Tiny Eden Soil and NPK Helper

Open this page beside Tiny Eden when a pot tooltip looks like a chemistry quiz. The game already prints recipes such as compost 0.0/6 and sand 0.0/4. This helper explains the words. It does not replace the plant card. If the card and this chart disagree after a patch, the card wins.

For the grow loop around these numbers, read how to grow. For which crops deserve the mix, use the plant tier list.

Soil components (FAQ)

The official FAQ lists seven agricultural parts:

Component	What it is doing in the pot
Compost	Nutrients and organic body
Sand	Drainage and aeration
Clay	Water and mineral retention
Perlite	Extra air space, lighter mix
Coco coir	Holds water without as much compaction
Peat	Acidity and water holding (use only if the card asks)
Secret ingredient	Studio joke with a real slot — wait for the card

Early plants often want compost + sand only. Later plants add clay and the specialty media. Fill to the target, then stop. Extra sand makes a drought. Extra clay makes a swamp. Extra compost is not “more food”; it changes structure.

Physical parameters the FAQ also tracks: aeration, water permeability, retention, acidity. You do not type pH by hand. You change it by changing the mix and by using the right room. Balcony vs indoor vs roof is climate, covered in how to expand.

NPK in plain language

NPK is not the soil mix. It is the three-number fertiliser code on a real bottle, for example 5-7-5.

Letter	Full name	Plant job	When the game nags you
N	Nitrogen	Leaves, chlorophyll	Yellowing, slow leaf growth
P	Phosphorus	Roots	Weak establishment, poor transplant recovery
K	Potassium	Water pressure, cell health	Stress, poor fruiting

Each Tiny Eden plant eats these at a different rate. A notification names the low nutrient on that pot. Do not spray the whole windowsill. Fertiliser types in the FAQ: pellet, liquid, aerosol. Start with the smallest dose that clears the warning. Over-fertiliser deaths are intended.

Safe feeding order

1. Mix the structural recipe (compost/sand/clay/etc.) to the card.
2. Plant.
3. Water to the plant’s need, not always 100%. Controls cover the watering interact.
4. Wait for a named N, P, or K warning.
5. Apply one modest dose of the matching fertiliser.
6. Wait a day on the 60:1 clock before stacking another bottle.

If the card also says “incorrect potting mix,” you have a structure problem, not an NPK problem. Dumping nitrogen on a sand-starved tomato will not save it. Demo HUDs have shown strawberries screaming about low micronutrients, low N, low P, low K, and a wrong mix at once. Fix the mix first.

Companion planting and shared soil

Tomato + basil can share a deep container because roots occupy different layers. Cabbage + tomato share hunger and both lose. Shared NPK is why that matters. Two heavy feeders in one 16 L pot will race to the first death notification. Split them. See how to grow for the root-depth explanation.

Worked example: first strawberry

1. Look at the strawberry card.
2. If it wants compost 6 / sand 4, fill those bars and nothing else.
3. Place it on a bright sill. Light is not NPK.
4. Water when the HUD says underwatered (Left Alt on the notification layer in demo builds).
5. Harvest into the kitchen. Strawberries are S-tier on the plant tier list because this loop is short.

Worked example: first tomato — same mix discipline, but buy the next pot the same day the card mentions volume. The pot size chart is the sister tool.

What this helper will not guess

Exact 1.0 gram weights, secret-ingredient identity, and every species’ private NPK curve. Those belong in the encyclopedia tab. This page exists so you remember that N is leaves, P is roots, K is stress, and that compost is not a licence to ignore sand.

Practice in the demo while soil bags are cheap. Launch week is a bad time to discover aerosol fertiliser on a 0.5 L nursery cup.