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Difference between revisions of "Farming"

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{{Quality|Masterwork|23:04, 8 April 2015 (UTC)}}
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{{Quality|Superior}}
 
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[[Image:Df-crops-diagram.png|thumb|200px|General farming flowchart.]]
 
[[Image:Df-crops-diagram.png|thumb|200px|General farming flowchart.]]
  
'''Farming''' is the act of growing [[crop|crops]] for [[food]], [[alcohol]] production and [[cloth]] manufacturing. While small forts can easily be sustained by plant gathering, [[hunting]] and trading, farming is vital to large settlements.
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'''Farming''' is the act of growing [[crop|crops]] for [[food]], [[alcohol]] production, [[cloth]] manufacturing, and [[paper]] making. While small forts can easily be sustained by plant gathering, [[hunting]] and trading, farming is vital to large settlements.
  
Farming is done at a '''farm plot''' building ({{k|b}}-{{k|p}}, resize with {{k|u}}{{k|m}}{{k|k}}{{k|h}}). Building uses no resources, and can only be done on soil or muddied rock. Mud-free stone will not allow the building of a farm plot on top. The "Farming (Fields)" [[labor]] must be enabled. Farm plots only display the kind of crops that they are able to grow when selected with the {{k|q}}uery key.  
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Farming is done at a '''farm plot''' building {{Menu icon|b|o|f|p}} | Build->Workshops->Farming->Farm Plot, then drag over the area you want to build the plot on). Building uses no resources, and can only be done on [[soil]] or [[Irrigation|muddied rock]]. Mud-free stone will not allow the building of a farm plot on top. Farming requires the "Farming (Fields)" [[labor]], and uses the [[Planter]] skill. Farm plots only display the kind of crops that they are able to grow when selected by clicking on the plot.
  
Depending on where the farm plot is constructed, different crops may be planted. Farm plots built [[above ground]] are not suitable for the crops grown on [[Tile_attributes | subterranean]] farm plots and vice versa. Note that the attributes {{DFtext|Inside|6:0:0}}, {{DFtext|Outside|3:0:1}} are of no relevance. You can grow surface plants indoors by channelling out the roof above the desired plot and then constructing a floor ({{k|b}}-{{k|C}}-{{k|f}}) over the open space. Doing this changes the tile from {{DFtext|Dark|0:0:1}} to {{DFtext|Light|6:0:1}}, despite there being a roof (you do '''not''' need to make the roof out of [[glass]] for this to work).
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Depending on [[Tile attributes|where the farm plot is constructed]], different crops may be planted. Farm plots built {{DFtext|Above Ground|2:1}} are not suitable for {{DFtext|Subterranean|0:1}} crops and vice versa. Note that the attributes {{DFtext|Inside|6:0:0}}, {{DFtext|Outside|3:0:1}} are of no relevance. You can grow surface plants indoors by channeling out the roof above the desired plot and then constructing a floor {{Menu icon|b|n|f}} | Build->Constructions->Floor) over the open space. Doing this changes the tile from {{DFtext|Dark|0:0:1}} to {{DFtext|Light|6:0:1}}, despite there being a roof (you do '''not''' need to make the roof out of [[glass]] for this to work). A plot with mixed {{DFtext|Light|6:0:1}}  and {{DFtext|Dark|0:0:1}} tiles may show plants as "available" when only a tiny fraction of the tiles in the farm are valid for planting them.
  
Note that although you can construct a farm plot anywhere there is either a soil floor or a mud covering, this does not always mean seeds can be planted there. Certain biomes will not allow planting certain seeds, and some biomes will prevent the planting of '''all''' above-ground crops.
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Note that although you can construct a farm plot anywhere there's either a soil floor or a mud covering, this doesn't always mean the seeds you have – especially imported ones – can be planted there. Not all crops can be grown in a given [[biome]], and some biomes will prevent the planting of '''all''' above-ground crops. Even seeds you obtained as a result of [[plant gathering]] might not be plantable where you've chosen to put your farm, if they came from a different biome.
  
The yellow warning message, {{DFtext|No mud/soil for farm, Mud is left by water|6:0:1}}, is displayed on all above-ground tiles, regardless of whether the farm will function.{{version|0.34.11}}  This warning may be ignored.  Tiles that actually lack mud or soil are excluded from the construction entirely with a red warning message (either {{DFtext|Blocked|4:0:1}} or {{DFtext|Needs soil or mud|4:0:1}}).
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The yellow warning message, {{DFtext|No mud/soil for farm, Mud is left by water|6:0:1}}, is displayed on all above-ground tiles, regardless of whether the farm will function.{{version|0.34.11}}  This warning may be ignored.  Tiles that actually lack mud or soil are excluded from the construction entirely with a red warning message (either {{DFtext|Blocked|4:0:1}} or {{DFtext|Needs soil or mud|4:0:1}}). See the article on [[crop]]s for details on the conditions needed to grow the available plants.  
  
See the article on [[crop]]s for details on the conditions needed to grow the available plants.  
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At this time, v50 of the game is lacking many variants of crop and plant sprites, but will be added in a future update.
  
 
== Introduction to Farming ==
 
== Introduction to Farming ==
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=== Building a farm ===
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[[File:farm_view.jpg|thumb|Enough to feed 1 dwarf for 2 days!]]
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[[File:Champignonniere meules.jpg|thumb|Mushroom farming]]
  
First, build a farm plot "building" ({{k|b}}-{{k|p}}, resize with {{k|u}}{{k|m}}{{k|k}}{{k|h}}) on [[soil]] or [[irrigation|muddy]] rock. Keep your farms ''small'' -- 2x2 up to 4x4 or so.  Farms are surprisingly productive.  You can always make more farms later if you run low on plants, and having several small farms lets you diversify your crops.  (Each farm plot can only grow one kind of plant per season.)
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First, select an area for your farm. Building a farm on a [[soil]] layer is easiest (farming in non-soil layers will require [[irrigation]]). Aboveground farms can simply be built on the surface (though this exposes your farmers to attack); subterranean farms will need to have a suitable area dug out underground.  Once you've decided on a location, open the {{K|b}}uild menu and select W{{K|o}}rkshops, {{K|f}}arming, and then Farm {{K|p}}lot to build your [[Farming|farm]].  
  
Once the farm plot has been built, you must select which crops to growPress {{k|q}} and move the cursor over the farm.  You will see a list of crops you can select to grow in the current season. You can change which season is displayed by pressing {{k|a}},{{k|b}},{{k|c}}, or {{k|d}}.  Move the blue selector up and down with {{k|-}} and {{k|+}}, and press {{k|Enter}} to choose a crop to plant during that season (highlighted in white). Crops displayed in red cannot be grown at the moment, either due to a lack of seeds, or a lack of growing days left before the crop goes out of season.
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To define the width and height of your farm plot, click the first desired corner, then the second, as you would build constructions like floors and walls. Keep your farms ''small'' – 2×2, up to 4×4, or soFarms are surprisingly productive.  You can always make more farms later if you run low on plants, and having several small farms lets you diversify your crops.  (Each farm plot can only grow one kind of plant per season.) Now a dwarf with the Planters work detail (default set to "everybody does this", meaning any available dwarf will come) will come and prepare the plot for planting.  
  
You must have the appropriate [[seed]]s to plant a crop on a plot. To easily see how many of each seed you have, you can go to the Kitchen menu ({{k|z}} {{k|right}} {{k|Enter}}).
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Once the farm plot has been built, you must select which crops to grow. Click on the farm - you will see a list of crops you can select to grow in the local biome and current season. Now click on the [[crop]] you wish to plant in that season. Instructing a plot to remain fallow during a particular season will tell dwarves not to plant in that plot during that season. Currently, unlike in real life, crop rotation is not necessary; soil productivity is only affected by fertilizing, and the same crop may be grown indefinitely without a decrease in performance, even without fertilizer.
  
