How to Get a Watering Can – Grow a Garden Guide

In Grow a Garden, few items are as essential to early progression as the Watering Can. As simple as it sounds, the Watering Can is the first tool that introduces players to the core gardening loop: planting seeds, nurturing crops, and building the foundation of their garden empire. Without it, plants won’t grow, quests halt, and many systems remain locked. Because the Watering Can is tied closely to your garden’s development, the game introduces it early, but not always in a way that players fully understand. Some lose it, forget how they obtained it, or wonder how to upgrade it to support larger Grow a Garden Items.

This guide covers how to get a Watering Can, how to craft or obtain additional versions, how upgrades work, how to replace a lost one, and how to use it effectively to ensure optimal plant growth. Whether you are a complete beginner or a returning player starting fresh, this guide explains everything you need.

What Is the Watering Can and Why Is It Important?

The Watering Can is your primary irrigation tool in Grow a Garden. Before automated sprinklers, hydration crystals, irrigation pipes, or water creatures become available, the Watering Can is the only way to keep your plants alive. Plants require hydration at intervals depending on their rarity, growth stage, and biome, so ensuring that you always have a usable Watering Can is crucial.

Beyond basic watering, the Watering Can is also tied to:

Early-game quests

Specific NPC interactions

Plant growth achievements

Garden expansions and tutorials

Crafting and upgrading mechanics

Even when you unlock automation later, the Watering Can remains relevant as a backup tool, a precision instrument, and a requirement for specific tasks such as reviving dehydrated plants.

How to Get Your First Watering Can

Most players receive their Watering Can early in the storyline, but depending on your playstyle or how you interact with NPCs, the moment you get it can vary slightly. There are three main ways the game gives you your first Watering Can.

1. Obtaining It Through the Main Tutorial Quest

The guaranteed way to get the Watering Can is through the tutorial quest given by the Garden Keeper NPC at the start of the game. This tutorial introduces players to:

Plot preparation

Seed planting

Watering

Basic growth cycles

During the tutorial, the Keeper hands you a basic Watering Can for free. If you follow the intended early storyline, you cannot miss this item. This is the method most players encounter naturally.

2. Receiving It from the Starter Tool Chest

If you skip dialogue or explore before starting quests, you may notice a small wooden chest near your initial plot or inside the Garden Shed. This Starter Tool Chest contains several beginner tools, one of which is a Watering Can.

Opening this chest has no cost, so some players obtain the Watering Can here even before speaking to the Garden Keeper. The game is designed so that players who wander or ignore NPC dialogues can still access essential tools.

3. Purchasing It from the Basic Goods Shop

If you somehow missed both the tutorial and the chest, or if your Watering Can is lost or destroyed, the Basic Goods Shop sells a replacement Watering Can. Early in the game, the shop is located near the village square or central hub, depending on your map layout.

The base Watering Can is inexpensive and meant to be accessible to new players, ensuring that no one gets stuck during progression.

How to Upgrade the Watering Can

The basic Watering Can works well for early crops but quickly becomes inefficient as your garden expands. Thankfully, Grow a Garden includes several upgrade tiers.

Upgraded Watering Cans provide benefits such as:

Increased water capacity

Larger watering radius

Faster watering action

Ability to water special biome plants

Reduced stamina or energy use

Compatibility with mutated or rare crops

Upgrade paths vary depending on your crafting level and unlocked buildings.

1. Crafting Upgraded Versions at the Tool Bench

Once you unlock the Tool Bench in your Garden Shed, you can begin crafting upgraded Watering Cans. Each upgrade tier requires materials like:

Metal scraps or ingots

Wooden handles

Growth crystals

Special essences (depending on tier)

Crafting is a reliable long-term method because materials are easy to farm once you automate parts of your garden.

2. Purchasing Upgrades from NPCs

Some NPCs offer enhanced Watering Can versions after building enough friendship with them. These include:

The Metalworker

The Gardening Merchant

The Craftsman in the Mountain Biome

NPC versions sometimes include special effects not available through crafting, such as:

Heat-resistant watering for fire plants

Cold-proof watering for frost plants

Increased growth speed boost when watering

These versions cost more but are worth acquiring if you specialize in certain crop types.

3. Unlocking Magical or Elemental Watering Cans

Later in the game, you gain access to magical watering tools that can:

Instantly hydrate all nearby plants

Restore dying plants

Provide growth buffs

Water plants in harsh environments

These versions are obtained through advanced quests, special events, or rare crafting recipes. The magical Watering Can is often considered the last major upgrade before full automation replaces constant manual watering.

How to Replace a Lost or Missing Watering Can

It’s not uncommon for new players to misplace their Watering Can—especially if they drag it into the wrong slot or accidentally discard it. The game provides several ways to recover or replace it.

1. Buy a Replacement from the Basic Goods Shop

This is the fastest method. Most shops always stock a basic Watering Can at a low cost.

2. Craft a New One at the Tool Bench

If you've unlocked crafting, you can instantly produce a replacement using common materials. This is especially useful if you want to jump straight to an upgraded version instead of buying the basic one.

3. Retrieve It from the Lost Item Box

Some versions include a Lost Item Box near the Keeper’s Hut. Any discarded tools reappear here automatically after a daily reset.

4. Restart the Tutorial

For brand-new saves or early-game scenarios, you may simply restart the tutorial to trigger the tool reward again.

How the Watering Can Works

The basic mechanics are simple: select the Watering Can, aim at a plant, and water it. However, understanding water usage efficiency will help your crops grow faster and healthier.

Plants usually require watering:

At planting

At specific growth milestones

When a weather shift dries them out

When entering a new biome with different soil needs

Overwatering is not possible in most versions of the game, but neglecting plants slows growth dramatically.

Higher-tier Watering Cans reduce the number of refills and can water multiple plants simultaneously, making them essential once your garden becomes more complex.

How to Use the Watering Can Efficiently

Here are a few tips to maximize your watering efficiency:

1. Always Water Immediately After Planting

Early hydration triggers the first growth stage and reduces overall growth time.

2. Build a Water Well or Water Source Near Your Main Plot

This reduces walking distance, increasing productivity during early-game tasks.

3. Use the Upgraded Watering Can for Mass-Planting Sessions

Even the first upgrade significantly increases range and speed.

4. Combine Manual Watering with Early Automation

Sprinklers and hydration crystals complement manual watering rather than replace it early on.

5. Save Magical Watering Cans for Emergency Use

These cans may have cooldowns or limited durability and are best used to revive or boost rare plants.

Why You Should Keep Your Watering Can Even After Automating

Even when your garden is fully automated, you should never discard your Watering Can. In advanced gameplay, it remains necessary for:

Special quest plants that reject automated watering

Mutated plants requiring manual hydration

Reviving dying or wilted crops

Tasks in temporary or event gardens

Experimental hybrid plants that require personal care

A Watering Can always has a purpose, even in a maxed-out garden.

Conclusion

The Watering Can is one of the first and most important tools you’ll encounter in Grow a Garden. Whether you get it through the tutorial, from the starter chest, or by purchasing it from the shop, it quickly becomes the backbone of your early gardening experience. As you expand your garden, gain new biomes, and unlock crafting stations, upgraded versions of the Watering Can become essential for efficiency and advanced plant growth.

No matter how far you progress, your Watering Can remains a vital tool for special plants, quests, emergency hydration, and precision care. Understanding how to buy Grow a Garden Sheckles, upgrade, and use it properly ensures your garden thrives from the very beginning all the way to endgame mastery.