Alchemy Factory fertilizer and nursery guide (1.1)

A Nursery (Level IV) grows herbs on its own. The in-game manual says you choose the seed in its panel and the seed is not used up, fertilizer goes in by hand or by belt, and the fertilizer decides how fast herbs come out. The game lists one belt input and one output.

Every fertilizer shows two numbers in-game:

• Nutrient Value, in V (Vita): the nutrients one unit holds. Basic Fertilizer holds 144 V.
• Maximum Fertility, in V/s: the most a Nursery can draw from it per second. Basic Fertilizer gives 12 V/s, so one unit lasts 12 seconds at full speed.

Each herb has a nutrient need, shown in-game as Growth Required Nutrient. It ranges from 24 V for Flax to 6,000 V for Gentian.

The rule players worked out

The game doesn't spell out the formula, but players measured it during early access, in several threads from December 2025 (nutrient value (opens in a new tab), how many nurseries (opens in a new tab), Advanced Fertilizer (opens in a new tab)) and they agree:

1. The Nursery draws nutrients at the fertilizer's Maximum Fertility.
2. Each herb it grows uses up the herb's nutrient need. Players measured the need per herb, not per harvest.
3. Herbs per minute = Maximum Fertility × 60 ÷ need, but never more than the belt speed (60 a minute without upgrades).
4. Fertilizer per minute = herbs per minute × need ÷ Nutrient Value.

Example: Redcurrant needs 144 V. On Basic Fertilizer (12 V/s) that is 12 × 60 ÷ 144 = 5 Redcurrant a minute, using 5 Basic Fertilizer. On Advanced Fertilizer (144 V/s) it is 60 a minute, exactly the belt speed, using 12 Advanced Fertilizer.

Those posts are older than 1.0, but with the values in version 1.1.5023 the rule still gives exactly what players posted: Flax at 30 a minute on Basic Fertilizer, using 5 of it a minute; Redcurrant at 5 a minute on Basic Fertilizer and 60 on Advanced Fertilizer; and three nurseries per Basic Fertilizer Assembler.

Five items work as fertilizer. Each step up the ladder has a higher Maximum Fertility, so it can grow herbs faster. The Per Nursery column is how many units one Nursery uses a minute at full fertility, which by players' rule is the same for every herb below the belt limit.

Some of them have other jobs, so feeding them to a Nursery costs something:

• Growth Potion: the main quest for Level VII asks for 100 and it sells for 12241 silver 224 copper.
• Fertile Catalyst: it is also a catalyst and the shop won't buy it, but a Dispatch Portal contract pays 6060 silver for 20.
• Panacea Potion: the main quest for Level IX asks for 100, it sells for 3030 silver and it is also a fuel (320,000 heat).

The profit table shows what the sellable ones earn instead.

Herbs a minute for one Nursery at base speed, by players' rule. “belt” marks a Nursery the fertilizer could run faster, held to the belt speed of 60 a minute.

This is why players' estimates of how much better Advanced Fertilizer is vary so much (Reddit (opens in a new tab), Steam (opens in a new tab)). Its fertility is 12 times Basic Fertilizer's, but cheap herbs reach the belt limit first: Flax goes from 30 to 60 a minute (twice), Sage goes from 20 to 60 a minute (three times) and Redcurrant goes from 5 to 60 a minute (12 times).

The first fertilizer that fills a base-speed belt is Advanced Fertilizer for Flax, Sage and Redcurrant; Growth Potion for Chamomile and Lavender; Fertile Catalyst for Gentian. Anything faster only pays off once your belts are faster (see Upgrades).

One Assembler of Basic Fertilizer keeps three nurseries running, whatever they grow. It makes 15 a minute, and a Nursery on Basic Fertilizer uses 5 a minute, since no herb reaches the belt limit on it. The table does the same sum for the first three fertilizers: one machine's output divided by what one Nursery uses.

For Redcurrant, Chamomile, Lavender and Gentian, Advanced Fertilizer feeds fewer nurseries per machine because each one grows faster. Flax and Sage hit the belt limit on it and use less of it, so one machine feeds more of those. Per herb it goes further: with 5 times Basic Fertilizer's Nutrient Value, one Assembler of it supports 75 Redcurrant a minute, against 15 from one of Basic Fertilizer.

