Sims 4 is a great way to improve their quality. If you own The Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion Pack, fertilizer can also help increase the size of your oversized crops. You can’t fertilize plants until you reach Level 3 of the gardening skill.Here’s how to get fertilizer.- Buy it: You can buy fertilizer the same way you buy seeds, by selecting a grow patch or container, and choosing Purchase Fertilizer. You can also buy it at the gardening stall in the main square of Henford-on-Badgley.
- Using plants in your inventory: Your Sim can also fertilize plants with produce they have in their inventory. For example, if they harvested lots of Spinach, you can choose that to fertilize your other plants with.
- Gather it:
- In The Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion Pack: your Sim will gather fertilizer when clearing out the barn after a cow or llama.
- In The Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack: your Sim can gather horse manure to use as fertilizer, or ask the Ranch Hands to collect it for them.
When do plants grow in The Sims 4?
In The Sims 4 Base Game, there’s no limit to when you can grow certain plants. If you own The Sims 4 Seasons Expansion Pack, you can only grow certain plants in specific seasons.Take a look at the table below to see which plants grow when, as well as what plants come with specific Game, Stuff, and Expansion Packs.| Plant | Season | ||
| Apple | Fall | ||
| Basil | Summer, Fall | ||
| Bird of Paradise | Spring, Summer | ||
| Blackberry | Summer | ||
| Bluebell | Spring, Summer | ||
| Bonsai Buds | All seasons | ||
| Carrot | Spring, Fall | ||
| Cherry | Summer | ||
| Chrysanthemum | Summer, Fall | ||
| Cow Berry | All seasons | ||
| Daisy | Spring | ||
| Death Flower | Winter | ||
| Dragonfruit | Fall | ||
| Forbidden Fruit of the PlantSim | All seasons | ||
| Grape | Fall | ||
| Growfruit | All seasons | ||
| Lemon | All seasons | ||
| Lily | Summer | ||
| Mushroom | Spring, Fall | ||
| Onion | Fall, Winter | ||
| Parsley | Spring, Summer | ||
| Pear | Fall, Winter | ||
| Plantain | Summer | ||
| Pomegranate | Winter | ||
| Potato | Winter | ||
| Rose | Spring, Fall | ||
| Sage | All seasons | ||
| Snapdragon | Spring, Fall | ||
| Spinach | Winter | ||
| Strawberry | Spring | ||
| Tomato | Summer | ||
| Trash Fruit | All seasons | ||
| Tulip | Spring | ||
| U.F.O (Unidentified Fruit Object) | Fall | ||
| Wolfsbane | All seasons |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Catnip | All seasons | ||
| Madnip | All seasons | ||
| Napnip | All seasons | ||
| Nuzzlenip | All seasons |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Blueberry | Summer | ||
| Charming Mushroom | All seasons | ||
| Chocoberry | All seasons | ||
| Lovely Mushroom | Spring, Fall | ||
| Mysterious Mushroom | Spring, Summer | ||
| Nightly Mushroom | Winter | ||
| Raspberry | Fall | ||
| Spicy Mushroom | Winter | ||
| Verdant Mushroom | All seasons | ||
| Wild Mushroom | All seasons |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Soy Plant | Summer, Fall |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Fang Flower | Spring | ||
| Glow Orb | Winter | ||
| Quill Fruit | Summer |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Coconut | Spring, Summer | ||
| Kava Root | Spring, Summer | ||
| Pineapple | Spring, Summer | ||
| Taro Root | Spring, Summer |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Moody Shrub | All seasons | ||
| Lightning Root | All seasons | ||
| Aura Blossom | All seasons |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Avocado | All seasons | ||
| Blackbean | Summer, Fall | ||
| Cereberry | All seasons | ||
| Flutterberry | All seasons | ||
| Gutsberry | All seasons | ||
| Merry Berry | All seasons | ||
| Museberry | All seasons | ||
| Razzleberry | All seasons | ||
| Vimberry | All seasons |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Chamomile | Summer | ||
| Elderberry | Summer, Fall | ||
| False Morel Mushroom | Spring, Summer | ||
| Fireleaf | Spring, Summer | ||
| Huckleberry | Summer, Fall | ||
| Morel Mushroom | Spring, Summer | ||
| Muckleberry | Summer, Fall | ||
| Noxious Elderberry | Summer, Fall | ||
| Poison Fireleaf | Spring, Summer | ||
| Toxic Chamomile | Summer |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Mandrake | Summer, Fall | ||
| Valerian Root | Spring, Fall |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Begonia | Summer, Fall | ||
| Christmas Rose | Winter | ||
| Crocus | Winter, Spring | ||
| Dahlia | Fall | ||
| Greenbean | Summer, Fall | ||
| Green Peas | Spring | ||
| Holly | Fall, Winter | ||
| Money Fruit | All seasons | ||
| Snowdrop | Winter |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Bizarre Fruit | All seasons |
| Plant | Season | ||
| Garlic | All seasons | ||
| Plasma Fruit | All seasons | ||
| Sixam Mosquito Trap | All seasons |
Can plants grow out of season?
With The Sims 4 Seasons Expansion Pack installed, your game will include different seasons throughout the year, which impact which plants you can grow when. You can still grow plants out of season by placing them under any roof, covering, or greenhousePlanting oversized crops in The Sims 4
Oversized crops, which are included in The Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion Pack, are a different kind of harvestable. They can be grown in all seasons and differ in size when they’re fully grown based on how well they’ve been cared for.Oversized crops include:- Aubergine
- Lettuce
- Mushroom
- Pumpkin
- Watermelon.

How to graft in The Sims 4
Grafting is when your Sim takes a cutting from a plant and grafts it to another plant. Doing this creates a unique plant that you can’t buy seeds for. Your Sim will only be able to start taking cuttings and grafting once they reach Level 5 of the gardening skill.- 1To take a cutting, select a plant and choose the Take a cutting interaction.
- 2The cutting will appear in your Sim’s inventory. Hover over a cutting to see which type of plant it was taken from.
- 3To graft this cutting onto another plant, select a plant and choose the Graft interaction. This will bring up options to choose a cutting to graft from your Sim’s inventory.
- Plantain: graft Pear to Lemon.
- Parsley: graft Sage to Basil.
- Grape: graft Bluebell to Strawberry.
- Bird of Paradise: graft Tulip to Chrysanthemum.
- Bonsai Bud: graft Rose to Grape, or graft Daisy to Strawberry.
- Pomegranate: graft Cherry to Apple.
- Dragonfruit: graft Snapdragon to Strawberry.
- Cow Berry: graft Dragonfruit to Snapdragon.
- Orchid: graft Lily to Snapdragon.
- Death Flower: graft Pomegranate to Orchid.
How to turn your Sim into a PlantSim
- 1Have your Sim reach Level 10 of the gardening skill. With Level 10 unlocked, you can buy rare seed packets using the computer, or in Build Mode.
- 2Each rare seed packet contains one Magic Bean. When you have six Magic Beans, your Sim can plant them in the Magic PlantSim Stump.
- Buy the Magic PlantSim Stump in Build Mode.
- 3After watering, the Mystical Magic Bean Portal Tree will grow from the Stump, and your Sim can travel through the portal.
- 4When your Sim returns with the Forbidden Fruit of the PlantSim , they can eat it and turn into a PlantSim. It can take multiple tries for your Sim to get the Forbidden Fruit.
- Their hunger moodlet will no longer fill by eating regular food. Instead, it fills up when they’re in the sun or you choose the Absorbing solar energy interaction on plants.
- Their bladder moodlet gets replaced with a water moodlet, which they can fill by showering, bathing, or drinking water.
