Patchy the Straw Man - Seasons - Sims 4

Sim Chatting with Patchy
the Straw man

Patchy the straw man (scarecrow) is a gardening addition. Once Patchy is on your Sims' lot, you can start chatting with him while he stands guard over your plants. After a few Sim days of chatting, Patchy will come to life. 

Patchy is male, and interacts with the family similar to an invited guest. He will use the computer, chat and barge in on conversations, and he will clean up messes. Your Sim can become romantically involved with Patchy, and female Sims can get pregnant by Patchy. However, Patchy cannot become a family member or get married. 

Patchy joins conversation.

Patchy's household interactions last for about five hours per day. My Sim's Patchy jumps off his support tree at about 12:35 pm and returns to the tree at about 5:35 pm.  However, there can be exceptions to this, such as when there is a thunderstorm that is threatening his life.  He stayed indoors until midnight when the worst of the storm was over. If there is not enough Sim interaction in a 24-hour Sim day, Patchy may not animate at all for the day. Also, it has been noticed that on days where the garden requires a lot of tending, Patchy may stay on his support, leaving the job to the family. 

The best thing about Patchy is that he will tend to the garden plants by planting, watering, weeding and spraying for bugs.  He will not fertilize, sell or harvest the plants. [Note Update 2 below!] If your Sims travels away from the house early, Patchy won't do a thing, leaving your Sims to do it after returning from the trip. Patchy will work around the house while your Sim is at work. 

Patchy is also a great source for uncommon and rare seeds. Just check his pockets. Plus, if your Sim has not maximized the gardening skill, each time Patchy is asked for gardening tips, he will provide a large increase of skill for your Sim. Children can also grab seeds from Patchy's pocket. 

Patchy Returns to Guard Duty

Patchy makes himself right at home in the house, from mopping and picking up garbage, to fixing a meal for himself, and, if your Sims family has a bar, he will even mix himself a drink. Patchy will occasionally walk off with toys the he was playing with, keeping them until he reanimates the next day. 

One factor with the Sims 4 Seasons is that your Sims family cannot hire a professional gardening service using the phone. However, if a plant is unhealthy and/or near death, when you click on that plant, you may be granted the option to Hire a Professional. At that point, the gardener will show up for one day, on the next working day, starting Monday. The service is not available on the weekend. Hopefully, the plant does not die before the professional can show up. 

UPDATE - Some Patchy issues with the latest patches (2019) is that Patchy will tend to be confused or unmotivated to tend to the garden if the Sims family is all gone between noon and 5PM.  Patchy will stand by his support tree, looking back and forth for the whole five hours without so much as lifting a watering can, weeding or spraying for bugs.  So, at least one of the Sims family members needs to be home during his active "activity" period if you want his assistance with gardening.

UPDATE 2 - Now Patchy can harvest plants (2020) when he animates from his support tree.  Your household may lose the plants if this happens. Also, neighbors may start appearing to harvest your crop after 9 AM if  you have not collected the plants before that time. This causes your household to lose these resources until the next day. 

Patchy Reads a Book	Patchy talks to himself
Patchy Cleans Up	Patchy Makes Himself a Drink
Patchy Tends Garden	Patchy Waters Greenhouse Plants
Patchy Lunges at Sims	Patchy Scares Sims when being Examined