How farming works with crops and vegetables in Animal Crossing

If you've been diving into Animal Crossing: New Horizons update 2.0 and you're wondering how to get vegetables and crops in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, we're here to help. The latest update lets us really live out our agricultural dreams with the introduction of tomatoes, potatoes, and more. While the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Halloween season gave us a taster with pumpkin starts, we can now transform our islands into our very own little farms and use the crops to serve up some tasty Animal Crossing: New Horizons cooking recipes.

So, once you've got your overalls on and your watering can at the ready, take a look through our helpful guide on how Animal Crossing: New Horizons farming works - including how to get vegetables and crops, what to do to help your farm thrive, and other useful tips.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons farming crops

With different vegetables and crops to grow, you have to make some on your island to plant some lovely little produce patches. Along with the pumpkins we already have in the game, you can see a full list of the crops you can get and grow in Animal Crossing: New Horizons below:

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Tomatoes
Potatoes
Carrots
Sugarcane
Wheat

How to get Animal Crossing: New Horizons vegetables and crop starts

Animal Crossing: New Horizons farming — (Image credit: Nintendo)

Our Sloth friend Leif now sells produce starts in addition to the seeds and shrubs he usually sells. Not unlike pumpkin starts, you can buy vegetables and crops individually or in bulks of five. All of the new crop starts sell for 280 Bells individually, and for 1,400 Bells in bulk.

You'll be able to purchase crop and vegetable starts from Leif when he visits your island and sets up his stall, but you can also open up his shop on Harv's island to be able to get your hands on more produce daily. The groovy dog now has a place for all of the familiar faces to set up shop, which is great news for those of us who can't wait for a certain vendor to pay a visit.

If you hop on a plane to Harv's island at the airport, you can then donate 100,000 bells to fund a "botany expert with the greenest thumbs". Bear in mind that you can only open one shop through a donation each day, so go for Leif's first if you want to get to more vegetables and crops. The next day, Leif's store will open and you can purchase your veggies to start up your little farm. Leif will usually have two different varieties of crop starts in stock.

With the arrival Animal Crossing: New Horizons Kapp'n boat tours, you can head to different islands for the price of 1000 Nook miles. While you can only go on a tour once per day, you have the chance of finding an island with some of the new crop starts that you can dig up and take back with you. So when you set sail, be sure to look out for any vegetables or crops that may be growing.

How to look after your farm in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

With all of the new fence designs you can get your hands on in the update, you really can make a lovely little farming space on your island to plant down your crops. When it comes to helping your farms thrive, though, it's naturally good to water your crops each day. As Leif explains, the new produce starts work in much the same way as pumpkins. They will still grow even if you leave them alone, which is great during busy periods when you don't have much time to hop onto your island and tend to your produce. But, if you want a "big and happy harvest", it's best to try and water them daily so you can have the best harvest possible. If you water your crops every day for three days, you'll grow three crops per plant rather than one, so it's definitely worth it.

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Heather Wald is the Evergreen Editor, Games at GamesRadar+. Her writing career began on a student-led magazine at Bath Spa University, where she earned a BA (Hons) in English literature. Heather landed her first role writing about tech and games for Stuff Magazine shortly after graduating with an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University. Now with almost seven years of experience working with GamesRadar+ on the features team, Heather helps to develop, maintain, and expand the evergreen features that exist on the site for games, as well as spearhead the Indie Spotlight series. You'll also see her contribute op-eds, interview-led features, and more. In her spare time, you'll likely find Heather tucking into RPGs and indie games, reading romance novels, and drinking lots of tea.