Since your dwarves require food, booze and clothing, you should set up a combination of plants that will supply all of these.  [[Plump helmet]]s are a good beginning crop for a first cave farm, and [[Strawberry|strawberries]] are a good choice for outdoor fields -- both can be eaten raw, or brewed.  [[Pig tail]]s produce cloth, which will become important once your clothing starts to [[wear]]. Check the [[crop]]s page for details on different seeds.
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From the same menu, you can press check the box next to "Not set to fertilize", changing the text to "Set to fertilize". Fertilized crops produce larger stacks of plants, which can be useful to grow your [[seed]] supply early on and your food supply later on. You must have the appropriate [[seed]]s to plant a crop on a plot. To easily see how many of each seed you have, you can go to the Labor menu ({{k|y}}), then click on the Kitchen tab, then click on Seeds.
  
Cooking plants destroys their seeds, so you should disable the cooking of plants in the Kitchen menu. Eating them, brewing them, or processing them through a farmer's workshop, quern or millstone will produce seeds.
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Since your dwarves require food, booze and clothing, you should set up a combination of plants that will supply all of these. [[Plump helmet]]s are a good beginning crop for a first cave farm, and [[Strawberry|strawberries]] are a good choice for outdoor fields – both can be eaten raw, or brewed. [[Pig tail]]s produce cloth, which will become important once your clothing starts to [[wear]]. Check the [[crop]]s page for details on different seeds. Cooking plants destroys their seeds, so you should disable the cooking of plants in the Kitchen menu. Eating them, brewing them, or processing them through a farmer's workshop, quern, or millstone, will produce seeds.
  
Instructing a plot to remain fallow ({{k|z}}) during a particular season will tell dwarves not to plant in that plot during that season. Note that, unlike in real life, crop rotation is not necessary; soil productivity is only affected by fertilizing, and the same crop may be grown indefinitely without a decrease in performance, even without fertilizer.
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'''Help, my farmers won't farm!'''
  
=== Yield and Fertilization ===
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*Verify that your Planter work detail is set to either "Everybody does this" or "Only selected do this", and that in the latter case you have dwarves selected. If the selected dwarves are still not planting, try setting them to be specialised by clicking the green hammer / lock icon.
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right"
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! Farm Size !! Potash !! Per Square
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*Verify that the farm plot has a crop selected for the current season. (Each season must be set up separately, and some crops only grow in certain seasons.)
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*Verify that you have [[seed]]s for the chosen crop, and that those seeds are accessible to your farmers (not [[forbid]]den, locked behind a door, being carried across the map by one of your haulers, etc.).
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*Verify that your farmers can reach your farm plot (no locked doors, disconnected stairways, etc.).
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*Verify that your farm plot is acceptable. An underground plot that has been exposed to sunlight will never grow underground plants again. It may be necessary to remove the plot and rebuild it so that you can select aboveground crops to plant. Farm plots which are partially belowground and aboveground will never be fully planted. Additionally, some aboveground [[biome]]s (such as [[mountain]]s and [[glacier]]s) are unsuitable for farming and will never grow crops.
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== Yield and fertilization ==
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{| class="wikitable sortable" style="float:right; margin: 1em"
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! Farm Size !! Potash !! Per Square  
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|-
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| 1 (1×1) || 1 || ''1.000''
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|-
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| 2 (1×2) || 1 || 0.500
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|-
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| 3 (1×3) || 1 || '''0.333'''
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|-
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| 4 (1×4, 2×2) || 2 || ''0.500''
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|-
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| 5 (1×5) || 2 || 0.400
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|-
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| 6 (1×6, 2×3) || 2 || 0.333
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|-
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| 7 (1×7) || 2 || '''0.286'''
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|-
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| 8 (1×8, 2×4) || 3 || ''0.375''
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|-
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| 9 (1×9, 3×3) || 3 || 0.333
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|-
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| 10 (1×10, 2×5) || 3 || 0.300
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|-
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| 11 (1×11) || 3 || '''0.272'''
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|-
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| 12 (1×12, 2×6, 3×4) || 4 || ''0.333''
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|-
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| 15 (1×15, 3×5) || 4 || '''0.267'''
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|-
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| 16 (1×16, 2×8, 4×4) || 5 || ''0.312''
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|-
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| 18 (1×18, 2×9, 3×6) || 5 || '''0.278'''
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|-
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| 19 (1×19) || 5 || '''0.263'''
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|-
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| 20 (1×20, 2×10, 4×5) || 6 || ''0.300''
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|-
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| 21 (1×21, 3×7) || 6 || 0.286
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|-
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| 23 (1×23) || 6 || '''0.261'''''
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|-
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| 24 (1×24, 3×8, 4×6) || 7 || ''0.292''
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|-
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| 27 (1×27, 3×9) || 7 || '''0.259'''
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|-
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| 30 (1×30) || 8 || '''0.266'''
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|-
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| 31 (''n/a'') || 8 || '''''0.257'''''
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|-
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| 35 (5×7) || 9 || '''0.257'''
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|-
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| 39 (3×13) || 10 || '''0.256'''
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|-
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| 42 (2×21, 3×14, 6×7) || 11 || '''0.262'''
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|-
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| 43 (''n/a'') || 11 || '''''0.262'''''
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|-
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| 45 (5×9) || 12 || 0.267
 
|-
 
|-
| 1 || 1 || 1.000
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| 46 (2×23) || 12 || '''0.261'''
 
|-
 
|-
| 2 || 1 || 0.500
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| 47 (''n/a'') || 12 || '''''0.255'''''
 
|-
 
|-
| 3 || 1 || 0.333
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| 49 (7×7) || 13 || 0.265
 
|-
 
|-
| 4 || 2 || 0.500
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| 50 (5×10) || 13 || 0.260
 
|-
 
|-
| 5 || 2 || 0.400
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| 51 (3×17) || 13 || '''0.255'''
 
|-
 
|-
| 6 || 2 || 0.333
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| 55 (5×11) || 14 || '''0.254'''
 
|-
 
|-
| 7 || 2 || 0.286
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| 63 (3×21, 7×9) || 16 || '''0.254'''
 
|-
 
|-
| 8 || 3 || 0.375
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| 75 (3×25, 5×15) || 19 || '''0.253'''
 
|-
 
|-
| 11 || 3 || 0.272
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| 87 (3×29) || 22 || '''0.252'''
 
|-
 
|-
| 15 || 4 || 0.266
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| 90 (9×10) || 23 || 0.256
 
|-
 
|-
| 19 || 5 || 0.263
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| 91 (7×13) || 23 || '''0.252'''
 
|-
 
|-
| 23 || 6 || 0.260
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| 95 (5×19) || 24 || '''0.252'''
 
|-
 
|-
| 27 || 7 || 0.259
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| 99 (9×11) || 25 || '''0.252'''
 +
|-
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| 100 (10×10) || 26 || ''0.260''
 
|}
 
|}
Each farm tile requires a single seed to be planted. Unfertilized farm tiles can produce a stack of 0-6 plants when harvested, depending upon the skill of the planter and random chance. Experimentally, fertilizing a farm plot boosts production by 1-3 additional plants per stack each harvest, though the exact mechanism is unknown. For unskilled planters, yield can be effectively doubled with the use of fertilizer. This can be particularly important early on, when your fortress's seed supply is limited, because those extra plants mean more seeds for planting next season. Many crops, like quarry bushes, are impossible to farm effectively in the beginning without fertilizer.
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Each farm tile requires a single seed to be planted. Unfertilized farm tiles can produce a stack of 0-6 plants when harvested, depending upon the [[Grower|skill]] of the planter and random chance. Fertilizing a farm plot boosts production by up to 4 additional plants per stack each harvest. For unskilled planters, yield can be effectively doubled with the use of fertilizer. This can be particularly important early on, when your fortress's seed supply is limited, because those extra plants mean more seeds for planting next season. Many crops, like quarry bushes, are impossible to farm effectively in the beginning without fertilizer. Larger harvest stack sizes can also dramatically increase the efficiency of downstream industries; see the [[grower]] article for more discussion. To fertilize a farm plot, one needs [[potash]], which is produced by processing [[ash]]. Each plot must be re-fertilized each season, and the fertilizer must be in place at the time the seeds reach maturity. It does not matter whether the plot is fertilized at the time of planting. {{cite forum|139382/5375231}}
 
