Does anyone use the gourmet training earned garden plot without a black lion garden plot?

[blp.3489]

After earning the home garden plot from the gourmet training achievement I started looking at how to use it. It seems like it is limited to growing varietal plants, and that you need to salvage/compost tons of food in order to make the seed pouch, which only provides one gathering before you are back to scratch. It seems to be pretty useless without the Black Lion garden plot that provides a large variety of perpetual seed pouches for free. So, does anyone actually use the achievement garden plot without having the BL plot? If so, what do you do with it?

[keenedge.9675]

The seed vendor for non ascended plants is unlocked with a purchase of at least one BL plot.

Sadly, growing Ascended plants is still not cost-effective. I think people ignore the comparitively LARGE cost of compost.

[Linken.6345]

@blp.3489 said:After earning the home garden plot from the gourmet training achievement I started looking at how to use it. It seems like it is limited to growing varietal plants, and that you need to salvage/compost tons of food in order to make the seed pouch, which only provides one gathering before you are back to scratch. It seems to be pretty useless without the Black Lion garden plot that provides a large variety of perpetual seed pouches for free. So, does anyone actually use the achievement garden plot without having the BL plot? If so, what do you do with it?

You dont get a merchant were you can buy basic seeds?I got the gemstore ones before the cooking quest was in the game so already had a seed merchant.

[DaFishBob.6518]

@Linken.6345 said:

@blp.3489 said:After earning the home garden plot from the gourmet training achievement I started looking at how to use it. It seems like it is limited to growing varietal plants, and that you need to salvage/compost tons of food in order to make the seed pouch, which only provides one gathering before you are back to scratch. It seems to be pretty useless without the Black Lion garden plot that provides a large variety of perpetual seed pouches for free. So, does anyone actually use the achievement garden plot without having the BL plot? If so, what do you do with it?

You dont get a merchant were you can buy basic seeds?I got the gemstore ones before the cooking quest was in the game so already had a seed merchant.

You get a merchant but the merchant will not sell any basic seeds.

[blp.3489]

@"keenedge.9675" said:The seed vendor for non ascended plants is unlocked with a purchase of at least one BL plot.

Sadly, growing Ascended plants is still not cost-effective. I think people ignore the comparatively LARGE cost of compost.

And on top of that the BL plot is only available a few times a year.

I'm not sure why the felt they had to make this so expensive, with the needed ascended ingots and planks, heat stones, and required 5g purchases, if the end result is so useless. I guess you do end up with the additional crafting level, and I was finally able to get rid of all the junk food that came out of the prior leveling process. And I've got something to do with the stack of ghost strawberries I've accumulated. Who thought "10% magic find while under the effect of a boon" was anything but trash anyway?

Oh well, live and learn. Anyone thinking of doing this achievement look carefully at the costs and benefits before doing so.

[Danikat.8537]

I think the main benefit is supposed to be the ability to craft ascended food. The garden plot, crafting station in your home instance and the other stuff you get from it are just bonuses.

Of course, like all ascended crafting, how useful that is varies. I know someone who raids regularly who crafts ascended food for every raid, so she uses it a lot. Of course she raids with a static group and provides food for all of them, so the other people in the group don't need to use it (they do help with the cost/materials) and I think WvW players use it a lot too. But if you're not doing things where ascended food is worthwhile it's probably not worth levelling up cooking beyond 400 either.

[Epsilon Indi.2031]

@keenedge.9675 said:The seed vendor for non ascended plants is unlocked with a purchase of at least one BL plot.

Sadly, growing Ascended plants is still not cost-effective. I think people ignore the comparitively LARGE cost of compost.

Until you discover that a lot of what you can salvage into the stuff you need can be made almost entirely with ingredients bought with karma or for coppers. Sometimes you can just outright buy food items for karma that salvage into blue/green nourishment. Right now, during Halloween, there's a plethora of cheap food coming out of the ToT bags that can salvage into green/yellow rarity nourishment. For exotic, there's coffee.