Difference between revisions of "v0.34:Irrigation"

Farming FAQ
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	What does "Reserved Barrels" and "Reserved Bins" mean?
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	What does the option "Fallow" mean?
	My dwarves will only farm on a small part of the fields, why is this?
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	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?
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Revision as of 23:42, 4 November 2012

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

v50.12 · v0.47 · v0.34.11 · v0.31 · v0.28 · v0.23

This article is about an older version of DF.

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.

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 can be built on unsuitable ground but doing so will display a warning message. If even a one tile of the plot lacks mud or soil, the entire plot will be unusable.

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.

Easy Irrigation

At its simplest, all that's required for irrigation is a water source, a drop-off point, and a dwarf with a bucket.

Very little land is required to provide all the farm field resources a fortress needs to survive and prosper, so this method should suffice in most cases. Of course, we have many other methods documented here for more ambitious sorts.

via Buckets

This method relies on activity zones, as water for irrigation can't simply be dropped on the ground, but must fall from the level above.

Step one: Designate a water source activity zone over the edge of a body of water. In a saltwater biome, a well must be constructed, instead.

Step two: Dig out or construct a drop-off point just above where you want your farms to be. This most often takes the form of a balcony, catwalk, or scaffolding. Alternately, channel out a shaft and/or staircase all the way up to the surface. Water can safely fall any distance.

Step three: Designate a pit/pond area at the drop-off point, or several if you'd prefer speed over conservation of buckets. By default, these zones are pits, make sure to switch them to ponds, and to remove them once you have all the mud you need.

That's it!

via Murky Pool

Most areas contain murky pools, full of stagnant water. Though unpleasant to drink, in DF terms it's as useful as any water for irrigation. Like any other body of water, it can be used as a source for buckets, but the limited quantity also helps a simple plan to dig into or around it, and drain it out to create farmland.

The final water level must be less than 2/7 in order for the water to evaporate and provide access to the muddy tiles for farming. When using this method, it's easier to use smaller pools.

There are two approaches to reducing the final water level, without using pumps. One is to leave plenty of room. If the area to be irrigated is 5-6 times the size of the pool, the water inside will evaporate on its own, even in temperate climates. The other way is to leave a route for the water to flow out. If the pool and the dug out area are separate, channeling can be used to connect them with no danger of drowning.

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)

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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.

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 === via Screw Pump ===
-This method ranks somewhere between easy and complex irrigation as it's set up relatively quickly while not necessarily looking as cool as the complex method. It needs a [[screw pump]] and a river or brook next to a hillside.
+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.
-You start by digging out a tunnel of one tile and a rectangular room near the river exactly one level above the river. The floor of the room has to be at the same level as the surface of the river. It doesn't have to be walled on the side of the river as you'll need some open space for the water to get out. If you have dug it farther away from the river, you should dig another tunnel from the room to the water source so that the pumped in water can get out.
+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.
-Secondly, at the end of the one tile wide tunnel you'll set up the pump. You'll need a free place next to the light green part of the pump for a dwarf to be able to operate it. It will only be operated once, so you don't need any axles or gears or waterwheels or whatever. Manual pump operation is all it takes.
+Here's one example of this method:
-After setting up the pump (whose dark green end has to be between the tunnel's walls) you can start pumping water into the room. If you have set up everything properly, you should have a pump filling up the room with water. The water should flow through the room and out of it at the open side of the room. After having enough muddy ground tiles you can stop the dwarf from operating the pump and deconstruct it (the pump, not the dwarf!) if you like. Given enough time, any remaining water will either flow out of the room or evaporate, at which point you should have some beautiful muddy ground tiles to farm on.
-You should also consider a bridge for the farmers to reach the farming plots. The bridge at the exit point of the water should be long enough so that the water won't flow over it and damp the ground at its far end. You can do without that second bridge though as you can deconstruct the pump after the irrigation. So there is already a passage for the farmers to get to the plots.
-Good luck! Here's a diagram of this method:
 {{diagram|spaces=yes|\
@@ Line 70: / Line 64: @@
 [[File:Irrigation1.png‎|thumb|right|A reservoir system which provides enough water for 8 fields. Upper level]]
 [[File:Irrigation2.png‎|thumb|right|The irrigated bottom level.]]
-First you need a sufficient source of [[water]]. The best would be a [[brook]] or [[river]], but it is also possible to use a bigger murky pool (it depends on how many fields you want to irrigate).
-For every 7x7 farm plot you need
+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]]
@@ Line 78: / Line 73: @@
 :* a [[door]]
-You also need
+Also needed is:
 :* 2 Mechanisms for the [[lever]]s
 :* at least one additional door (if you have enough time to set up a wall or floodgate as well)
-Use the following pattern:
+Here is the pattern:
 {{diagram|spaces=yes|\
@@ Line 110: / Line 105: @@
 lower level, farms}}
-After your miners have dug the pattern, channel the tile under each hatch cover's location. Now place the hatch covers and link them to lever 1. After that you can place the floodgates and link them to lever 2. To start the irrigation, channel out the last tile to the river / murky pool. Pull the floodgate-lever to fill the reservoirs and pull it again when they are 7/7. Finally pull the hatch cover's lever and release the water to the lower level.
+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.