How to be a Rich Farmer on the Facebook Game Farmville

Being a farmer takes a lot of time, dedication and patience. You need to sow, watch the crops grow and then finally harvest. It does not happen overnight of course. Nowadays, however, more people are rediscovering the pleasure of reconnecting with nature and enjoying the gifts of the land. It all happens today on Farmville, the new video game that is attracting millions of players across the globe courtesy of Facebook.

On the virtual farm in Farmville, crops get to grow quite quickly. You get to cultivate strawberries, raspberries, rice, eggplants, wheat, soy beans, pumpkins and much more. However, as any well respected farmer, you must be pretty consistent. In other words, you must follow through or you will find a dry, miserable field. This is therefore, a game for those that have sufficient time to spare. You cannot plant strawberries and leave for a full day of work. If you work full time, your best choice is choosing something that matures slowly so you will not have any unpleasant surprises.

So here you have it... below are some of Farmville's best kept secrets..

• For quick profits the best choice are rasberries which mature in as little as two hours gaining you some good 46 coins. Blueberries may take a little longer but the wait is surely worth it as they will ultimately make you gain 91 coins. Other good choices are strawberries which mature in four hours allowing you to gain 35 coins.
• Raising farm animals such as chickens, cows and sheep, may be fun, but ultimately, will not make you much rich. However, the advantage is that unlike crops they do not go bad and will not need much care.
• Growing trees as well will not make you rich but they will be there for you without wilting. For instance, growing cherry trees takes two days for a mere gain of 18 coins, apple trees take three days for 28 coins and lime trees take 5 days for 75 coins.
• If you are looking for making some cash, you may visit a neighbor and lend a hand by cleaning up the weeds, raking up leaves or scaring crows away. You gain some extra coins and hands on experience this way.
• Bigger fields of course, will allow you to plant more, therefore will be much more profitable. However, in order to accomplish this you need to have several friends (called neighbors). For instance you need to have at least eight neighbors to expand the farm to a 14x14 lot, or better, 10 neighbors will give you a 16x16 lot. Of course, the more neighbors, the bigger land you may own, therefore the higher the profits.
• Purchasing buildings allows you to get faster to the next level and therefore, progress in the game. However, ultimately, they will just sit there and not bring any profits.
• Another way to gain some coins is by visiting your Facebook homepage and checking if any of your friends have recently won any ribbons. Here you will have the option of getting a bonus from them. The better the ribbon the more coins you will get.

As seen, just as in real life, farming can be a passionate hobby but it requires lots of time and dedication. However, just as the real farming profession, you must use astute strategies in order the gain the most out of your crop.