OSRS Farming Guide 1–99: Tree Runs, Herb Runs and Profit

Why Farming 1–99 Still Matters

Bils Services offers hand-done Farming training if you would rather outsource the grind. This article stays educational first — use the service link only if it fits your plan.

We have not put XP per hour or supply costs in this guide. Farming rates move whenever Jagex adjusts a method, and the cost of the farming supplies below moves with the Grand Exchange — a frozen number here would mislead you into budgeting the wrong bank. The OSRS Wiki carries live figures.

Farming 1–99 Level Path

Farming breaks into 5 stages between level 1 and 99. Start at "1–15: quest XP + early allotments" and read the list as a default rather than a rule — if your goal is tree runs rather than profit, the later stages are where you should deviate.

1. 1–15: quest XP + early allotments
2. Herb runs: start as soon as you can and never stop
3. Tree runs: oaks → willows → maples → yews → magic → redwood
4. Fruit trees + hardwoods for big XP chunks
5. Tithe Farm for intensive XP when you want a session grind

Tools, Secateurs and the Outfit

Farming is the most tool-dependent skill on this list, and two of those tools change your actual output rather than just letting you interact with a patch.

Magic secateurs are the single upgrade worth detouring for, because a 10% better yield chance compounds across every herb patch on every run for the rest of the account's life.

Leave the tools with a tool leprechaun rather than your bank. Gricoller's can stores in the watering can slot, so a herb run needs no inventory space for equipment at all.

Fastest XP Methods

Paying for tree runs (buying saplings) is the fast casual 99 method.

Tithe Farm is the focused XP minigame route.

Ultracompost + magic secateurs + diary bonuses are not optional optimisations — they are the method.

Cheapest / Budget Approach

Herb runs fund the skill and the account.

Attas / iaia / other anima seeds and contracts change profit — learn Farming Guild.

Cheap tree runs use lower trees longer; time is the hidden cost.

AFK & Lower-Intensity Options

Farming is the ultimate passive skill: 5–10 minute runs scattered through the day.

You do not “sit at Farming” for 6 hours unless Tithe.

Set phone timers for herb runs if you are serious.

Practical Tips That Actually Matter

• Bottomless compost bucket is a top QoL purchase.
• Quest XP (Fairy Tale, etc.) skips painful early Farming.
• Seed vault organisation saves more time than people admit.

Ironman Notes

Farming is the single highest-leverage skill on an Ironman because it is the input to Herblore, and Herblore is the input to every serious PvM trip. Herb runs done twice a day for a few weeks change what content your account can attempt.

The XP is close to a side effect. Treat Farming as infrastructure: unlock the patches, get the run efficient, and let the level arrive on its own while the herbs pile up.

When Paid Training Makes Sense

The case for buying Farming rests on what it is blocking. The cost of a gathering skill is hours rather than gold. Worth buying if those hours are the only thing between you and the content you actually log in for; not worth buying if you find the rhythm of it relaxing, which plenty of people genuinely do.

If you do order it, the thing to specify is the route as well as the level range: tree runs and herb runs and profit are different jobs on this skill, with different timelines and different supply bills for the same 99. Our Farming page lists what we need from you, and the work is played rather than botted.

FAQ

Only herb runs to 99?

Possible over a long time, but tree runs dramatically cut calendar time.

Are magic trees worth it?

For XP yes if you can afford saplings; for profit, herbs usually win.

Final Takeaway

Browse Farming training, more skill guides, or the full blog for related progression help.