Are planters necessary?

[TheGoat]

I didn't realize until recently that you could plant seeds in the ground. Other than buying seed packets, do planters offer any advantage at all?

[Dellena]

Mainly for looks although the small planters can be placed on flooring.  So you can have a sort of greenhouse.  The large planters have to be placed on non-covered ground.  I've still managed to make an indoor greenhouse using the sunken room method so the ground is exposed for planting.  With the medium to tall walls, you can even accommodate trees.

[Joria]

I didn't realize until recently that you could plant seeds in the ground. Other than buying seed packets, do planters offer any advantage at all?

For me it seems it takes less time to do gardening tasks because you have four plants very close together.  You also have fewer puddles on the ground.  Puddles make it so you can't put anything where they are so no added plants can be put on their spot.

[Playalot]

Also if your sim is too poor to buy a computer, you can order seeds from the planter itself.

[oshizu]

I've been wondering if the planters made on the woodworking table differ from the ones bought in Buy Mode.

The Buy Mode planters' description includes the line "+Gardening skill."  A handmade planter does not have this line.
Same goes for bought violins/guitar (+Fun) versus handmade violins/guitar (no +Fun description).
I guess the descriptions are just informational, since sims can still level their skills tending plants in handmade planters or playing handmade instruments (though I didn't check their fun meter yet).

[DarkWalker]

VERY belated answer, but if I understood the tuning files correctly:

- Pots and planters make plants spawn fruit faster. Might be as much as 50% faster.
- There should be no difference between purchased and crafted planters.

Didn't test it in game, though.

[Tixxis]

Wow! That puts a whole different spiel to planters.
Thank you. DarkWalker.

[TheGoat]

VERY belated answer, but if I understood the tuning files correctly:

- Pots and planters make plants spawn fruit faster. Might be as much as 50% faster.
- There should be no difference between purchased and crafted planters.

Didn't test it in game, though.

Wow. Holy moly, if this is true, it changes everything. Thanks!

[Tigerskin]

Wow, I so have to try this!

[ClayMask]

This is a very good thing to know.  Thanks for coming and sharing that with us.

[sarahg]

VERY belated answer, but if I understood the tuning files correctly:

- Pots and planters make plants spawn fruit faster. Might be as much as 50% faster.
- There should be no difference between purchased and crafted planters.

Didn't test it in game, though.

This works I had a lemon tree not in a planter and it wasn't growing very fast I put it in a planter and it grew

[ClayMask]

I just ran a test in which I determined whether planters and pots were helpful in having plants produce fruit faster.  I timed an apple tree's growth to adulthood, and from adulthood to first harvest, in planters, pots, and straight in the ground.  I found that the planters and pots didn't change the time of the plant to reach adulthood, and shaved off a very small amount of time (0.76%, or a little under half an hour) from adulthood until first harvest.

[Playalot]

Out of interest have you timed different plants or just the apple tree? I'm sure it seems as though the more bush like plants (herbs veggies etc) produce faster once fully grown and had a first harvest in a planter.

[ClayMask]

@Playalot The only one I timed was the apple tree.  Does it also seem to you that the more bushy plants have a faster first harvest, or only the second harvest and later?  Have you noticed it with any bushy plants or type of bushy plant in particular?

[Playalot]

I thought that once a plant has been harvested that if they are in a planter then the time between subsequent harvests seems reduced. But I've never tested it... just from game play and to be honest usually all the harvesting just gets annoying after a while as my sims inventories get so full between plants from GF and crystals...
The other thing that has just occurred to me... is that most of my gardeners recently have the green thumb reward trait. Umm.. so, yeah, might be getting the results from that and thinking it came from the planters/pots. 
Now I'm all curious and this can only mean one thing... testing time! Now look what you've gone and started ClayMask!