History Main / CallToAgriculture

* Attempted in ''VideoGame/BackStab'', after the hero, Captain Henry Blake, was backstabbed by his treacherous superior Admiral Edmund Kane and sentenced for execution. An ambush from the pirate LaResistance frees Henry, who decides not to join their cause and instead retreat to a farm owned by the resistance; but when Kane's forces attacks the farm and kills everyone Henry goes back to fighting.

* In the ''Fanfic/AvengersOfTheRing'' sequel ''Avengers: Methteilien'', with various residents of Middle-Earth stuck on Earth after the first battle against Thanos, Sam Gamgee is trusted with the duty of tending Wakanda's royal gardens, including the new White Tree that was planted in the grove that once held the heart-shaped herbs.

* In ''Fanfic/ACharmedLife'' after settling down with Ryuk in the Shinigami Realm, Light takes up apple farming.

* Pinkie Pie in ''Fanfic/DividedRainbow''. Though unlike most examples of this trope, her taking up farming represents the ''beginning'' of Pinkie's problems....
* In ''Fanfic/DumbledoresArmyAndTheYearOfDarkness'', Neville's potential for incredible badassery and his love of herbology are in even bigger contrast with each other than in {{Canon}}. He often declares how much he would prefer simple gardening over leading an army. He eventually gets it, with interruptions.
* In the ''Legend of Zelda'' oneshot ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/18997867 farm fresh]]'', Zelda abdicated her throne to run off with Malon. Now she lives as Malon's wife Sheik on Lon Lon Ranch.
* Seen in ''Fanfic/IAmSkantarios'', when the titular emperor retires from commanding Byzantium's armies and tries to tend to a palace garden. The results are [[EpicFail inadvertently similar to the genocidal, scorched-earth tactics from his campaigns]].
* In ''Fanfic/JeFaisPartieDeVous'' after Light finally allows L out of his GildedCage, L finds satisfaction in being Kira's gardener.

* Discussed and derided in ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'' when Paul encounters the "Pagan Nation" attempting to live a simple life in harmony with nature, and isn't impressed.

* ''{{ComicBook/Dreadstar}}'': Vanth Dreadstar should be the ultimate example: the man destroys the entire MILKY WAY GALAXY, escapes to a different galaxy, and then he becomes a farmer. (Granted, it ended up simply being a 30-40 year "break", before he became involved in an all-out war in his NEW galaxy...)

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'': This is Colony 9's subplot after the heroes liberate it. Fed up with a life of meaningless warfare, the commander decides to turn the colony's resources towards growing crops. Most of the sidequests found in the area deal with the results of this decision, such as dealing with subordinates who disapprove of the idea or helping the commander consult with other colonies who know more about how to farm properly. Notably, given that the concept of agriculture had been [[LostCommonKnowledge largely lost to the majority of the colonies]], the party and commander encounter several pitfalls with their attempts to transition to it, such as blights, droughts, foraging monsters, and their first successful crops not being of an edible plant to begin with.

* ''Film/KaamelottPremierVolet'': The knights who took up farming in Carmélide are trying... but they're just as inept at farming as they were at being knights in [[Series/{{Kaamelott}} the series]], and even argue with each other.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': [[spoiler:After becoming TheAtoner in the finale, former EvilOverlord [[Characters/AmphibiaKingAndrias Andrias]] is shown to have renounced his crown and taken up the quiet, solitary life of a farmer, working to restore the [[GaiasLament greenery he'd despoiled]] pillaging the land for resources.]]

* In the ''Twilight of the Clans'' series in the ''TabletopGame/{{Battletech}}'' novels, Victor Steiner-Davion considers doing this [[spoiler:after learning his realm was taken over by his sister]]. He changes his mind, though.
* Most of the characters in the Finnish war epic ''Literature/TheUnknownSoldier'' are farmers, including captain Koskela, sergeant Hietanen and the [[SergeantRock badass]] Antti Rokka and his sidekick, Susi. The two latter are mentioned to have wives and children as well.

* ''Literature/HerculePoirot'': The titular detective has [[TenMinuteRetirement a brief retirement]] in ''Literature/TheMurderOfRogerAckroyd'', wherein he moves to a remote village to grow gourds. [[MysteryMagnet Naturally]], a friend living nearby gets murdered.

* ''Literature/IntoTheLookingGlass'' series by Creator/JohnRingo: At the beginning of the second book, Navy SEAL protagonist Command Master Chief Robert Miller had retired from active duty and was running a floral shop, doing flower arrangements. That was until he got recalled.

** In the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' Duology -- it is revealed that [[spoiler:Baron Fel was chosen to be the template for clones]] specifically to invoke this trope, so they would fight to defend their homes. [[GoneHorriblyRight It worked TOO well]]: the Devists decided that [[GoingNative their loyalty to their land and families]] outweighed their loyalty to [[spoiler:the Empire]].

* Gabrielle Zevin's ''Literature/{{Elsewhere}}'' is about a city in which people get to lead a second life after death. The heroine is frustrated to find that her rock star idol, Curtis Jest, has taken a job as a fisherman.

* ''Literature/{{Candide}}'' is probably the TropeCodifier. This was basically the whole {{Aesop}} of the story.

