When I first booted up No Man’s Sky a few years ago, I spent weeks hopping from planet to planet scrounging for copper and ferrite dust just to keep my exosuit running. I’d waste hours chasing rare elements only to run out of fuel mid-search, and I could never save up enough units to buy the S-class freighter I’d had my eye on. All that changed once I figured out how to farm in no man's sky, and I haven’t had to scramble for basic resources since. Farming lets you cut out the randomness of exploration, set up steady supply chains for every material you need, and even generate passive income while you’re off chasing alien ruins or completing missions. This guide breaks down every step you need to know, from picking your first farm location to scaling up to a multi-planet operation that covers all your needs.
Pick the Right Planet for Your First Farm
The first step to a successful farm is picking a planet that doesn’t make the process harder than it has to be. I once tried to set up my first farm on a stormy frozen planet, and I burned through 10 stacks of oxygen just running back and forth between planters before I gave up and moved to a nicer world. Don’t make that same mistake. Temperate, grassy planets with no toxic or radioactive atmospheres are best for beginners, as they let you work on your farm without constantly draining your hazard protection reserves.
Before you place down a base computer, check the planet’s resource list in your analysis visor to make sure the basic elements you want to farm first are abundant. You don’t want to set up a carbon farm on a barren rock with barely any plant life, after all. If you plan to farm specific rare crops later, you can set up smaller outposts on biomes that support them, but stick to low-hassle planets for your first main farm. If you stumble on a planet with activated indium deposits, save that spot for an endgame profit farm, but don’t jump into that until you have a stable base setup.
How to Farm in No Man’s Sky: Core Setup Steps for New Players
You don’t need a ton of rare blueprints or millions of units to start farming. First, complete the early “Awakening” mission line until you unlock the base computer blueprint. That’s your ticket to claiming a permanent plot of land on any planet you want. Place your base computer in a flat, open area, so you have plenty of room to expand your farm later without having to move your entire base.
Next, head to the Space Anomaly and visit the construction research terminal to unlock hydroponic tray and basic planter blueprints. You don’t need to spend tons of nanites on advanced farm parts at first – basic wooden planters work fine for most common crops, and they cost almost no resources to build. If you’re growing crops that match the planet’s biome, you can even plant them directly in the ground without any planters at all to save materials.
Once you have your planters set up, you’ll need crop seeds. You can get most common seeds by harvesting wild plants on the planet you’re based on, or you can buy them from space station agricultural vendors for a small amount of units. Most basic crops take 15 to 30 minutes of real time to grow, so you can go run a quick side mission or explore a nearby moon while you wait for them to mature. My first farm was just 10 wooden planters right next to my base computer, and it was enough to cover all my carbon and ferrite needs for months.
Best Crops to Farm for Every Playstyle
Not all crops are created equal, and the best ones for you depend entirely on what you want to get out of your farm. You don’t have to grow every single crop available if you only care about earning units, for example. Pick 1 to 2 crops to start with, then expand your selection as you need more materials for crafting or upgrades.
- For new players needing basic resources: Farm carbon and star bulb first. Carbon is used for almost every crafting recipe, from fuel to base building parts, and star bulbs sell for a decent amount of units early on without requiring special growing conditions. You can even plant both directly in the ground on most temperate planets, so you don’t need to waste resources on hydroponic trays at first.
- For players looking to earn fast units: Grow frost crystal, solanium, or activated indium. Frost crystal and solanium are core ingredients for stasis devices, which sell for millions of units each when fully crafted. Activated indium requires mineral extractors instead of planters, but you can sell it directly for high profits with almost no processing work required.
- For players focused on crafting and base building: Prioritize gamma root, cactus flesh, and mordite. These are key ingredients for advanced construction materials, exosuit upgrades, and starship enhancements that cut down on grinding later. You can grow all three in hydroponic trays on any planet, so you don’t have to set up separate outposts for each if you don’t want to.
If you play with friends, you can split up farm duties to cover all these crops at once, so no one has to run multiple biomes alone. Just make sure everyone has access to the base computer, so they can harvest and plant crops even when the host is offline. I run a shared farm with two of my friends, and we have more stasis devices and resources than we could ever use at this point.
Common Mistakes to Avoid With Your NMS Farm
I’ve messed up enough farms over the years to know what pitfalls to watch out for, and these are the most common mistakes I see new players make all the time. First, don't build your farm too close to a planetary boundary or hazard zone. I made this mistake once, and half my farm got erased when I logged back in after a mission because the game didn’t render the far edge of my base correctly. Stick to open, flat areas well away from cliffs, storm spawn points, or planetary edges.
Second, don’t forget to add power to your hydroponic trays and extractors. If they’re not connected to a generator or solar panel array, they won’t grow or produce resources at all, and you’ll waste hours waiting for crops that never mature. I recommend pairing solar panels with battery storage for new farms, so they keep running even when the planet is on the dark side of its sun.
Third, don’t overspend on rare crop blueprints or extractors before you have a stable supply of basic resources. I see a lot of new players dump all their nanites into activated indium extractors first, then run out of carbon to fuel their base and have to start over. Start small, get your basic resource supply sorted, then scale up to higher profit crops as you go. Another mistake I see all the time is players planting too many different crops at once before they have their power setup sorted. Stick to 1 or 2 crop types first, master the growing cycle, then add more as you expand your power grid.
Farming doesn’t have to be a boring, grindy task in No Man’s Sky. Once you get the hang of it, it’s one of the most rewarding parts of the game, letting you spend less time scavenging for basic materials and more time doing the parts of the game you actually enjoy, like exploring uncharted planets or tackling community missions. If you’ve been struggling to keep up with resource demands or earn enough units for your dream ship, take an hour to set up a small basic farm first. You’ll be shocked at how much easier the entire game gets once you know how to farm in no man's sky. Start small, experiment with different crops, and scale up as you unlock more blueprints – there’s no wrong way to build a farm that works for your playstyle.