 
To fertilize a farm plot, one needs [[potash]], which is produced by processing [[ash]]. Each plot must be re-fertilized each season, and the fertilizer must be in place at the time the seeds reach maturity. It does not matter whether the plot is fertilized at the time of planting. {{cite forum|139382/5375231}}
 
  
Fertilizing a farm plot requires ''floor(plot_size / 4) + 1'' potash.  The table on the right illustrates the efficiency of potash as a function of plot size.  Generally, larger farms use less, approaching a limit of 1/4 bar per square.  The worst yields per tile are multiples of 4; if one plants to optimize harvest yield, it's most efficient to have plots of size ''4n - 1'', where n is the number of potash used.  Suitable sizes are 1x3, 1x7, 3x5, 3x9, 5x7, and 7x9. If one plans to optimize farmer experience, plots of size 2 or 4 can fertilized and seeded quickest, and experience can be distributed among more farmers. This ensures that if a bounty of crop is needed in the future, your farmers can yield more without potash, can plant and harvest quicker, and will have more time for other jobs in between.
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Fertilizing a farm plot requires ''floor(plot_size / 4) + 1'' potash.  The table on the right illustrates the efficiency of potash as a function of plot size - the most efficient (for a specific amount of potash) are in '''bold''', the least efficient are in '''italics''', and sizes that are most efficient but very difficult to create in-game (not rectangular numbers less than or equal to 30 per side) are both '''''bold & italicized'''''.  Generally, larger farms use less, approaching a limit of 1/4 bar per square.  The worst yields per tile are multiples of 4; if one plans to optimize harvest yield, it's most efficient to have plots of size ''4n - 1'', where n is the number of potash used.  Suitable sizes are 1×3, 1×7, 3×5, 3×9, 5×7, and 7×9. If one plans to optimize farmer experience, plots of size 2 or 4 can be fertilized and seeded quickest, and experience can be distributed among more farmers. This ensures that if a bounty of crop is needed in the future, your farmers can yield more without potash, can plant and harvest quicker, and will have more time for other jobs in between.  Of course, the price you'll pay for this is more time spent highlighting each individual farm and changing the crops if you wish to adjust your farming plan.
  
Fertilizer may be applied to a plot by pressing {{k|f}} while viewing the plot. Only dwarves with the Farming (Fields) labor will apply fertilizer; this grants 30 XP of farming experience for each unit of potash used. Pressing {{k|s}} toggles seasonal fertilization.  This does nothing until the next [[season]], at which time the plot will be automatically fertilized.  Note that if you do not have a potash stockpile near your farm plots, your legendary farmers may spend all of their time hauling single bars of potash from all the way on the other side of your fortress, rather than growing food.   
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Fertilizer may be applied to a plot by checking the box next to "Not set to fertilize" while in the farm plot menu, or checking "Fertilize every season". Only dwarves with the Planting work order will apply fertilizer; this grants 30 XP of farming experience for each unit of potash used. Note that if you do not have a potash stockpile near your farm plots, your legendary farmers may spend all of their time hauling single bars of potash from all the way on the other side of your fortress, rather than growing food.   
  
 
'''Potash Production Chain:'''
 
'''Potash Production Chain:'''
Line 71: Line 141:
 
Note:  5 bars are stored in a [[bin]].  An [[Ashery]] requires a [[block]], barrel, and bucket as components.
 
Note:  5 bars are stored in a [[bin]].  An [[Ashery]] requires a [[block]], barrel, and bucket as components.
  
=== Subterranean Farming ===
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=== Exact yield mechanics ===
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The outcome below is affected by non-cavern "poor soil" underground. You receive roughly 1/4th of the calculated yield. 1-2 plants per seed is typical even with high level planters and fertilizer. 
 +
 
 +
There is always at least one plant harvested.  Each of the following conditions, if true, has a 50% chance to yield an additional plant:
 +
* If the farm plot is at least 25% fertilized.
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* If the farm plot is at least 50% fertilized.
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* If the farm plot is at least 75% fertilized.
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* If the farm plot is 100% fertilized.
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* Randomly, with a (skill in 5) chance -- where the skill is the Farmer's skill level when the seed was planted.  Always for Proficient (5) skill or higher.
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* Randomly, with a (skill in 10) chance.  Always for Accomplished or higher.
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* Randomly, with a (skill in 15) chance.  Always for Legendary.
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* Randomly, with a (skill in 20) chance.  Always for Legendary+5 or higher.
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* Randomly, with a (skill in 75) chance.  For this last check, the skill level is capped at Legendary+10 (25).
 +
A Legendary+10 farmer working in a completely fertilized plot will always satisfy the first eight conditions, with a 33.3% chance of making the last check.  Even then, each of these only has a 50% chance to increase yield, so the result can, in theory, be as low as 1!  But on average, such a farmer can expect 5.17 crops per seed planted.
  
To grow the six "dwarven" plants, you will need an underground farm plot.  The seeds and spawn available to your dwarves at embark will only grow underground. Underground farm plots must be placed on soil or [[mud]]dy stone.
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== Subterranean farming ==
 +
To grow the six [[Crop#Dwarven_crops|"dwarven" plants]], you will need an [[Tile_attributes|underground]] farm plot.  The seeds and spawn available to your dwarves at [[embark]] will only grow underground. Underground farm plots must be placed on soil or [[mud]]dy stone.  Farm tiles located in soil layers which are not part of a [[cavern]] are considered "poor" (even if covered in mud) and will reduce all yields by 75%. [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=180689.msg8448153#msg8448153]  Notably, it doesn't matter what the tiles themselves are made of, just their location - even if you cast [[obsidian]] in a soil layer, mine it out, and irrigate it, it will still count as "poor".
  
Muddying a stone floor requires temporarily covering it with water; common methods include a [[Irrigation#via_Buckets|bucket brigade]] or '''controlled''' [[flood]]ing (see: [[Irrigation]]) by temporarily diverting a river or pool, using a [[floodgate]] or [[door]] to stop the flow. You may also find a muddied area in a [[cavern]], but note that each tile underneath the farm plot must be muddied. Most caverns have entire open areas which will be permanently covered in mud, but if you dig into the walls of a cavern or chisel away a pillar, the freshly cut floor area will not be muddied until you get it wet.  Underground caverns are dirty, and frequently contain [[Mud|piles of mud]] that are perfect for quickly setting up farms. However, given the wide variety of creatures found in caverns, you may want to take precautions.  Consider keeping a [[squad]] close at hand to guard the farm, or walling off a muddied area for your dwarves' exclusive use.
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Muddying a stone floor requires temporarily covering it with water; common methods include a [[Irrigation#via_Buckets|bucket brigade]] or '''controlled''' [[flood]]ing by temporarily diverting a river or pool, using a [[floodgate]] or [[door]] to stop the flow. You may also find a muddied area in a cavern, but note that each tile underneath the farm plot must be muddied. Most caverns have entire open areas which will be permanently covered in mud, but if you dig into the walls of a cavern or chisel away a pillar, the freshly cut floor area will not be muddied until you get it wet.  Underground caverns are dirty, and frequently contain piles of mud that are perfect for quickly setting up farms. However, given the wide variety of [[Creature#Subterranean|creatures found in caverns]], you may want to take precautions.  Consider keeping a [[squad]] close at hand to guard the farm, or walling off a muddied area for your dwarves' exclusive use.
  
Underground farming is not restricted to soil layers and caverns; underground floor of any material -- rough stone, smoothed stone, ore, gem -- can support subterranean farm plots once there is a layer of mud covering it.  See [[irrigation]] for tips on getting the right amount of water to the farm plots.
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Underground farming is not restricted to soil layers and caverns; underground floor of any material rough stone, smoothed stone, ore, gem can support subterranean farm plots once there is a layer of mud covering it.  See [[irrigation]] for tips on getting the right amount of water to the farm plots.
  
