Barley

Overview

Barley is one of the staple crops of Egypt. Harvested raw, it can be cooked in a Grain Oven to make roasted barley (light, medium, dark or burnt). It can be turned into Malt, and the malt can itself be cooked similarly. Malted barley is a primary ingredient in Beer.

It is grown from Barley (Raw) using water and Grain Fertilizer, and (optionally) Weed Killer, yielding more Barley (raw).

Once you have grown and harvested 1000 barley, you become eligible to grow barley as one of your Offline Chores.

Uses

• Cooking
• Placed on a Malting Tray to make Malt (Raw).
• Feed for Chickens

Cultivation

Barley is grown using Barley (Raw), water, Grain Fertilizer and Weed Killer, and requires you to know the Barley Cultivation technology. New citizens may obtain a starter packet of 4 raw barley from any University of Worship where Barley Cultivation has been unlocked.

• 50 Grain Fertilizer = 1 Carp, 5 Water in Jugs, and 5 Wood in a Kettle.
• 50 Weed Killer = 1 Toad Skin mushroom, 5 Water in Jugs, and 5 Wood in a Kettle.

NOTE: Weed killer is not strictly necessary for growing barley, and some cultivation strategies ignore it.

General Information

Plant a barley patch on grassy terrain. Barley patches have controls to add water, fertilizer, and weed killer, and meters indicating the current level of each.

• Water, fertilizer, and weed killer levels will all drop as time passes.
• When water and fertilizer are high, the barley will grow rapidly.
• When water and fertilizer are low, the barley will die back.
• Weed killer has no effect on the pace of growth.

Barley may be harvested at any time.

• If the patch does not display as "Ready to Harvest", it will yield between 0 and 5 barley, depending on the presence of weeds and how much the barley has been allowed to grow.
• "Ready to Harvest" patches will yield 10 barley.
• In order for a barley patch to achieve "Ready to Harvest" status, it must have reached a certain level of growth and be entirely free of weeds.

NOTE: A barley patch which is "Ready for Harvest" will die 20 minutes later if left unharvested.

Weeds

As barley grows, it is subject to attack by three varieties of weed. These appear randomly and, when present, prevent a barley field from reaching maturity. More than one type of weed may be present simultaneously. A field with weeds can be harvested, but the barley yield is less than one without.

Weeds thrive and remain in a field until killed. Unlike flax weeds, barley weeds cannot simply be yanked out of the ground; they must be made to die off by manipulating the level of water, fertilizer, and weedkiller in the field.

• Weed #1 is thin and spiky. It thrives on fertilizer and is immune to weedkiller. To get rid of it, stop adding fertilizer. The weed will disappear when the fertilizer level gets low enough. Water and weedkiller neither help nor harm the weed.

• Weed #2 is yellow with small leaves. It thrives on water. To get rid of it, start adding weedkiller and stop adding water. The weed will disappear when water is low enough and weedkiller is high enough. The fertilizer level has no effect.

• Weed #3 is green with a white puffball on top. It thrives on fertilizer. To get rid of it, start adding weedkiller and stop adding fertilizer. The weed will vanish when fertilizer is low enough and weedkiller is high enough. The water level does not affect it.

If your goal is to grow a barley field to completion, you will devote a lot of time to fighting weeds. Occasionally a lucky field will make it to maturity without a single weed, but these are rare. More often you will have to watch your barley closely and manage the levels in order to keep your barley healthy, while cutting back on those ingredients that feed the weeds. A field may suffer multiple weed attacks before it reaches maturity. Patience and a good supply of weedkiller are required of the devoted barley farmer.

Harvesting Methods

Using Water, Fertilizer and Weed Killer

Text

Using Water and Fertilizer

Plant the barley, immediately add 1 water and 1 fertilizer. Add 1 of each every other tick, and if weeds appear, immediately harvest the bed and plant a new one. While you won't get many grown to full harvest, this usually ends up netting about 4-5 barley per field.

Using Water Only

It is possible to raise barley (albeit slowly) with no fertilizer or weedkiller. Simply plant the barley field, water it to the max level, and keep it fully watered. Ignore any weeds that appear. When you see the number of stalks increase, harvest. You should end up with 2 barley per field (net gain of 1 raw barley) if there are weeds, or 3 barley if weed-free.