The smells of the various tavern meals, simple meals by the campfire, foods by one’s own hearth, all of these would not be possible without the skills and bounties given by the various farms, fields, and plant racks now found throughout the areas of Sanctuary and the surrounding environs. For the longest time, the only method was toiling into the ground for long periods of time outside, with the threat of both the weather and various hostile creatures of all forms attacking one’s work and potentially stealing the bounties therein. Doing this method was also almost a form of art in itself. The methods needed to shift the ground and manipulate the flow of water that would feed the ground and ultimately produce the foods that would be gathered had a tendency to bring about both relief for finally completing the task, and a type of pride in the amount of quality plant products that could be grown. Often higher-quality plants were the result of the farmer’s long-term endeavors. Recently, a newer and quicker technique has been introduced, and is rapidly spreading in both knowledge and use throughout the lands. Called Hydroponics, this uses a tiered wooden tower of sorts, each tier able to hold several vials of planted flowers, each with a mixture of water and other nutrients inside each of the slots on these towers. Given time to develop and grow, the plants given can be both plentiful in each of these towers, but has a tendency to be of the more-common variety of plant collected. This may be due to the condensed area used for the plants to spread and take seed here, as opposed to the wider lands available to the older technique. The advantages of each can be adapted based on the individual’s needs, spaces, and preferred techniques in growing. The yields in plants for each are the same, and can easily be applied for anything from cooking to alchemy use, to crafting magical inks, even some uses for the magical gems that are becoming more and more commonplace now, as the flow of crafting materials has grown considerably over the past year or so. Regardless of the farmer’s choice, these bounties are still plentiful and can only help all as the various towns and communities grow in the future. Until next time, the smells from the hearth of the local inn I am currently residing at call to me.
-Archer’s Quill