=== Above Ground Farming ===
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== Above-ground farming ==
Farming of above ground crops is only possible on tiles that lie in a biome supporting their growth. Those are "land" biomes excluding the notoriously cold [[Glacier]] and [[Tundra]], but also all [[Mountain]] [[biome]]s. [[Ocean]] biomes are also excluded, since they are not "land". The biomes where above ground farming is possible are internally referred to as NOT_FREEZING, but that label is somewhat misleading, since it's a [[Biome token|shorthand]] for a group of specific biomes and doesn't imply anything about the actual temperature - mountains and oceans are generally infertile, no matter what temperature range the embark screen lists, and a [[Taiga]] with "freezing" temperatures allows farming above ground plants.
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Farming of above ground crops is only possible on tiles that lie in a biome supporting their growth. Which crops are farmable depends on the biome - only plants ''native'' to a biome can actually be grown in a location: you cannot farm [[yam|yams]] in a [[taiga]], or [[hemp]] in a [[tropical]] rainforest. There are also biomes where aboveground farming is entirely impossible, since no crops are native to them: these are the notoriously cold [[glacier]] and [[tundra]], but also all [[lake]], [[mountain]] and [[ocean]] [[biome]]s. The most widespread crops can be farmed in all land biomes with the exceptions mentioned above; this ubiquitous availability uses the internal reference NOT_FREEZING, but that label is somewhat misleading, since it's a [[Biome token|shorthand]] for a group of specific biomes and doesn't imply anything about the actual temperature - mountains and oceans are generally infertile, no matter what temperature range the embark screen lists, and a [[Taiga]] with "freezing" temperatures allows farming above ground plants.
  
Above ground farming is basically the same as underground farming, with the simplifying distinction that above ground plots typically do not require preparatory work. However, there are some complications.
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Above-ground farming is basically the same as underground farming, with the simplifying distinction that above ground plots typically do not require preparatory work. However, there are some complications.
  
 
The first complication is that seeds cannot be chosen at embark, as dwarven civilizations do not have access to those sort of plants.  They can be bought from [[Elves|elven]] and [[human]] caravans; above-ground plants can be gathered using the [[Plant gathering]] designation, and then [[brewer|brewed]], [[miller|milled]], [[thresher|threshed]] or [[food|eaten]] directly (depending on the plant) to produce seeds.
 
The first complication is that seeds cannot be chosen at embark, as dwarven civilizations do not have access to those sort of plants.  They can be bought from [[Elves|elven]] and [[human]] caravans; above-ground plants can be gathered using the [[Plant gathering]] designation, and then [[brewer|brewed]], [[miller|milled]], [[thresher|threshed]] or [[food|eaten]] directly (depending on the plant) to produce seeds.
  
The second complication is that the farming must be done on [[soil]] or muddied rock, which is [[above ground]].  Typically, it is done on the surface, which is dangerous (due to aggressive animals, ambushes and sieges).  However, any land which has ever been exposed to sunlight becomes permanently marked as "above ground".  So, if you have multiple Z-layers of soil, you can channel some above-ground land, remove the resulting ramps, then construct a floor above, where the surface once was.  The (now inside and protected) lower soil will still be suitable for farming outdoor plants like [[strawberry|strawberries]], [[longland grass]], [[rope reed]], and anything else you may find. If your soil is not thick enough, you may still get a secure above ground farm by doing the same with any stone and muddying it. Alternatively, you may build a greenhouse by [[wall]]ing around some soil.
+
The second complication is that the farming must be done on [[soil]] or muddied rock, which is [[above ground]].  Typically, it is done on the surface, which is dangerous (due to aggressive animals, ambushes and sieges).  However, any land which has ever been exposed to sunlight becomes permanently marked as "above ground".  So, if you have multiple Z-layers of soil; you can channel some above-ground land, remove the resulting ramps, then construct a floor, above where the surface once was.  The (now inside and protected) lower soil will still be suitable for farming outdoor plants like [[strawberry|strawberries]], [[longland grass]], [[rope reed]], and anything else you may find. If your soil is not thick enough, you may still get a secure above ground farm by doing the same with any stone and muddying it. Alternatively, you may build a greenhouse by [[wall]]ing around some soil.
  
Some crops require a particular environment to grow. On an embark which crosses multiple biomes, it's not unusual for aboveground farms in different biomes to have different lists of available crops. Whether this varies only with temperature or also with other climate factors is not yet known.
+
The various crops require particular environments to grow. On an embark which crosses multiple biomes, it's not unusual for aboveground farms in different biomes to have different lists of available crops.  
  
 
Note that when creating an above ground plot, the interface may incorrectly display "No mud/soil for farm", even though mud is present. {{bug|249}} The message can be ignored.
 
Note that when creating an above ground plot, the interface may incorrectly display "No mud/soil for farm", even though mud is present. {{bug|249}} The message can be ignored.
  
 
== Farm plots in action ==
 
== Farm plots in action ==
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right;margin:1em;width:35%"
 +
|+ Growth duration for subterranean crops
 +
|-
 +
! Crops !! Game [[Time|ticks]] until harvest !! Days until harvest
 +
|-
 +
| Plump helmet, pig tail || 30000 || 25 days
 +
|-
 +
| Cave wheat, sweet pod, quarry bush, dimple cup || 50000 || 41.666 days
 +
|}
  
Once a farm plot has been built and crops have been selected for the current season, dwarves with the [[growing]] labor enabled will begin planting the selected seeds.  One seed is used per tile.  The higher a Dwarf's grower skill in planting, the more plants will be harvested from each seed planted. The farming labor is fairly low in priority, so if you want a full-time farmer, it is best to disable all other labors.
+
Once a farm plot has been built and crops have been selected for the current season, dwarves with the "[[Grower|Farming (Fields)]]" labor enabled will begin planting the selected seeds.  One seed is used per tile.  The higher a dwarf's grower skill in planting, the more plants will be harvested from each seed planted. The farming labor is fairly low in priority, so if you want a full-time farmer, it is best to disable all other labors.
  
Plants take time to grow, depending on their type. Once a plant is fully grown, a dwarf will harvest it. By default, any dwarf will do this. Harvesting plants is not affected by any skill, although it provides a small amount of grower experience. So it's a good idea to set only your planters to harvest, not anyone. To do that, set option "Only Farmers Harvest" {{k|o}}{{k|h}}. This is useful only to train your planter faster; once they're skilled enough, everyone can be allowed to harvest again so the haulers can take care of half the farming work.
+
Plants take time to grow, depending on their type. Once a plant is fully grown, a dwarf will harvest it. By default, any dwarf will do this. Harvesting plants is not affected by any skill, although it provides a small amount of grower experience. So it's a good idea to set only your planters to harvest, not anyone. To do that, go to Labor ({{k|y}}), then click Standing Orders, then click Other, the click "Everybody Harvests". This is useful only to train your planter faster; once they're skilled enough, everyone can be allowed to harvest again so the haulers can take care of half the farming work.
  
 
<div style="float:right">
 
<div style="float:right">
Line 113: Line 206:
 
In the farm plot shown on the right, {{Tile|≈|6:0}} indicates tiles awaiting planting, {{Tile|═|6:0}} indicates tiles that have been planted and are now growing, and {{Tile|τ|6:1}} indicates [[longland grass]] plants that are ready for harvesting.
 
In the farm plot shown on the right, {{Tile|≈|6:0}} indicates tiles awaiting planting, {{Tile|═|6:0}} indicates tiles that have been planted and are now growing, and {{Tile|τ|6:1}} indicates [[longland grass]] plants that are ready for harvesting.
  
If harvested plants are not moved to a stockpile in time, they will wither. These plants will eventually [[rot]] away. There's no use for withered plants. If, when the seasons change, the previous crop can not grow anymore, all immature plants will be destroyed yielding neither seed nor plant. If the farmers are "aware" of this limitation, they will automatically stop planting crops that haven't enough time to ripen, but you might lose a few seeds in your first year when growers of insufficient skill plant seeds too close to the cutoff.
+
If harvested plants are not moved to a stockpile in time, they will wither, and eventually [[rot]] away. There is no use for withered plants. If, when the seasons change, the previous crop can not grow anymore, all immature plants will be destroyed, yielding neither seed nor plant. If the farmers are "aware" of this limitation, they will automatically stop planting crops that haven't enough time to ripen, but you might lose a few seeds in your first year when growers of insufficient skill plant seeds too close to the cutoff. Depending on the number of growers and their experience and the rate at which the plant grows, not all squares of large plots may be used. Any farm plot that has both Above Ground and Subterranean tile attributes within the plot will only be partially-planted, if at all.  
 
