Schedule I has quickly become a cult hit for its chaotic drug empire management, funny interactions, and surprisingly deep sim mechanics. But while you’re busy building your dream operation, nothing kills the vibe faster than a chemist who just stares at the oven or a botanist who refuses to water the plants like it’s not their whole job. If your high-functioning workforce has suddenly turned into a bunch of confused loiterers, there are a few tricks to snap them back to reality.
There have been recent reports from players where the in-game botanists refuse to work, claiming there’s no soil available even when the assigned storage is fully stocked. The issue persists despite trying different racks, reassigning storage, restarting the game, or even hiring new botanists. This makes automation impossible and, all in all, becomes a big hurdle in your Pablo Escobar-like dreams! So, how to fix this issue? Here’s everything you need to know.
Schedule I Botanist/Chemist Not Working Issue: Is there any fix yet
While the first content update for Schedule I has officially been released, bugs like the botanist storage recognition issue still linger. Despite some improvements, this specific problem hasn’t been addressed yet. Until an official fix rolls out, you’ll have to depend on community-discovered workarounds that may or may not work for all.
Manual Resoil
The confusion around botanists not recognizing soil stems from a misunderstanding of their role—they might not handle soil at all. Botanists are only responsible for planting seeds, applying additives like fertilizer or PGR, watering, harvesting, and later operating drying racks. If a botanist says there’s no soil, you will need to re-soil the pots yourself before they can do their job. That’s also why long-term soil exists, so you don’t have to keep repeating that step every cycle.
Loop them
A helpful workaround shared by a player suggests that to get your botanists into their task “loop,” you first need to manually complete one full plant cycle yourself. That means: pour the soil, plant the seed, apply additives, water the plant, and harvest it once. After doing this initial loop and ensuring the botanist has access to soil, seeds, and additives in their assigned storage, they seem to recognize the routine and start handling future cycles on their own without an issue.
Skateboard Slam!
If all your employees are frozen or unresponsive, either standing still or grabbing items without actually working, a quick fix is to grab your skateboard and jump into them. This odd little collision often “jolts” them back into action, essentially resetting their behavior. It’s not a permanent solution, and the issue may crop up again after some time, but repeating the skateboard slam trick can temporarily keep things running when your crew decides to take an unscheduled break.
Reassign
Sometimes, the fix is simpler than it seems. If your botanist isn’t working, the solution might just be to make sure they’re assigned to a shelf that contains both soil and seeds. As obvious as it sounds, players often miss this small but crucial detail. Without the proper assignment, your botanist won’t have access to what they need and will just stand around doing nothing. So, double-check their assigned storage and make sure everything is in order.
Reload an Earlier save
Turns out botanists can plant soil, but only after you pour the first bag yourself. Think of it as kickstarting their routine. Once you’ve laid down that initial soil, they seem to pick up the task from there. If they still don’t respond even after that, a quick save reload usually gets things back on track and reactivates their workflow.
Setup Procedure
To get your botanists fully operational, follow this setup process: Assign them a shelf stocked only with soil and seeds, and make sure to assign the pots they’ll be taking care of (they can handle up to 8). Next, assign a destination shelf for the harvested buds. Finally, don’t forget to pay them for their bed; otherwise, they won’t lift a finger. Once set up properly, they’ll handle the whole cycle: pour soil, plant seeds, water, and harvest, moving the buds to the designated shelf like clockwork.
Select correct shelves
If your botanists keep insisting there’s “no soil” even after assigning the right storage, try this workaround: open their inventory, go to the Supplies section, and check which storage shelf is linked—it might not be the one you expected. If it’s wrong, remove the current storage assignment using the red X, close the inventory, and then reassign the correct supply shelf (with soil and seeds). Once that’s done, your workers should snap out of their confusion and get right to work. This simple reset worked like a charm for some players.
Avoid the Warehouse
Check if the problem occurs only in the warehouse. Some players have reported that the issue doesn’t happen on other properties, so it could be warehouse-specific. In this case, avoid the warehouse and try temporarily moving your operations to a different property and see if the botanists work correctly there.
Delete Employee Folder
To fix the issue of an unresponsive or missing employee in Schedule I, the workaround involves deleting the employee’s folder directly from the game’s save files. First, make sure to back up your save. While the game is running, navigate to the following directory: C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\LocalLow\TVGS\Schedule I\Saves\<STEAM_ID>\SaveGame_1\Properties\<PROPERTY>\Employees. Find the folder with the missing employee’s name and delete it. Afterward, save the game, exit, and restart. When you reload the game, the employee will be gone, and you can hire a new one. It’s crucial to delete the folder while the game is running to prevent the Steam Cloud from overwriting the change.
Use coordinates (Advanced Fix)
Some have suggested manually changing the employee’s coordinates in the .json file. To do this, first, ensure that Steam Cloud is disabled for Schedule I. Then, open the .json file of the employee (found in the game’s save file location) for the affected employee using a text editor like Notepad. You can copy the coordinates of another employee (for example, one from a different barn worker) and paste that into the file. This will reposition the stuck employee, and once the changes are made, save the file. Afterward, re-enable Steam Cloud when you launch the game again, and the employee should be properly repositioned and functional.
Verify and Update
Since the game is still in development, keeping it updated can help resolve ongoing problems. Verifying the game files ensures that any corrupted or missing files are replaced, which can potentially fix errors related to unresponsive employees or other in-game glitches. In addition to this, always check the game’s Steam page or forums for the latest updates and patch notes to stay informed about fixes and improvements.
And there you have it! Those are all the potential workarounds that we have gathered from various player suggestions. We hope this was helpful and that you were able to go back to running your drug empire. Remember to stick to DigiStatement for daily gaming guides like this. And since we are on the topic of Schedule I, click here for more similar Schedule I reads.
