Irrigation

xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼

v50.14 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

Farming is only possible on mud and soil. Any terrain can be made muddy, and therefore suitable for farming, by dumping water on it. In Dwarf Fortress, 'Irrigation' is used as a fancy word for dumping water onto terrain that isn't useful for farming, in order to make it so. Once your floor is successfully muddied no further irrigation will be required, unless you somehow remove the mud (by building a constructed floor or chopping down a tree, for instance).

Any amount of water dropped, pumped, or otherwise transported onto a tile will leave behind at least 'a dusting of mud', and this is sufficient for farming. Farm plots cannot be built on terrain with a water level of more than 1/7, and more mud has no apparent effect on farm output, so it's best to use a minimum of water to irrigate.

Irrigation is especially useful in biomes with little soil, and deep underground. However, no amount of irrigation will make it possible to grow surface plants in a hostile biome, such as mountains. This is a matter of climate, not soil conditions.

Farm plots which overlap unsuitable ground will be irregularly-shaped, but still usable. (However, note that when placing an outdoor farm plot, the game will always erroneously report that there is no usable mud/soil. This is a bug - if the plot is green it will function correctly.)

Sadly, magma cannot be used to irrigate, as it does not leave behind mud. It's usually best not to confuse molten rock and liquid water, although the use of both in tandem may help with schemes to irrigate glaciers.

All types of soil can be farmed with no need for irrigation, even sand. Irrigation is not required for farming. Any soil underground can be used to farm; irrigation is only required on stone.

In certain conditions, irrigation can convert rock floors into soil floors. This can be useful for transporting valuable soil like fire clay or sand closer to magma.

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Complex Irrigation

The following methods of irrigation take longer to build, but they can be more powerful, better-looking, and, of course, much more fun.

via Screw Pump

A screw pump can be used to lift water and dump it into a chamber directly next to the water source. There are many ways to go about this, but one particularly simple, easy, and safe method requires a chamber dug out or constructed next to a body of water, with an outlet to allow it to drain back to its source. If the water the pump is free to collect water to spread inside, the water is contained by barriers, and water in the area is free to drain out, nearly any size area can be irrigated quickly and without danger.

This method is most useful around rivers that pass by or through hills, or through canyons, as irrigation isn't much use on most outdoor tiles. If terrain at a higher elevation than the river isn't available nearby, water can drain through a tunnel down to the caverns or toward the edge of the map, instead. Although the edge of the map cannot be dug out, it can be smoothed and carved into fortifications. Fortifications allow water to pass through, providing easy drainage at any depth.

Here's one example of this method:

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via Reservoir

A reservoir system which provides enough water for 8 fields. Upper level

The irrigated bottom level.

Water reservoirs can be used as an intermediate step in any irrigation plan. This requires a large source of water to be of much use. Using reservoirs effectively involves some calculations, a worked example is shown below.

For this example, each 7x7 farm plot needs:

• a floodgate
• a hatch cover
• 4 mechanisms (for linking)
• a door

Also needed is:

• 2 Mechanisms for the levers
• at least one additional door (if you have enough time to set up a wall or floodgate as well)

Here is the pattern:

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After the pattern has been dug out, the tiles for each hatch are channeled out. Then, the hatch covers are placed and linked to the first lever.

Floodgates are placed and linked to the second lever. To start the irrigation, channel out the last tile to the river / murky pool. Engage the floodgate-lever to fill the reservoirs and disengage it once they're full. Finally, pull the lever for the hatches to release the water to the lower level.

This reservoir contains 70 units of water (10x7). 9 units of water are lost to the ground of the reservoir (61 left). Roughly 10 units evaporate while spreading (~51). The water should be just enough to cover the whole farm plot and evaporate quickly.

Farming FAQ
How do I build a farm?
How large a farm do I need?
What is the best crop?
How do I manage my seeds and crops?
What does "Reserved Barrels" and "Reserved Bins" mean?
Why are crops sometimes displayed with red writing?
What do I do with these inedible crops?
What does the option "Fallow" mean?
My dwarves will only farm on a small part of the fields, why is this?
How do I make absolutely sure my farm plot is all set to produce crops?
If I don't see any dwarves working my farm plot, does that mean there's something wrong?
Can you grow surface crops on multiple z levels in a tower if the floors are glass even though there's soil on the glass?
What is the "seas fert" option for?
How do you create a custom stockpile that accepts only prepared foods?
How do you successfully breed and utilize animals(grazing, non-grazing and poultry)?
How often do you need to irrigate your farm fields?
Having banned seeds from the kitchen, how to prevent dwarves from eating them raw?
Why do my planters keep complaining they have no seeds?
Why won't my animals breed?
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