 
Depending on the number of growers and their experience and the rate at which the plant grows, not all squares of large plots may be used.
 
  
Any farm plot that has both Above Ground and Subterranean tile attributes within the plot will only be partially planted, if at all. Verify using {{k|k}} over each square of the plot and remake as needed to follow the proper attributes.
+
=== Farm size ===
 +
{{main|Farm size calculations}}
  
== Management ==
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{{Dual image
 +
|premium=File:DFwiki5by53by3farm.png
 +
|classic=File:Quickstart_layout_3.png
 +
|width=100px
 +
|caption=A 5×5 room with a 3×3 farm plot
 +
}}
  
Create a custom [[stockpile]] near your [[farm]] which only accepts [[seed]]s. This will consolidate your seeds into one place, instead of having them littered all through the [[dining room]]. As a single barrel can hold up to 10 seed [[bag]]s (each of which can hold 100 seeds of a specific type), and there is a maximum of 200 seeds of each type in the whole fortress, this stockpile need only be three or four tiles. (For DF2014 the theoretical maximum is 31 tiles for 200 seeds of each of 155 crops, but the actual maximum needed is much less because no fort will be situated in the right place to grow all of those. Four tiles gives enough space for 20 different crops.) Unfortunately, due to an outstanding bug, consolidating your seeds will increase the amount of planting job cancellation spam; see the [[#Bugs|Bugs]] section below for workarounds.  
+
A beginning fortress has 7 dwarves, each of which consumes 7 units of food and drink per dwarf per season, needs 196 for the whole fortress for the year. This starting group can theoretically be supported by a single farm tile, but in practice a larger farm will be necessary since a young fortress is unable to use farm tiles to their fullest potential.
  
It may also be a good idea to set aside a few seeds from each type of crop and [[forbid]] them, as a seed bank in case of [[fun|fun times]].
+
A properly-managed and fully-utilized 3×3 plot growing plump helmets can produce an average of up to 2700 units of alcohol per year, enough to provide food (through booze-cooking with seeds) and drink for a fortress of 95 dwarves. A similar 5×5 plot can produce up to 7500 units of food and drink per year, enough to support 265 dwarves.
  
You can also create a custom stockpile that will only accept [[plant]]s, to avoid having it all mixed up with your [[meat]] and [[drink]]s. It would be a good idea to have this stockpile near your [[still]], [[farmer's workshop]], [[kitchen]], etc. If you suffer from plump helmet overflow, create a plump-helmet-only stockpile, forbid plump helmets from all other food stockpiles, and let the crops in the field die if they can't be picked. It is worth noting that withering crops in the field do not produce miasma.
+
== Management ==
 +
Use the [[labor]] menu, and go to the Kitchen tab. From here you can see how many of each kind of food you have. If you're running out of a certain kind of seed, toggle the corresponding plant "Cook" setting to red. [[Cooking]] plants doesn't leave a seed. If you have too many of a certain kind of seed, or of plump helmet, as noted above, toggle the seed "Cook" setting to green. Just make sure you check on the amount and toggle it back before you run out. It may also be a good idea to set aside a few seeds from each type of crop and [[forbid]] them, as a seed bank in case of [[fun|fun times]].  
  
Use the [[stocks]] menu, and go to the Kitchen tab. From here you can see how many of each kind of food you have. If you're running out of a certain kind of seed, toggle the corresponding plant "Cook" setting to red. [[Cooking]] plants doesn't leave a seed. If you have too many of a certain kind of seed, or of plump helmet, as noted above, toggle the seed "Cook" setting to blue. Just make sure you check on the stocks and toggle it back before you run out, or use the seed bank idea above.
+
=== Managing seeds ===
 +
[[Seed]]s are used to grow [[crop]]s. You may begin the game with a certain number of seeds, [[trade]] for them, or [[plant gathering|gather]] them. In addition to this, eating, [[milling]] and [[brewing]] plants often yield a seed (assuming your fortress hasn't hit the seed cap for that plant). [[Cooking]] plants does not yield seeds, and cooking seeds makes them unusable for planting, so you may want to watch out and make sure you don't convert the last of your plants into +strawberry roast+ without the ability to make more.
  
===Managing Seeds===
+
You can create a custom [[stockpile]] near your [[farm]] which will only accept [[seed]]s. This will consolidate your seeds into one place, instead of having them littered all through the [[dining room]]. Seeds are stored in [[bag]]s (up to 100 seeds per bag), and seed bags can be stored in barrels. However it is recommended to not use barrels on seed stockpiles, since the hauling habits lead to barrels getting carted around to collect each and every loose seed, interrupting the planting work; see the [[#Bugs|Bugs]] section below for workarounds.  
[[Seed]]s are used to grow [[crop]]s. You may begin the game with a certain number of seeds, [[trade]] for them, or [[plant gathering|gather]] them. In addition to this, eating, [[milling]] and [[brewing]] plants often yield a seed (assuming your fortress hasn't hit the seed cap for that plant). [[Cooking]] plants does not yield seeds, and cooking seeds makes them unusable for planting, so you may want to watch out and make sure you don't convert the last of your plants into +strawberry roast+ without the ability to make more.
 
  
You can create a custom [[stockpile]] near your [[farm]] which will only accept [[seed]]s. This will consolidate your seeds into one place, instead of having them littered all through the [[dining room]]. Seeds are stored in [[bag]]s (up to 100 seeds per bag), and seed bags can be stored in barrels. It is recommended not to use barrels on seeds stockpiles, however, since the hauling habits of the current version lead to barrels getting carted around to collect each and every loose seed, interrupting the planting work.
+
<small>For DF2014 the theoretical seed stockpile maximum size is 31 tiles for 200 seeds of each of 155 crops, but the actual maximum needed is much less because no fort will be situated in the right place to grow all of those. Four tiles gives enough space for 20 different crops.</small>
  
Each plant has a seed cap set at 200 (this value can be adjusted in [[d_init.txt]]). [[Brewing]], [[milling]], and [[food|eating]] raw plants will not generate additional seeds once the cap is reached, although you may still get additional seed bags via [[trading]] and thus exceed this limit. Once the count of seeds falls below 200, new seeds will again be generated.
+
Each plant has a fortress-wide seed cap set at 200 (this value can be adjusted in [[d_init.txt]]). [[Brewing]], [[milling]], and [[food|eating]] raw plants will not generate additional seeds once the cap is reached, although you may still get additional seed bags via [[trading]] and thus exceed this limit. Once the count of seeds falls below 200, new seeds will again be generated.
  
 
There is also a fortress-wide total seed cap, initially set at 3000 (also configurable in [[d_init.txt]]). Once your fortress reaches this cap new seeds will still be generated, but the oldest seeds on the map will disappear. Unfortunately, this cap counts all seeds on the map, including those carried by traders {{bug|8108}}, and removes old seeds even if they have already been planted {{bug|8107}}. Finally, because the two caps behave differently, they can cause undesirable behavior when both are in operation {{bug|8091}}.  
 
There is also a fortress-wide total seed cap, initially set at 3000 (also configurable in [[d_init.txt]]). Once your fortress reaches this cap new seeds will still be generated, but the oldest seeds on the map will disappear. Unfortunately, this cap counts all seeds on the map, including those carried by traders {{bug|8108}}, and removes old seeds even if they have already been planted {{bug|8107}}. Finally, because the two caps behave differently, they can cause undesirable behavior when both are in operation {{bug|8091}}.  
  
Seeds may be toggled for [[cooking]] on the Kitchen tab of the [[stocks]] menu. Disabling seed cooking will keep your seeds safe from starving dwarves. Although the item properties label them as EDIBLE_RAW, [[quarry bush|rock nuts]], like all other seeds, are ''not'' consumed as-is.
+
Seeds may be toggled for [[cooking]] on the Kitchen tab of the [[labor]] menu. Disabling seed cooking will keep your seeds safe from starving dwarves. Although the item properties label them as EDIBLE_RAW, [[quarry bush|rock nuts]], like all other seeds, are ''not'' consumed as-is.
  
