The short version
30-second read- Herbs finish in 80 minutes on every patch. Set a timer when you plant, since a 10-patch lap only takes about 6 minutes.
- Ranarr leads the wiki's recurring herb table. It makes about 201k per 10-patch run after tax, with snapdragon, torstol and toadflax behind it.
- Keep magic secateurs in the inventory. They come from Fairytale I and add 10% to the extra-yield chance without being equipped.
- Disease is the real risk, not PKers. Herb patches cannot be protected by paying a gardener, and skipping compost raises the disease chance.
Quick Take
A herb run is a lap of every herb patch you have unlocked: harvest, plant, compost, move on. Herbs take 80 minutes to grow, a 10-patch run takes about 6 minutes, and the wiki's ranarr guide lists about 201k profit per run at its prices in October 2026.
The three things that decide your yield are ultracompost on every patch, magic secateurs in your inventory, and a fixed route you can run without thinking. All three are covered below, for mains and ironmen.
Numbers here come from the OSRS Wiki. Herb and seed prices move daily, so check them before a big seed order.
Who This Guide Is For
- Busy players who can log in briefly through the day
- Accounts funding bonds or supplies passively
- Irons building potion stocks
Deeper Farming 1–99 context: Farming guide.
Herb Run Essentials
If you skip these, you leave herbs on the patch:
- Ultracompost on every patch. A bottomless compost bucket saves the inventory space
- Magic secateurs from Fairytale I, which add 10% to the extra-yield chance and work from the inventory
- Diary bonuses: Kandarin at Catherby, Kourend & Kebos at Hosidius and the Farming Guild
- A written patch order you can run half-asleep
- Seed choice checked against live GE prices each week
Consistency beats switching to the best herb every run.
Herb Run Route and Teleports
Every herb patch grows on the same 80-minute clock, so the order does not change your yield. It only changes how long the lap takes. This loop uses the teleports the wiki lists for each patch and skips any you have not unlocked.
| Stop | Patch | Fastest teleport | Unlock or note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farming Guild | Skills necklace, Farming cape, or the guild spirit tree | 65 Farming for the herb patch |
| 2 | Hosidius | Xeric's talisman, Teleport to House with your house in Hosidius, or the Tithe Farm minigame teleport | Disease-free after the Easy Kourend & Kebos Diary |
| 3 | Ardougne (north) | Ardougne cloak 2 or higher | No unlock |
| 4 | Catherby | Catherby Teleport, or Camelot Teleport and run east | Kandarin Diary adds 5%, 10% or 15% yield |
| 5 | Falador (south) | Explorer's ring 2 or higher | Medium Falador Diary adds 10% Farming XP here |
| 6 | Port Phasmatys | Ectophial | Ghosts Ahoy for the ectophial |
| 7 | Troll Stronghold roof | Stony basalt, or Trollheim Teleport and run west | My Arm's Big Adventure. Never diseased |
| 8 | Weiss | Icy basalt | Making Friends with My Arm. Never diseased |
| 9 | Ortus Farm, Varlamore | Quetzal whistle to the Hunter Guild, then run north | Disease-free at Champion rank in the Fortis Colosseum |
| 10 | Harmony Island | Harmony Island Teleport | Elite Morytania Diary |
Keep seeds, compost and tools organised with the tool leprechaun and seed vault so each stop is harvest, plant, compost. Run it once a day minimum and add laps when your schedule allows.
Practical Step-By-Step Plan
Stand up a herb-run habit:
- 1
Unlock the patches and teleports on your route.
- 2
Buy ultracompost and get magic secateurs before scaling volume.
- 3
Pick 1–2 herbs with healthy margins this week.
- 4
Set an 80-minute timer when you plant.
Do not guess.
- 5
Bank herbs and process or sell on a schedule.
- 6
Recalculate seed choice when prices swing hard.
Startup Cost and the Only Real Risk
Herb runs are the rare money method with no combat risk at all. Nothing on the route can kill you and nothing is dropped on death. The risk is entirely economic: you pay for seeds and compost at the start of a cycle and find out what the patch gives you 80 minutes later.
| Risk factor | Reality |
|---|---|
| Death or PvP | None on the standard route. Herb patches sit in safe areas |
| Disease | The real threat. Herbs cannot be protected by paying a gardener the way allotments can |
| Price movement | Seeds and herbs are both traded, so a margin can close between planting and harvesting |
| Time | Herbs take 80 minutes to finish growing, so a missed window costs a cycle rather than gold |
There are two answers to disease. The first is ultracompost, which cuts the chance of disease at each growth stage by 90% and raises the guaranteed minimum harvest above what standard or supercompost gives. The second is unlocking patches that cannot become diseased at all.
| Disease-free patch | How it is unlocked |
|---|---|
| Troll Stronghold | My Arm's Big Adventure |
| Weiss | Making Friends with My Arm |
| Hosidius | Easy Kourend & Kebos Diary |
| Ortus Farm, Varlamore | Champion rank at the Fortis Colosseum |
| Harmony Island | Elite Morytania Diary |
Two diary unlocks also raise yields directly: the Hard Kourend & Kebos Diary adds 5% extra yield at both the Hosidius patch and the Farming Guild herb patch.
On starting capital, buy in this order: enough seeds for one full lap of your route, ultracompost for every patch on it, and then the quest for magic secateurs. After that the run funds itself. The bottomless compost bucket is a Hespori drop rather than a purchase, and it doubles every bucket of compost you pour into it, so it is a mid-term goal rather than a startup cost. If you have read the ash covered tome, the Fertile Soil spell with two volcanic ash replaces ultracompost entirely.
For a reference point, the wiki's ranarr herb run guide assumes 10 patches at 8.8 herbs each with ultracompost and magic secateurs. That is 88 grimy ranarr against about 290k of inputs. The 10 seeds were about 284k of that, so seed price moves the margin more than anything else.
Ironman Herb Logic
Irons plant for the potions they need, not the GE margin. Still use ultracompost and the diary bonuses, because every extra herb is a potion you do not have to gather for another way.
Common Mistakes
- Skipping compost to save money, which costs herbs and raises disease risk
- Planting whatever looks cool without checking margins
- No timer, so runs get forgotten for days
- Leaving magic secateurs in the bank
Herb GP is a habit. Miss the runs and the method stops paying.
When Paid Help Makes Sense (Optional)
If Farming level or diary skill walls block patches you need, Farming training can unlock the passive engine faster.
Read client reviews, or return to the blog hub.
FAQ
How much does a herb run make in OSRS?
The wiki lists about 201k per 10-patch ranarr run after tax. Fewer patches or no secateurs means less, and seed prices can swing it either way.
What is the best herb for herb runs?
On the wiki's recurring money making table, ranarr leads, then snapdragon, torstol and toadflax. Ranarr needs 32 Farming, or 65 if you want the Farming Guild patch.
How long do herbs take to grow?
80 minutes: four growth stages of 20 minutes each. Every herb uses the same timer, so one run covers every patch.
How many runs per day?
As many as your life allows. Even 2–3 runs a day beat zero, so do not quit because you cannot do six.
Are herb runs dead content?
No. Margins move, but the structure remains one of the best passive loops in the game.
Still stuck on a mechanic? Ask the team on our Discord, it is free.
Bottom Line
Herb runs pay quietly for players who show up every 80 minutes.
Compost. Secateurs. Timer. Repeat.
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