FarmVille English Countryside Cheats and Tips: Farming on new land

We know, you've been inundated with news about the first FarmVille expansion, English Countryside (EC). But don't worry, as this information will be far more useful to you than a minute-long trailer (though, it is kind of cool). So, you've arrived in England and now it's time to begin farming, but much has changed since your days in ... wherever your original farm is located. Join us behind the break for some pointers on farming in the English Countryside.

1. Brand New Crops to Master
Of course, we all know that this new farm will have brand new crops to master, but which exactly. So far, we know of a few crops that will be exclusive to English Countryside:

    Red Currents
    Hops
    Foxglove
    Barley
    Turnips
    Radish
    Pink Asters


If you hadn't already noticed, many of these new crops are normally used in brewing beers and wine making. This is because the Pub will be a brand new building in EC. While it's not 100 percent certain that we will be crafting beers and wines, I'm willing to bet on it based on these exclusive crops. Speaking of which ...

Mastery everywhere!
2. Mastery Bonuses Aplenty!
Zynga treated Mastery in FarmVille EC with a laser focus. Apparently the soil in England is much richer than wherever your original farm was, meaning that crops will be much easier to master. Just like the notifications you receive for crop bushels while harvesting crops now, pop-ups will appear notifying you of bonus Mastery points when harvesting in EC.

3. Trees can Grow Anywhere
Of course, there will be new trees to grow in EC with a brand new Orchard that can be repaired using the same materials used to build the original like Boards, Nails and Bricks. While these trees will only grow in England initially, the Mystery Seedlings they provide will appear in your Gift Box, which will be linked between both games. That said, it's your choice whether to grow that seed in England or on the old farm.

English Buildings and Vehicles
4. Repairing this Old n' Busted Farm
When you arrive in England, the farm you will come to know and love will be in tatters. It's up to you to fix these buildings and vehicles if a.) You want Sheep to breed, drinks to brew or Horses to stable, and b.) You want to help the good folks of EC. Thankfully, it's a fairly simple process: All of the buildings in EC use the same building materials as those in the original. So, start stacking up on Special Delivery Boxes--about 100 would be good to start with. Of course, your friends will be there to help as well.

5.The Market has Remained Sacred
Thankfully, Zynga has refrained from making any jarring changes to the Market in EC. This means that both games' Markets will be nearly identical. Well, except for the contents given that many FarmVille EC items are exclusive.

[Source and Final Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]

Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.

Have you prepared for farming on the English Countryside? What other tips might you have for preparing to farm in this new environment?

FarmVille Chardonnay and Zinfandel crops finally released to farmers

After one heck of a wait, Zynga has finally launched the Zinfandel and Chardonnay crops in FarmVille. If these crops sound vaguely familiar, that's because we've been waiting for them for well over a year. Don't believe me? Check out our sneak peek of the crops from March of 2010. Yeah, I told you it was a long time ago. At least their release makes some sense now, as what better way to introduce two winery themed crops than during the Vineyard limited edition item theme.

Fortunately, neither of these crops are limited edition, but you do have to master other crops before you can grow them. For Zinfandel, you first must master the original Grapes crop, and for Chardonnay, you must have mastered White Grapes. If you haven't completed either of those tasks, you've got... well, forever to do so. Once you've unlock these crops, you'll find the following stats waiting for you:

Chardonnay

    Costs: 200 coins per square
    Growing Time: 10 hours
    XP Gained: 2 XP per square
    Harvest for: 315 coins per square
    Mastery: 1,500 - 3,000 - 4,500 harvests


Zinfandel

    Costs: 50 coins per square
    Growing Time: 1 day
    XP Gained: 3 XP per square
    Harvests for: 250 coins
    Mastery: 500 - 1,000 - 1,500 harvests


Again, neither of these crops are marked as being limited edition in the store, so just put them on the back-burner for now, if you're more interested in mastering the new Super Crops, or simply don't have access to planting them right now due to their previous mastery requirements. They'll be there waiting for you when you're ready.

Are you shocked to see these two crops finally released into FarmVille? Will you immediately work on mastering them, or will you wait until you master some other crops first?