People say its useless cause they think they have to stand there watching them. I use super compost and get on with the game, stopping by 2 or 3 times a day to harvest and replant, and I very rarely hvae dead crops. I also use the flowers wich help. My patch in Catherby has nastriums, and combined with super compost, I have never had any watermelons die on me. My farming is 53 wich isnt that bad, but not that good. It is my highest ranking skill on the highscores. Also, the herbs and 2nd ingrediants you can grow bring in big bux if you sell them to pot makers. Also, baked potatoes (even though the butter takes FOREVER to make) can heal ALOT of damge, so being able to grow sweetcorn its a big plus.