Basic Fertilizer is assembled from Plant Ash (made from Sage in a Crucible) and Quicklime Powder (ground in a Grinder). One Assembler makes 15 a minute and takes 15 Sage a minute through its Plant Ash. A Sage Nursery on Basic Fertilizer grows 20 a minute, so one of the line's own nurseries can grow its Sage, leaving two for other herbs, as players do (Steam thread (opens in a new tab)). Crucibles need heat: the heat and fuel guide explains how much.

Advanced Fertilizer adds one Gloom Fungus to each Basic Fertilizer. One Assembler of it takes 15 Basic Fertilizer a minute, the whole output of one Basic Fertilizer Assembler, plus 15 Gloom Fungus: 2.5 Table Saws cutting Rotten Logs (buyable from Level V), with Planks as a side product.

Growth Potion, Fertile Catalyst and Panacea Potion are made in an Advanced Blender (10, 7.5 and 10 a minute), and none of them uses Basic Fertilizer or Advanced Fertilizer. The planner gives machine counts for any of these lines.

• Fertilizer Efficiency adds 10% Fertilizer Nutrient Value per level for 12 levels, then 10% per repeatable level. Players report it doesn't change Maximum Fertility (Steam thread (opens in a new tab)), so herbs grow just as fast but each unit lasts longer. At level 5 a Growth Potion holds 9,720 V instead of 6,480 (players sometimes quote this upgraded figure, Steam thread (opens in a new tab)), and a Nursery on Basic Fertilizer uses 3.33 a minute instead of 5: one Assembler then feeds 4.5.
• Logistics Efficiency adds 15 items a minute to every belt per level for 12 levels, then 3 per repeatable level. Players found a Nursery's output stops at the belt speed (Steam thread (opens in a new tab); a player says the same after 1.0 on Reddit (opens in a new tab)), so faster belts help only where the fertilizer allows more. On Advanced Fertilizer, Flax could reach 360 a minute and Sage could reach 240 a minute, while Redcurrant stays at 60.
• Factory Efficiency (Device Production Speed): reports differ. Some players saw a Nursery grow faster and use fertilizer faster with it (nutrient value thread (opens in a new tab), upgrades thread (opens in a new tab)); another saw no change from it alone, only together with faster belts (same upgrades thread). All of these are early-access reports. The tables here assume no upgrades.

Every level is in the upgrade list.

A Seed Plot comes earlier (Level II, built from 8 Stone) and needs no fertilizer. Each planting uses one seed and gives a fixed harvest after a fixed time; you harvest it by hand, and speed upgrades don't change the growth time. The in-game manual adds that herbs keep growing while you sleep.

A Nursery (Level IV, built from 8 Iron Ingot and 4 Clay) keeps its seed and runs from belts. Averaged over its growth time, a Seed Plot of Flax or Sage gives the same as a Nursery on Basic Fertilizer: 30 Flax and 20 Sage a minute. From Redcurrant on, the Seed Plot is ahead: it averages 12.5 Redcurrant a minute against 5 in a Nursery on Basic Fertilizer. Even against Advanced Fertilizer, a Seed Plot of Lavender or Gentian grows more; they need a faster fertilizer.

The World Tree Nursery (Level VIII) is a 9×9×10 Nursery that grows a World Tree. It is built from 1 World Tree Seed, 100 Clay and 100 Iron Ingot; the World Tree Seed alone costs 5050 gold. The in-game description says it consumes fertilizer at a set rate, and the game lists nine belt inputs and one output.

Its panel shows the tree's growth stage (Sapling, Mature, Max Size), the nutrients the next stage needs and how fast it is consuming them. The game lists no recipe for World Tree Leaf or World Tree Core; players reported before 1.0 that the tree yields Leaves once Mature, and Cores as well at Max Size (Steam thread (opens in a new tab)).

Leaves go into Aqua Vitae and Fairy Dust, and through Aqua Vitae into every Panacea Potion. Cores go into Sol, 5 per Sol, and the main quest for Level X asks for 1 Sol.