OSRS Farming Guide 1-99: The Ultimate Guide to Tree & Herb Runs | Tons of XP Blog

Grow your way to 99 with our OSRS Farming guide. We cover the fastest way (tree runs), the most profitable method (herb runs), and the best Ironman path.

Published on: August 22, 2025 by Tons of XP Team

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OSRS Farming Guide 1-99: The Ultimate Guide to Tree & Herb Runs

Farming is a unique skill in Old School RuneScape. Unlike others that require active grinding, Farming is a "real-time" skill that involves planting seeds and coming back hours later to harvest your crops. It's a skill based on routine and can be either the most expensive or one of the most profitable skills in the game.

This guide covers the core concepts of Farming, including the fastest path via tree runs, the most profitable path via herb runs, and the essential strategies for Ironmen.

The Core Concept: Farming Runs

Efficient Farming training is all about creating a routine. A "run" involves teleporting to the various farming patches across Gielinor, harvesting your crops, and replanting for the next cycle.

The Fastest Path to 99: Tree Runs

This method is all about maximizing your XP per day. It is incredibly expensive but requires the least amount of active playtime.

Method: The strategy is to plant the highest-level regular trees and fruit trees you can access. These trees take a long time to grow but provide enormous XP drops upon checking their health.
The Run: About once or twice a day, you will do a "tree run" to all the regular tree and fruit tree patches.
Progression:
- Regular Trees: Oak -> Willow -> Maple -> Yew -> Magic Trees
- Fruit Trees: Apple -> Banana -> Orange -> Curry -> Pineapple -> Papaya -> Palm -> Dragonfruit Trees
The Cost: You will need to buy saplings from the Grand Exchange, which can cost hundreds of thousands of GP each for high-level trees. The total cost to 99 is hundreds of millions, but the time investment is only about 15-20 minutes per day.

The Profitable Path to 99: Herb Runs

This is the money-making backbone of the Farming skill. It provides less XP than tree runs but will significantly increase your cash stack.

Method: Every 80 minutes, you can do an "herb run." Teleport to the herb patches, harvest your valuable herbs, and replant.
What to Plant:
- Ranarr Weed: A consistent and popular choice for Prayer Potions.
- Toadflax: Used for Saradomin Brews.
- Snapdragon: Used for Super Restore Potions.
Profit: A good herb run can easily net you 100k-200k profit for just five minutes of work. Doing this consistently throughout the day makes Farming one of the best passive money-makers in OSRS.

Essential Unlocks and Activities

Magic Secateurs: A reward from the Fairytale I quest. When wielded, they increase the yield from your crops. This is a mandatory item.
Bottomless Compost Bucket: A reward from the Hespori boss. It stores 10,000 uses of compost, saving huge amounts of inventory space.
Farming Guild & Contracts: At 45 Farming, you gain access to the Farming Guild. Doing Farming Contracts here is highly recommended. They will provide you with seed packs, which are the primary way to sustainably get high-level seeds for profitable herb runs.

Ironman Farming Strategy: The Herblore Lifeline

For Ironmen, Farming is not optional. It is the only way to train Herblore. The entire skill is built around gathering seeds and turning them into potions.

Seed Gathering is Priority #1:
- Thieving Master Farmers: This is your main source of early-to-mid game seeds.
- Slayer: Many monsters drop seed packs and specific seeds.
- Farming Contracts: This is the most important activity. As soon as you can, you should be constantly doing contracts. The seed packs they provide are the key to sustaining your herb runs and tree runs.
The Routine: Your life as an Ironman will revolve around a simple loop:
1. Do Farming Contracts to get seeds.
2. Do bird house runs to get tree seeds.
3. Use these seeds to do regular herb, tree, and fruit tree runs.
4. The herbs you harvest will directly fuel your Herblore training. The trees will get your Farming level up to unlock better contracts and crops.

Conclusion

Farming is a skill that rewards consistency. For mains, it offers a clear choice: spend big on tree runs for the fastest XP, or make big profits with herb runs. For Ironmen, it is the fundamental skill that enables Herblore and, by extension, all high-level PvM. Master your daily runs, and you will reap the rewards.

Don't have the routine for daily runs? We can cultivate your account for you.

→ OSRS Farming Services
→ Learn about the Bird House Runs that provide valuable seeds

Frequently Asked Questions

+What is the fastest way to get 99 Farming?

The fastest method is doing regular tree and fruit tree runs. Planting the highest-level trees you can (like Magic and Dragonfruit trees) provides massive XP drops. This method is extremely expensive but requires only a few minutes of activity every few hours.

+How do you make money from Farming?

The most consistent money-maker is doing herb runs. Planting valuable herbs like Ranarr, Toadflax, or Snapdragon every 80 minutes can yield hundreds of thousands of GP in profit for just a few minutes of work. It's one of the best passive money-makers in the game.

+What are Tithe Farm and Farming Contracts?

Tithe Farm is a minigame offering fast, active Farming XP but no profit. Farming Contracts, from the Farming Guild, are tasks to grow specific crops. They are highly recommended as they provide valuable seed packs, which is the main way to sustain high-level seeds for herb runs.

+How do Ironmen train Farming?

Ironmen are completely reliant on Farming for Herblore supplies. The core gameplay loop is doing Farming Contracts to get seeds, then using those seeds on herb runs. Thieving Master Farmers is the primary way to get the initial seeds needed to start this loop.