The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition/Alchemy ingredients and potions

Alchemy ingredients and potions

Grow alchemy ingredients in a Hearthfire greenhouse

Hearthfire homestead planting creates a convenient renewable ingredient stockpile for recipes you choose, reducing reliance on opportunistic roadside gathering.

PC / Global, Special Edition with Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn

WHERE & HOW TO FARM

Where to farm

The greenhouse wing of a player-built Hearthfire homestead.

A greenhouse at a player-built Hearthfire homestead lets you plant alchemy ingredients and harvest them after they grow back. Choose plants based on recipes you actually brew, then turn the harvest into potions at a nearby lab or carry it to another station. This is a flexible home supply loop rather than a promise of a particular crop yield or gold rate.

See farming steps ↓

GET STARTED

How to farm

Before you go

Own the Hearthfire add-on.
Build a homestead with the greenhouse wing.
Have seeds or ingredients that the planting interface accepts.

Choose a Hearthfire homestead and construct its greenhouse wing as part of the house plan.
Enter the greenhouse and interact with an available planting plot.
Select an ingredient the planting interface allows and that fits a recipe you use.
Plant the remaining plots with compatible ingredients that support the same potion goal.
Leave the homestead and continue other activities while the plants grow back in game.
Return to harvest the plots and carry ingredients to an Alchemy Lab.
Brew the intended potions, then replant or maintain the plot selection for the next cycle.

Farming tips

Prioritize ingredients that complete recipes with materials you can gather elsewhere, rather than planting a random assortment.
Treat the greenhouse as a home stockpile; its convenience is the supported benefit, not a specified output per visit.

Repeat, collect and use

Repeat planting, harvesting and brewing as the plants regrow. Exact output depends on the chosen plant and available plots; no fixed count or timer is assumed.

Common mistakes

Do not assume every ingredient can be planted; use only choices offered by the homestead planting interface.
Do not build the greenhouse expecting a guaranteed crop recipe; select plants based on what you can actually plant.
Do not treat the plot as an instant harvest; allow in-game growth before returning.

When to stop or switch

Stop expanding the plot when it reliably supplies the ingredients your regular recipes need, or switch to wild gathering for components that cannot be planted.

Sources & fact checks

en.uesp.net ↗

REWARD DETAILS & CONDITIONS

Sources & rewards

Farming route