Herb Runs — Highest GP Per Active Minute
Herb patches grow in about 80 minutes. A full route across every unlocked patch takes 5–10 minutes of clicking. Profit is (herbs harvested × GE price) − seed − compost, with yield from the wiki Farming formula (level, compost, magic secateurs, diaries). Recalculate whenever seed or herb prices move — ranarr is not always king.
Skip if: you will not unlock teleports/patches, or you skip runs for days — dead patches earn nothing and rot your average.
GE variance; patch count & herb choice
Every ~80 minutes of growth
Quests, diaries, Farming Guild, Colosseum
Seed level gates what you plant
RequirementsHard gates
- Farming level for the herb seed you plant (e.g. ranarr 32, toadflax 38, snapdragon 62, torstol 85)
- Herb seeds + ultracompost (or bottomless compost bucket charged)
- Spade; seed dibber unless Barbarian Farming unlocked
- Access to at least a few patches — more patches = more GP per timer
Recommended (yield & route)
- Magic secateurs (Fairytale I — start / progress) — +10% yield while worn
- Disease-free patches: Troll Stronghold (My Arm's Big Adventure), Weiss (Making Friends with My Arm), Harmony (Elite Morytania), Hosidius (Easy Kourend & Kebos), Fortis (16k Colosseum glory)
- Farming Guild herb patch at 65 Farming
- Teleports: ectophial, skills necklace / farming cape, stony/icy basalt, Catherby, Ardougne cloak, etc. — see the full herb runs guide
- Tool leprechaun noting; anima patch attas seed for long-term yield if you use the guild
Route / MethodPick one fixed teleport order covering every patch you own. Do not improvise mid-run. Example high-level skeleton (adjust to unlocks):
- Check herb run calculator / GE Tracker: which seed has best EV after compost?
- Withdraw seeds, ultracompost/bottomless, magic secateurs, teleports, runes for any spell teleports.
- Per patch: rake if needed → harvest → note herbs with leprechaun → ultracompost → plant seed → move on. Gardeners cannot protect herb patches — ultracompost + disease-free unlocks are the whole disease plan.
- Hit disease-free patches every run — they are the most reliable herbs.
- Bank. Set an ~80-minute timer. Stack a birdhouse run on the same alarm when possible (birdhouses guide).
Yield uses the wiki herb harvest formula (Farming level, compost tier, magic secateurs, diary bonuses). Do not invent averages — plug prices into the calculator.
Inputs & costs- Buy: herb seeds, volcanic ash / compost materials if you make ultracompost, teleport charges
- Per patch: 1 seed + compost charge
- Sell: grimy herbs (or clean if the clean margin is worth the Herblore time — usually sell grimy)
- Bottomless bucket amortises compost cost and clears inventory space — buy it when you can
Expensive seeds with soft herb prices lose money even with good yields. Cheap seeds with hot herbs win. Recheck before planting a full 10-patch set.
ProfitPer patch EV ≈ (expected herbs × herb GE) − seed − compost. Expected herbs come from the Farming yield formula — not a flat "6 herbs." Disease is the main RNG fail state on non-protected patches; disease-free patches are stable.
- More patches beat slightly better herbs on fewer patches
- Diary yield bonuses and magic secateurs are free EV — always wear them
- Contract seeds / anima setups improve long-run economics but are not required for day-one profit
- Quote GP/run after costs; GP/hr only makes sense if you actually hit the timer (e.g. 8 runs/day ≠ 12)
Efficiency tips- Magic secateurs every single run — forgetting them is free money left on the patch
- Ultracompost always; never plant on bare dirt for money runs
- Note herbs immediately; inventory space is the run bottleneck
- Unlock basalt teleports and Harmony when you can — route time drops hard
- Same herb on all patches unless calculator says a mix is worth the bank prep
- Birdhouses on the same timer — two passive methods, one alarm
Common mistakes- Planting torstol because the level feels impressive while toadflax prints more
- Skipping disease-free patches to "save time"
- Assuming gardeners can protect herbs — they cannot; only ultracompost + disease-free patches help
- Letting patches die overnight and still counting them in your average GP/run
- Using compost instead of ultracompost on money herbs