===Managing Crops===
+
=== Managing crops ===
When your [[crop]]s are ripe, your dwarves will harvest them from the farm plots. This will yield one or more [[stack]]s of [[plant]]s, which will be [[hauling|hauled]] to the appropriate [[stockpile]]. It is generally a good idea to have sufficient [[barrel]]s to hold the food, as [[food]] is subject to [[wear|withering]] and the predation of [[vermin]]. [[Metal]] barrels are especially effective against vermin.
+
When your [[crop]]s are ripe, your dwarves will harvest them from the farm plots. This will yield one or more [[stack]]s of [[plant]]s, which will be [[hauling|hauled]] to the appropriate [[stockpile]]. It is generally a good idea to have sufficient [[barrel]]s to hold the food, as [[food]] is subject to [[wear|withering]] and the predation of [[vermin]]. [[Metal]] barrels are especially effective against vermin. You can create a custom stockpile that will only accept [[plant]]s, to avoid having it all mixed up with your [[meat]] and [[drink]]s. It would be a good idea to have this stockpile near your [[still]], [[farmer's workshop]], [[kitchen]], etc. You may also choose to make more specialized stockpiles, for instance if your [[windmill]] is located far away from your farms, you might have small nearby stockpiles dedicated solely to millable plants and [[flour]] so as to save on hauling.  
  
You can create a custom stockpile that will only accept [[plant]]s, to avoid having it all mixed up with your [[meat]] and [[drink]]s. It would be a good idea to have this stockpile near your [[still]], [[farmer's workshop]], [[kitchen]], etc. You may also choose to make more specialized stockpiles, for instance if your [[windmill]] is located far away from your farms, you might have small nearby stockpiles dedicated solely to millable plants and [[flour]] so as to save on hauling.
+
The Kitchen tab on the [[labor]] menu allows you to control which crops, if any, your dwarves will use as ingredients when cooking. Be careful when you are cultivating new crops or running low on others, and make sure you don't cook the last of them instead of recovering the valuable seeds. Note that experienced [[farmer]]s and crop [[fertilize|fertilization]] significantly increase the return on planted seeds, and can be quite useful when attempting to build your seed stockpile.
  
The Kitchen tab on the [[stocks]] menu allows you to control which crops, if any, your dwarves will use as ingredients when cooking. Be careful when you are cultivating new crops or running low on others, and make sure you don't cook the last of them instead of recovering the valuable seeds. Note that experienced [[farmer]]s and crop [[fertilize|fertilization]] significantly increase the return on planted seeds, and can be quite useful when attempting to build your seed stockpile.
+
If you suffer from plump helmet overflow, create a plump-helmet-only stockpile, forbid plump helmets from all other food stockpiles, and let the crops in the field die if they can't be picked. Withering crops do not produce miasma.
  
==Bugs==
+
== Adventure mode ==
 +
Interestingly, farming does work in adventure mode, though it requires the use of [[DFHack]]'s advfort plugin - buy fruit at a market, brew them into booze and seeds, build farming plots, plant the seeds. Unfortunately the time it takes for stuff to grow is adapted to fortress mode, and it takes an inordinate amount of time for your adventurer to do a single harvest.
  
 +
== Bugs ==
 
* "Store item in container" jobs block access to items already in the container. This causes stored seeds to become unavailable, spamming job cancellations. {{bug|9004}}
 
* "Store item in container" jobs block access to items already in the container. This causes stored seeds to become unavailable, spamming job cancellations. {{bug|9004}}
** Workaround #1: set your seed stockpile to only take from links ({{k|a}}). When seed supplies run low, toggle it back to "anywhere" temporarily to gather up all the loose seeds.
+
** Workaround #1: set your seed stockpile to only take from links. When seed supplies run low, toggle it back to "anywhere" temporarily to gather up all the loose seeds.
** Workaround #2: disable barrels ({{k|E}}) in the seed stockpile.  This means making the stockpile larger, as only one seed bag will be stored per tile. However, at 100 seeds per bag and with the 200 seed cap per seed type (cf. [[seed]]), this still only amounts to 12 tiles for a full underground-crop seed stockpile, assuming each seed type is only stored in 2 bags. Haulers will still lock a whole bag to gather individual seeds, but this is better than locking a whole barrel full of seed bags.
+
** Workaround #2: set desired barrels to 0 in the seed stockpile.  This means making the stockpile larger, as only one seed bag will be stored per tile. However, at 100 seeds per bag and with the 200 seed cap per seed type (cf. [[seed]]), this still only amounts to 12 tiles for a full underground-crop seed stockpile, assuming each seed type is only stored in 2 bags. Haulers will still lock a whole bag to gather individual seeds, but this is better than locking a whole barrel full of seed bags.
 
** Workaround #3: create two custom [[stockpile]]s which only accept [[seed]]s. Disable barrels in the first stockpile, and set it to give to the second stockpile. Set the second to only take from links.  
 
** Workaround #3: create two custom [[stockpile]]s which only accept [[seed]]s. Disable barrels in the first stockpile, and set it to give to the second stockpile. Set the second to only take from links.  
 
** Workaround #4: disable seeds in all stockpiles and recruit a few extra farmers. No hauled seeds means no planting job cancellation spam.
 
** Workaround #4: disable seeds in all stockpiles and recruit a few extra farmers. No hauled seeds means no planting job cancellation spam.
 
 
* Fortress-wide seed cap counts seeds carried by traders {{bug|8108}}
 
* Fortress-wide seed cap counts seeds carried by traders {{bug|8108}}
 
* Fortress-wide seed cap removes seeds that have already been planted {{bug|8107}}
 
* Fortress-wide seed cap removes seeds that have already been planted {{bug|8107}}
* Conflict between seed caps can cause all seeds for a crop to disappear {{bug|8091}}  
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* Conflict between seed caps can cause all seeds for a crop to disappear {{bug|8091}}
 +
* Some crops can't be processed, and so can't be used or replanted {{bug|6940}}
 +
** [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=162231.msg7321878#msg7321878 partial workaround] by editing the raws for bitter vetch (possibly works for other crops too)
  
{{Farming FAQ}}
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== Caveats (warnings) ==
 +
=== Red crops ===
 +
Crops will sometimes be displayed as red in the field listing. This means that planting the crop would be fruitless, as it will not survive long enough to be harvested (due to it not being plantable during the next season). Note that this will only happen if your dwarves actually '''know''' that the crop will die, which will be learned either by observation (i.e. having the seeds die during a season transition) or by being planted by a sufficiently skilled Farmer.
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
Line 166: Line 269:
 
* [[Crops]]
 
* [[Crops]]
 
* [[How large a farm do i need|How large a farm do I need?]]  
 
* [[How large a farm do i need|How large a farm do I need?]]  
 +
 +
{{Translation| dwarven = ivom | elvish = tòbafí | goblin = gotåm | human = ab}}
  
 
{{Category|Buildings}}
 
{{Category|Buildings}}
 +
{{Category|Agriculture| }}
 +
{{Category|Farming Workshops}}
 
{{Industry}}
 
{{Industry}}
 +
{{Workshops}}
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{{V50 menus}}
 +
[[ru:Farming]][[zh:Farming]]

Latest revision as of 04:22, 5 August 2024

This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.

General farming flowchart.

Farming is the act of growing crops for food, alcohol production, cloth manufacturing, and paper making. While small forts can easily be sustained by plant gathering, hunting and trading, farming is vital to large settlements.

Farming is done at a farm plot building Ui b.pngbUi bo.pngoUi bof.pngfUi bofp.pngp | Build->Workshops->Farming->Farm Plot, then drag over the area you want to build the plot on). Building uses no resources, and can only be done on soil or muddied rock. Mud-free stone will not allow the building of a farm plot on top. Farming requires the "Farming (Fields)" labor, and uses the Planter skill. Farm plots only display the kind of crops that they are able to grow when selected by clicking on the plot.

