40d:Farm plot

A farm is a building that allows dwarves to grow plants from seeds as a method to produce food and alcohol for a fortress. Farms can be built outside on the surface on top of soil, sand, silt, clay or loam, a mixture of these or inside over those terrain types and on muddied ground.

Creating muddy ground indoors requires the use of floodgates, channels and/or screw pumps.

In large fortresses, a farm is the most compact way of producing food. Early forts can get by with herbalists collecting plants from bushes outside, but that is generally not sufficient for large populations. However, plants gathered by herbalist can be processed or eaten for the seeds necessary to set up a farm.

See the article on crops for details on the conditions needed to grow the available plants.

Defining the farm plot

Farm plots must be built on a suitable location and require a dwarf with the grower skill enabled to prepare.

To place a farm plot enter the build menu and select farm plots. Use the u and k keys to expand the width and height of the plot, and m and h to decrease the size. When the plot is the desired size, and in the right position, pressing Enter will place it. A free dwarf with the grower skill should then start clearing out any rubble or other impediments away from the farm plot.

Suggested size

Surprisingly little space is needed to provide enough food; a 5x5 plot will provide enough to bring you through your first winter, and even smaller fields are sufficient if supplemented with plant gathering, hunting, fishing, or trading. Try to leave a little extra space in underground farm rooms for for farmers to stack spare boulders. Stones that get moved under doors in a farm can cause them to get stuck ajar that can lead to flooding.

See Also

• Farming, for a complete guide
• Irrigation