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'': This is Colony 9's subplot after the heroes liberate it. Fed up with a life of meaningless warfare, the commander decides to turn the colony's resources towards growing crops. Most of the sidequests found in the area deal with the results of this decision, such as dealing with subordinates who disapprove of the idea or helping the commander consult with other colonies who know more about how to farm properly. Notably, given that the concept of agriculture had been [[LostCommonKnowledge largely lost to the majority of the colonies]], the party and commander encounter [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome several pitfalls with their attempts to transition to it]], such as blights, droughts, foraging monsters, and their first successful crops not being of an edible plant to begin with.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': [[spoiler:After becoming TheAtoner in the finale, former EvilOverlord [[Characters/AmphibiaKingAndrias Andrias]] is shown to have renounced his crown and taken up the quiet, solitary life of a farmer.]]

* After [[spoiler: being taken as a prisoner by the Rebellion]] in ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', [[Characters/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPowerShadowWeaver Shadow Weaver]] went to grow a garden on [[spoiler: Castle Bright Moon]]. Subverted: the plants are actually components to magic rituals (but they're for self-care routines)- except for daisies, she just finds them cheerful.

* Played straight in the ''Literature/BazilBroketail'' series. The final novel ends with the main character Relkin and his dragon Bazil retiring to a life of farming after their term of military service is up. Several of his buddies in his old unit are also approaching retirement age and thinking of starting up their own farms next to Relkin's, starting a new town in the process.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem''

* Hitler's architect [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Albert Speer]] helped design and plant the garden in the Spandau Prison. He then spent all his free time walking around it, counting his laps. He was trying to walk around the world, you see.[[note]]He got to South America, via the Bering Sea.[[/note]] Nice "Pride Goeth Before A Fall"-story: for all his power and grandiose plans for "Germania," this garden is the only thing of his projects that wasn't bombed, never built because of the war or demolished after the war (in Berlin, that is). [[note]]Actually, a street of lamp-posts also survived. Tourist guides like to point them out.[[/note]]

* Inversion: Early Zionists thought this part of the way to make themselves into [[BadassIsraeli Badass Israelis]], not as a way to retire.

* The cult leader Jim Jones did this in Jonestown. He stated that the settlement was highly self-sufficient and they got everything they needed of the land. However, the residents faced severe shortages, and a storm ruined their harvest. This is an example of how the trope doesn't always work out, especially if run by a sinister megalomaniac.

* TheEighties pop star Kim Wilde once wrote a book on gardening.
* After becoming the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong took up residence on and managed a dairy farm in Lebanon, Ohio with his wife.

* In ''FanFic/JeFaisPartieDeVous'' after Light finally allows L out of his GildedCage, [[StockholmSyndrome L finds satisfaction in being Kira's gardener.]]

* A couple of PunnyName-sporting [[PunchClockVillain Roman legionaries]] in ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' retire. Egganlettus rejoins the army; [[TheAlcoholic Tremensdelirius]] trades a small Gaulish village near the coast of Armorica[[note]]Caesar gave him the village instead of regular "retirement lands" because he drunkenly spoke ill of him[[/note]] to pay a bar tab.

* ''FanFic/ABriefHistoryOfEquestria'':

* Andre Maurios's children's book ''Lierature/{{Fattypuffs and Thinifers}}'' says that, following a campaign against the Fattypuffs, the Thinifer General Tactifer resigned his commission and returned to his home village of Skimpton Parva "where he may still be seen guiding his plough".

* Despite [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} the setting]] of the series (or perhaps because of it), it happens to several characters in ''Literature/HorusHeresy'':

** During his TenMinuteRetirement, Luna Wolf Gavriel Loken takes to tending to a garden left behind by some Sister of Silence. He notes that for someone as used to wrecking havoc as he is, there's a great wonder in creating rather than destroying.

* Ward of ''Literature/{{Hurog}}'' whenever he has free time, works on fixing the agricultural problems of his country. This ''is'' what the people live off, after all.

* Appears in the ''Literature/IntoTheLookingGlass'' series by Creator/JohnRingo. At the beginning of the second book, Navy SEAL protagonist Command Master Chief Robert Miller had retired from active duty and was running a floral shop, doing flower arrangements. That was until he got recalled.

* Sam ended ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' like this. True, gardening was his profession to begin with, but after all the adventures they went through, his final settlement in the Shire definitely had this feel. Of course he later went on to become the Mayor of the Shire, but in Hobbit politics that probably doesn't necessarily rule out country work on the side. Éowyn and Faramir do this as well. Though they technically end up ''ruling'' the province of Ithilien, talk as if they're hearing the Call. (Tolkien's message was evidently "stop fighting, take up gardening--after you get rid of the fascists.")

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': [[spoiler:After becoming TheAtoner in the finale, former EvilOverlord Andrias is shown to have renounced his crown and taken up the quiet, solitary life of a farmer.]]

* After [[spoiler: being taken as a prisoner by the Rebellion]] in ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', Shadow Weaver went to grow a garden on [[spoiler: Castle Bright Moon]]. Subverted: the plants are actually components to magic rituals (but they're for self-care routines)- except for daisies, she just finds them cheerful.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk", after selling the Power Plant, Mr. Burns starts up a bee farm.

* In ''Webcomic/SoloFarmingInTheTower'', Park Sejun is a relatively poor Korean who gets himself stranded inside of the mysterious towers that began appearing all over the world. Stuck in a hole, and far away from discovery by any of the other people who have become Adventurers in the tower, he begins growing the groceries he had on hand at the time in order to survive. With the help of some friendly rabbit-monsters and other creatures, he ends up getting pretty good at it.

* The ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' hero Supersonic spends his golden years tending to his rose garden.