Depending on where the farm plot is constructed, different crops may be planted. Farm plots built Above Ground are not suitable for Subterranean crops and vice versa. Note that the attributes Inside, Outside are of no relevance. You can grow surface plants indoors by channeling out the roof above the desired plot and then constructing a floor Ui b.pngbUi bn.pngnUi bnf.pngf | Build->Constructions->Floor) over the open space. Doing this changes the tile from Dark to Light, despite there being a roof (you do not need to make the roof out of glass for this to work). A plot with mixed Light and Dark tiles may show plants as "available" when only a tiny fraction of the tiles in the farm are valid for planting them.

Note that although you can construct a farm plot anywhere there's either a soil floor or a mud covering, this doesn't always mean the seeds you have – especially imported ones – can be planted there. Not all crops can be grown in a given biome, and some biomes will prevent the planting of all above-ground crops. Even seeds you obtained as a result of plant gathering might not be plantable where you've chosen to put your farm, if they came from a different biome.

The yellow warning message, No mud/soil for farm, Mud is left by water, is displayed on all above-ground tiles, regardless of whether the farm will function.v0.34.11 This warning may be ignored. Tiles that actually lack mud or soil are excluded from the construction entirely with a red warning message (either Blocked or Needs soil or mud). See the article on crops for details on the conditions needed to grow the available plants.

At this time, v50 of the game is lacking many variants of crop and plant sprites, but will be added in a future update.

Introduction to Farming[edit]

Building a farm[edit]

Enough to feed 1 dwarf for 2 days!
Mushroom farming

First, select an area for your farm. Building a farm on a soil layer is easiest (farming in non-soil layers will require irrigation). Aboveground farms can simply be built on the surface (though this exposes your farmers to attack); subterranean farms will need to have a suitable area dug out underground. Once you've decided on a location, open the build menu and select Workshops, farming, and then Farm plot to build your farm.

To define the width and height of your farm plot, click the first desired corner, then the second, as you would build constructions like floors and walls. Keep your farms small – 2×2, up to 4×4, or so. Farms are surprisingly productive. You can always make more farms later if you run low on plants, and having several small farms lets you diversify your crops. (Each farm plot can only grow one kind of plant per season.) Now a dwarf with the Planters work detail (default set to "everybody does this", meaning any available dwarf will come) will come and prepare the plot for planting.

Once the farm plot has been built, you must select which crops to grow. Click on the farm - you will see a list of crops you can select to grow in the local biome and current season. Now click on the crop you wish to plant in that season. Instructing a plot to remain fallow during a particular season will tell dwarves not to plant in that plot during that season. Currently, unlike in real life, crop rotation is not necessary; soil productivity is only affected by fertilizing, and the same crop may be grown indefinitely without a decrease in performance, even without fertilizer.

From the same menu, you can press check the box next to "Not set to fertilize", changing the text to "Set to fertilize". Fertilized crops produce larger stacks of plants, which can be useful to grow your seed supply early on and your food supply later on. You must have the appropriate seeds to plant a crop on a plot. To easily see how many of each seed you have, you can go to the Labor menu (y), then click on the Kitchen tab, then click on Seeds.

Since your dwarves require food, booze and clothing, you should set up a combination of plants that will supply all of these. Plump helmets are a good beginning crop for a first cave farm, and strawberries are a good choice for outdoor fields – both can be eaten raw, or brewed. Pig tails produce cloth, which will become important once your clothing starts to wear. Check the crops page for details on different seeds. Cooking plants destroys their seeds, so you should disable the cooking of plants in the Kitchen menu. Eating them, brewing them, or processing them through a farmer's workshop, quern, or millstone, will produce seeds.

Help, my farmers won't farm!

  • Verify that your Planter work detail is set to either "Everybody does this" or "Only selected do this", and that in the latter case you have dwarves selected. If the selected dwarves are still not planting, try setting them to be specialised by clicking the green hammer / lock icon.
  • Verify that the farm plot has a crop selected for the current season. (Each season must be set up separately, and some crops only grow in certain seasons.)
  • Verify that you have seeds for the chosen crop, and that those seeds are accessible to your farmers (not forbidden, locked behind a door, being carried across the map by one of your haulers, etc.).
  • Verify that your farmers can reach your farm plot (no locked doors, disconnected stairways, etc.).
  • Verify that your farm plot is acceptable. An underground plot that has been exposed to sunlight will never grow underground plants again. It may be necessary to remove the plot and rebuild it so that you can select aboveground crops to plant. Farm plots which are partially belowground and aboveground will never be fully planted. Additionally, some aboveground biomes (such as mountains and glaciers) are unsuitable for farming and will never grow crops.

Yield and fertilization[edit]

Farm Size Potash Per Square
1 (1×1) 1 1.000
2 (1×2) 1 0.500
3 (1×3) 1 0.333
4 (1×4, 2×2) 2 0.500
5 (1×5) 2 0.400
6 (1×6, 2×3) 2 0.333
7 (1×7) 2 0.286
8 (1×8, 2×4) 3 0.375
9 (1×9, 3×3) 3 0.333
10 (1×10, 2×5) 3 0.300
11 (1×11) 3 0.272
12 (1×12, 2×6, 3×4) 4 0.333
15 (1×15, 3×5) 4 0.267
16 (1×16, 2×8, 4×4) 5 0.312
18 (1×18, 2×9, 3×6) 5 0.278
19 (1×19) 5 0.263
20 (1×20, 2×10, 4×5) 6 0.300
21 (1×21, 3×7) 6 0.286
23 (1×23) 6 0.261
24 (1×24, 3×8, 4×6) 7 0.292
27 (1×27, 3×9) 7 0.259
30 (1×30) 8 0.266
31 (n/a) 8 0.257
35 (5×7) 9 0.257
39 (3×13) 10 0.256
42 (2×21, 3×14, 6×7) 11 0.262
43 (n/a) 11 0.262
45 (5×9) 12 0.267
46 (2×23) 12 0.261
47 (n/a) 12 0.255
49 (7×7) 13 0.265
50 (5×10) 13 0.260
51 (3×17) 13 0.255
55 (5×11) 14 0.254
63 (3×21, 7×9) 16 0.254
75 (3×25, 5×15) 19 0.253
87 (3×29) 22 0.252
90 (9×10) 23 0.256
91 (7×13) 23 0.252
95 (5×19) 24 0.252
99 (9×11) 25 0.252
100 (10×10) 26 0.260

Each farm tile requires a single seed to be planted. Unfertilized farm tiles can produce a stack of 0-6 plants when harvested, depending upon the skill of the planter and random chance. Fertilizing a farm plot boosts production by up to 4 additional plants per stack each harvest. For unskilled planters, yield can be effectively doubled with the use of fertilizer. This can be particularly important early on, when your fortress's seed supply is limited, because those extra plants mean more seeds for planting next season. Many crops, like quarry bushes, are impossible to farm effectively in the beginning without fertilizer. Larger harvest stack sizes can also dramatically increase the efficiency of downstream industries; see the grower article for more discussion. To fertilize a farm plot, one needs potash, which is produced by processing ash. Each plot must be re-fertilized each season, and the fertilizer must be in place at the time the seeds reach maturity. It does not matter whether the plot is fertilized at the time of planting. [1]

Fertilizing a farm plot requires floor(plot_size / 4) + 1 potash. The table on the right illustrates the efficiency of potash as a function of plot size - the most efficient (for a specific amount of potash) are in bold, the least efficient are in italics, and sizes that are most efficient but very difficult to create in-game (not rectangular numbers less than or equal to 30 per side) are both bold & italicized. Generally, larger farms use less, approaching a limit of 1/4 bar per square. The worst yields per tile are multiples of 4; if one plans to optimize harvest yield, it's most efficient to have plots of size 4n - 1, where n is the number of potash used. Suitable sizes are 1×3, 1×7, 3×5, 3×9, 5×7, and 7×9. If one plans to optimize farmer experience, plots of size 2 or 4 can be fertilized and seeded quickest, and experience can be distributed among more farmers. This ensures that if a bounty of crop is needed in the future, your farmers can yield more without potash, can plant and harvest quicker, and will have more time for other jobs in between. Of course, the price you'll pay for this is more time spent highlighting each individual farm and changing the crops if you wish to adjust your farming plan.

