There are plenty of crops available in Project Zomboid for players who want to make self-sustaining characters who don’t need grocery stores. Crops are any growable vegetable or fruit. When it comes to surviving in the long term in Project Zomboid, growing and catching your own food is extremely important. After the fresh food in stores rots and canned food supplies run out, you’ll either need to grow your own food or let your character starve.
There are some crops that are simply better than others. Mostly due to a few factors such as how much hunger the food gets rid of when eaten and how fast they grow.
From the seven crops currently available in Project Zomboid, there are a top five that all players who are serious about their survival should grow: cabbage, potato, tomato, broccoli, and carrots.
1) Cabbage
When trying to decide the best of the best crops, the spot for number one was a close call between cabbage and potato, but ultimately cabbage is the winner!
Cabbages have a couple factors that make them the best crop in Project Zomboid. The first being just how nutritious and filling they are! Fresh cabbage by itself will lower your character’s hunger by twenty-five and thirst by fifteen. When cabbage is added to other foods like salads or stew, it will add fifteen nutrition to the food. The second factor is how long it takes to grow cabbage. Cabbage only takes ten days in-game until it can be harvested, which is the lowest growing time for all the crops!
It’s important to keep in mind that cabbage has a minimum water requirement in order to grow healthily, which is 85 units of water. Once cabbage is harvested it should be quickly moved into a freezer for storage, since it only takes two days for it to get stale, and an additional two days to rot.
Why it’s a great crop:
- Only takes ten days to grow
- Requires nine seeds
- It takes away twenty-four hunger
- Removes fifteen thirst
- Adds fifteen nutrition when tossed into food
- Can be used in traps to attract rabbits
2) Potatoes
The very close second for best Project Zomboid crop is the potato! These starchy veggies are another must have crop.
Potatoes take longer to grow than cabbage and are less filling when eaten by themselves, which is why they’re placed after cabbages, despite being a favorite among many players. Of course, potatoes do have tons of benefits though, and are placed number two for a reason! Potatoes will remove eighteen hunger, and seven water. Potatoes really shine when they’re added to other foods, like soups, since they add a whopping eighteen nutrition.
Some things to keep in mind for growing potatoes is that they require a minimum of sixty-five units of water. Potatoes will need to grow for twenty days before players can harvest them. They will get stale after fourteen days, and rot after another fourteen days. Growing potatoes will require four seeds per tile.
Why it’s a great crop:
- Take twenty days to grow
- Require four seeds
- Take away eighteen hunger
- Remove seven thirst
- Add eighteen nutrients to other foods
3) Tomatoes
Another great crop is the tomato! Which is one of the two available fruits that players can grow in Project Zomboid.
Tomatoes take the longest to grow out of any other crop on this list, taking a grueling twenty-four days. When eaten by themselves, tomatoes will lower hunger by twelve, and thirst by fifteen. When added to other foods, tomatoes are still fantastic, adding twelve nutrition.
When it comes to water requirements, tomatoes are a bit more needy than potatoes, needing at least seventy-five units of water. They only take four days to go stale, and eight additional days to rot.
Why it’s a great crop:
- Take twenty-four days to grow
- Require four seeds per tile
- Lower hunger by twelve
- Remove fifteen thirst
- Add twelve nutrition to other foods
- Can be used as bait in traps for rabbits, rats, and mice
4) Broccoli
Coming in at fourth is broccoli!
Broccoli is another high growing time, taking twenty-three days to grow. Though it’s pretty decent for hunger and thirst, lowering them by nine and four respectively. But since it takes so long to grow, you’ll be much better off growing a more fulfilling crop. Broccoli also adds nine nutrition to any food it’s tossed into.
When it comes to water, broccoli isn’t very needy, only requiring seventy units of water. Broccoli takes four days to go stale, and six more days to completely rot.
Why it’s a great crop:
- Take twenty-three days to grow
- Require six seeds per tile
- Reduce hunger by nine
- Lower thirst by four
- Add nine nutrition to other foods
5) Carrots
The last crop in the top five has to be carrots. Carrots may be better than strawberries and radishes, but it’s more annoying to grow and give fewer benefits than the previous crops on the list. Though they are useful for trapping, since they’ll attract rabbits.
Carrots only take ten days to grow, which is a real benefit to growing them if you’re really low on food. But, carrots only reduce hunger by eight and thirst by four. Carrots also only add eight to nutrition of other foods.
Out of the other crops, carrots are the most picky about water. Carrots will require between thirty-five and eighty-five units of water. They also use a whopping twelve seeds per tile! But they take six days to get stale and eight days to rot.
Why it’s a great crop:
- Take ten days to grow
- Require twelve seeds per tile
- Reduce hunger by eight
- Reduce thirst by four
- Add eight nutrition to foods
- Can be used as bait in traps to catch rabbits
