Goat Simulator 3: Planter Outfit – The “A Growing Population” Event That Took Me Forever

I’ve written a lot of Goat Simulator 3 guides by now. Drill Kicks, Junk Cannon, Rebecka, Mental Mask – you name it. But the Planter Outfit? This one is different. It’s not about digging or cannons or breakable walls. It’s about gardening. Sort of. You’re a goat. You lick mutant seeds. You plant them in soil. Then you harvest the weird plants that grow. It’s absurd. It’s annoying. And I kept messing up the order.

The Planter Outfit is the reward for completing the “A Growing Population” event in the Fruitopia area. It’s not hard once you know what to do. But I spent 45 minutes running in circles because I didn’t realize I had to plant the seeds after licking them, not before. Let me save you the frustration.

What Is the Planter Outfit?

It’s a full-body cosmetic that turns your goat into a walking planter. Or maybe a gardener? There’s a flower pot on your head. Vines on your body. It’s ridiculous. It’s perfect for Goat Simulator. No special abilities – just pure absurdity. But you need it if you’re going for 100% customization.

More importantly, completing the “A Growing Population” event unlocks a new area of Fruitopia? Not really. But it does clear a marker off your map, and completionists need it.

The Location (Fruitopia – But Not the UFO Part)

Open your map and go to the Baadlands region. Look for Fruitopia – the colorful, fruit-themed area. But don’t go to the crashed UFO or the Lion King rock. You want the north-east part of Fruitopia, where there’s a big open field with scattered soil bags and weird glowing things.

You’ll know you’re in the right place when you see the “A Growing Population” event marker – it looks like a little sprout or a leaf icon on the map. The event is active as soon as you enter the area. No need to talk to anyone.

Mistake I made: I assumed the event was inside the main Fruitopia area near the giant fruit statues. It’s not. It’s further north-east, almost at the edge of the map, near the border with the desert. Look for a flatter area with bags of soil scattered around. You’ll see small glowing objects on the ground – those are the seeds.

Step 1: Find the Glowing Mutant Seeds

The seeds are small, glowing, and scattered around the field. They look like little green or purple orbs. They pulse. You can’t miss them at night, but during the day they blend in with the grass. I had to turn my brightness up.

Mistake I made: I thought the seeds were just environmental particles. I walked right over them. Then I accidentally licked one while trying to headbutt a rock, and my goat ate it. That’s when I realized.

Walk up to a seed. Lick it (Square on PS5 / X on Xbox / E or left mouse on PC). Your goat will “pick it up” – you’ll see the seed disappear from the ground. It’s now in your goat’s mouth? The game doesn’t tell you. But you’ve collected it.

Pro tip: The seeds respawn? No, they don’t. There are exactly 10 seeds scattered around the event area. You need to find all 10. I found 9 pretty quickly, then spent 15 minutes looking for the last one. It was hidden behind a large rock near the edge of the map. Do a systematic grid search.

Step 2: Plant the Seeds in Bags of Soil

Once you’ve licked a seed, look for a bag of soil nearby. They’re burlap sacks filled with dirt, lying on the ground. Walk up to a soil bag while you have a seed in your mouth (the game remembers – you don’t need to hold it visibly). You’ll get a prompt to “Plant Seed” (or something similar). Press the button.

The seed will disappear, and a small green sprout will appear in the soil bag. That’s it. You’ve planted one.

Mistake I made (the big one): I licked all 10 seeds first, thinking I could plant them later. That works fine – the seeds stay in your goat’s “inventory” (the game tracks them). But then I forgot which soil bags I’d already used. I ended up running around trying to plant seeds in bags that already had sprouts. You can’t. Each soil bag only accepts one seed. So I had to find 10 distinct soil bags.

There are exactly 10 soil bags scattered around the event area, matching the 10 seeds. So if you lick all seeds first, you then have to visit every soil bag exactly once. That’s doable. But it’s easier to plant as you go – lick a seed, find a nearby soil bag, plant it. That way you don’t lose track.

Step 3: Wait for the Plants to Grow (Not Long)

After you plant a seed, the sprout grows into a full mutant plant in about 30 seconds. You don’t need to water it or do anything. Just wait. The plant will become tall and weird-looking – maybe tentacles, maybe flowers, definitely mutant.

Mistake I made: I kept headbutting the sprouts thinking I had to “help” them grow. No. Headbutting destroys them. Then you have to re-lick a seed and replant. I destroyed two sprouts before I learned patience. Just stand there. Or go find the next seed while the plant grows.

Step 4: Harvest the Grown Plants by Licking Them

Once the plant is fully grown (it will stop moving and look mature), walk up to it and lick it. Your goat will “harvest” it – the plant disappears, and you get a little notification sound. You’ve completed one plant.

Do this for all 10 plants. After the 10th harvest, the “A Growing Population” event completes. A banner pops up, and the Planter Outfit automatically unlocks. It goes into your inventory – check your customization menu under Outfits.

Mistake I made: In co-op, my friend harvested a plant that I had planted. That counted for him, not for me. We had to do the event twice – each player needs to plant and harvest their own 10 seeds. So if you’re playing with friends, take turns or do separate runs. Don’t share.

Why This Event Is Annoying (And How to Make It Easy)

The “A Growing Population” event is annoying because:

• The seeds are hard to see during the day

• The soil bags are scattered randomly

• You can accidentally destroy sprouts with headbutts

• In co-op, progress isn’t shared

My tips to breeze through it:

1. Change your in-game time to night (if you have that ability or just wait). The seeds glow much brighter in the dark.

2. Do a systematic sweep of the area. Start at the north edge, walk south in rows. Mark mental notes of which soil bags you’ve used.

3. Don’t use headbutt near sprouts. Stick to licking only. Headbutt is for enemies and walls.

4. If you lose track, leave the area and come back. The event resets your progress? No, it saves. But sometimes the game glitches and a seed or soil bag doesn’t render. I had to fast travel away and back once to make a missing soil bag appear.

What the Planter Outfit Looks Like (And Why You Want It)

It’s a potted plant on your head. Vines hanging down. A green thumb… well, green hooves. It’s one of the sillier outfits in the game. I wore it while doing the Pay-To-Look event, and the NPC made a comment about “gardening goats.” Nice touch.

No stat boosts. No abilities. Just pure cosmetic chaos.

Pro Tip After You Unlock It

Go back to the Fruitopia area wearing the Planter Outfit. Near the giant apple statue, there’s a hidden NPC that only appears when you wear the outfit. He gives you a unique dialogue and a small scrap reward. I found this by accident. Now you know.

Also, the outfit pairs hilariously with the Junk Cannon. You become a trash-shooting gardener. My co-op partner called it “the compost commander.”

Final Verdict

The Planter Outfit is easy to get – just tedious. Find 10 seeds, plant them in 10 soil bags, wait for them to grow, lick them. Should take 20 minutes if you’re organized. Took me 45 because I kept messing up.