I want to applaud all the hard work that players have put into their guides, spreadsheets, and charts, and I've downloaded all I can find. I've read the getting started guides and have looked through the charts. I've only played the Free hour, and want to buy the game, but I'm kind of intimidated by those same charts and spreadsheets. I'm just hoping that they will make more sense to me after I've played for a while.

I understand that it's best to start out growing self-pollinated common plants until I have enough money for better soil. Right? How important is decorating the nursery? I'm nervous that I won't really know what to do after that point.

Already, I can't figure out how to tell when 24 hours has elapsed and it's time to water again. Is there a clock I'm not seeing? Is that 24 normal hours and fewer fast hours?

How does one "discover" a new or magic plant? Does that mean discover it as a breeding result, or as a seed in the store?

I'd appreciate some encouragement so I don't talk myself out of buying the game. I really like the collecting and breeding aspects of the game, and was looking for something like this!

Thank you.

it isn't hard if you click on the plant it has the water gauge in the verticle word WATER....when it gets down around the e-r you should water again.....as for the magic plants you can breed them or sometimes get lucky with a seed from the store....the chart in the virtual seed tray can tell you what plants you need to have to breed any of the plants magic or not. There is no sure fire answer to what you should do on that score...if a plant can't survive in the soil you are using its health will drop but you can usually self pollinate it harvest the seeds and sell it before it becomes to unhealthy to sell than just store the seed til you have better soil....the fixing up of the nursery mainly just attracts more visitors. it is usually the last thing i do i get the seed trays, better soil and water, nippers than the nets first in that order. when you upgrade something in the nursery you don't have to select a spot it goes to where it belongs all you do is spend the money to do it buy it and it is placed for you. So don't be afraid of the game just have fun. and grow and sell the plants. Don't let the charts and spreadsheets scare you. you don't need them to play the game it just makes breeding the different plants easier.

I bought the game more than a year ago and only just discovered all the spreadsheets and stuff. At first I just had fun cross breeding at random then decided to keep track in a notebook. I'm actually trying to find as many plants as possible and I figure I'll find the magic plants along the way.
Don't worry about the spreadsheets at first or decorating the nursery, just enjoy the game and play how you want to. That is one of the great things about this game there's not one right way to play.

Is the Virtual Seed Tray something I would need to get at the beginning, or can I play a while and then get the VST?

You don't need anything but the basic game to start playing. Don't worry about the Virtual Seed tray for now, you don't need it to start. The game comes with three seed trays you can buy. I've played for a couple of years now, found all of the "magic plants" and I don't have a virtual seed tray. It's a really fun game I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

My son who is almost 4 loves playing this game. We just have to make sure he doesn't delete our users, lol.

I just played it tonight, and it was delightful, but boy did I run out of seed space fast. Guess I don't need to pollinate every plant, heh. I wish the name of the plant were displayed from the moment it's planted to the moment it sells.

My first love died yesterday, and this gentle game saw me through a few difficult hours. The music is wonderful.