Fertilizer may be applied to a plot by checking the box next to "Not set to fertilize" while in the farm plot menu, or checking "Fertilize every season". Only dwarves with the Planting work order will apply fertilizer; this grants 30 XP of farming experience for each unit of potash used. Note that if you do not have a potash stockpile near your farm plots, your legendary farmers may spend all of their time hauling single bars of potash from all the way on the other side of your fortress, rather than growing food.

Potash Production Chain: Wood Stockpile > Wood Furnace produces Ash (as bars) > Ashery produces potash (as bars). Note: 5 bars are stored in a bin. An Ashery requires a block, barrel, and bucket as components.

Exact yield mechanics[edit]

The outcome below is affected by non-cavern "poor soil" underground. You receive roughly 1/4th of the calculated yield. 1-2 plants per seed is typical even with high level planters and fertilizer.

There is always at least one plant harvested. Each of the following conditions, if true, has a 50% chance to yield an additional plant:

  • If the farm plot is at least 25% fertilized.
  • If the farm plot is at least 50% fertilized.
  • If the farm plot is at least 75% fertilized.
  • If the farm plot is 100% fertilized.
  • Randomly, with a (skill in 5) chance -- where the skill is the Farmer's skill level when the seed was planted. Always for Proficient (5) skill or higher.
  • Randomly, with a (skill in 10) chance. Always for Accomplished or higher.
  • Randomly, with a (skill in 15) chance. Always for Legendary.
  • Randomly, with a (skill in 20) chance. Always for Legendary+5 or higher.
  • Randomly, with a (skill in 75) chance. For this last check, the skill level is capped at Legendary+10 (25).

A Legendary+10 farmer working in a completely fertilized plot will always satisfy the first eight conditions, with a 33.3% chance of making the last check. Even then, each of these only has a 50% chance to increase yield, so the result can, in theory, be as low as 1! But on average, such a farmer can expect 5.17 crops per seed planted.

Subterranean farming[edit]

To grow the six "dwarven" plants, you will need an underground farm plot. The seeds and spawn available to your dwarves at embark will only grow underground. Underground farm plots must be placed on soil or muddy stone. Farm tiles located in soil layers which are not part of a cavern are considered "poor" (even if covered in mud) and will reduce all yields by 75%. [1] Notably, it doesn't matter what the tiles themselves are made of, just their location - even if you cast obsidian in a soil layer, mine it out, and irrigate it, it will still count as "poor".

Muddying a stone floor requires temporarily covering it with water; common methods include a bucket brigade or controlled flooding by temporarily diverting a river or pool, using a floodgate or door to stop the flow. You may also find a muddied area in a cavern, but note that each tile underneath the farm plot must be muddied. Most caverns have entire open areas which will be permanently covered in mud, but if you dig into the walls of a cavern or chisel away a pillar, the freshly cut floor area will not be muddied until you get it wet. Underground caverns are dirty, and frequently contain piles of mud that are perfect for quickly setting up farms. However, given the wide variety of creatures found in caverns, you may want to take precautions. Consider keeping a squad close at hand to guard the farm, or walling off a muddied area for your dwarves' exclusive use.

Underground farming is not restricted to soil layers and caverns; underground floor of any material – rough stone, smoothed stone, ore, gem – can support subterranean farm plots once there is a layer of mud covering it. See irrigation for tips on getting the right amount of water to the farm plots.

Above-ground farming[edit]

Farming of above ground crops is only possible on tiles that lie in a biome supporting their growth. Which crops are farmable depends on the biome - only plants native to a biome can actually be grown in a location: you cannot farm yams in a taiga, or hemp in a tropical rainforest. There are also biomes where aboveground farming is entirely impossible, since no crops are native to them: these are the notoriously cold glacier and tundra, but also all lake, mountain and ocean biomes. The most widespread crops can be farmed in all land biomes with the exceptions mentioned above; this ubiquitous availability uses the internal reference NOT_FREEZING, but that label is somewhat misleading, since it's a shorthand for a group of specific biomes and doesn't imply anything about the actual temperature - mountains and oceans are generally infertile, no matter what temperature range the embark screen lists, and a Taiga with "freezing" temperatures allows farming above ground plants.

Above-ground farming is basically the same as underground farming, with the simplifying distinction that above ground plots typically do not require preparatory work. However, there are some complications.

The first complication is that seeds cannot be chosen at embark, as dwarven civilizations do not have access to those sort of plants. They can be bought from elven and human caravans; above-ground plants can be gathered using the Plant gathering designation, and then brewed, milled, threshed or eaten directly (depending on the plant) to produce seeds.

The second complication is that the farming must be done on soil or muddied rock, which is above ground. Typically, it is done on the surface, which is dangerous (due to aggressive animals, ambushes and sieges). However, any land which has ever been exposed to sunlight becomes permanently marked as "above ground". So, if you have multiple Z-layers of soil; you can channel some above-ground land, remove the resulting ramps, then construct a floor, above where the surface once was. The (now inside and protected) lower soil will still be suitable for farming outdoor plants like strawberries, longland grass, rope reed, and anything else you may find. If your soil is not thick enough, you may still get a secure above ground farm by doing the same with any stone and muddying it. Alternatively, you may build a greenhouse by walling around some soil.

The various crops require particular environments to grow. On an embark which crosses multiple biomes, it's not unusual for aboveground farms in different biomes to have different lists of available crops.

Note that when creating an above ground plot, the interface may incorrectly display "No mud/soil for farm", even though mud is present. Bug:249 The message can be ignored.

Farm plots in action[edit]

Growth duration for subterranean crops
Crops Game ticks until harvest Days until harvest
Plump helmet, pig tail 30000 25 days
Cave wheat, sweet pod, quarry bush, dimple cup 50000 41.666 days

Once a farm plot has been built and crops have been selected for the current season, dwarves with the "Farming (Fields)" labor enabled will begin planting the selected seeds. One seed is used per tile. The higher a dwarf's grower skill in planting, the more plants will be harvested from each seed planted. The farming labor is fairly low in priority, so if you want a full-time farmer, it is best to disable all other labors.

Plants take time to grow, depending on their type. Once a plant is fully grown, a dwarf will harvest it. By default, any dwarf will do this. Harvesting plants is not affected by any skill, although it provides a small amount of grower experience. So it's a good idea to set only your planters to harvest, not anyone. To do that, go to Labor (y), then click Standing Orders, then click Other, the click "Everybody Harvests". This is useful only to train your planter faster; once they're skilled enough, everyone can be allowed to harvest again so the haulers can take care of half the farming work.

` τ
τ
τ
τ
τ

In the farm plot shown on the right, indicates tiles awaiting planting, indicates tiles that have been planted and are now growing, and τ indicates longland grass plants that are ready for harvesting.

If harvested plants are not moved to a stockpile in time, they will wither, and eventually rot away. There is no use for withered plants. If, when the seasons change, the previous crop can not grow anymore, all immature plants will be destroyed, yielding neither seed nor plant. If the farmers are "aware" of this limitation, they will automatically stop planting crops that haven't enough time to ripen, but you might lose a few seeds in your first year when growers of insufficient skill plant seeds too close to the cutoff. Depending on the number of growers and their experience and the rate at which the plant grows, not all squares of large plots may be used. Any farm plot that has both Above Ground and Subterranean tile attributes within the plot will only be partially-planted, if at all.

Farm size[edit]

DFwiki5by53by3farm.png
Quickstart layout 3.png
ToggleA 5×5 room with a 3×3 farm plot

A beginning fortress has 7 dwarves, each of which consumes 7 units of food and drink per dwarf per season, needs 196 for the whole fortress for the year. This starting group can theoretically be supported by a single farm tile, but in practice a larger farm will be necessary since a young fortress is unable to use farm tiles to their fullest potential.

A properly-managed and fully-utilized 3×3 plot growing plump helmets can produce an average of up to 2700 units of alcohol per year, enough to provide food (through booze-cooking with seeds) and drink for a fortress of 95 dwarves. A similar 5×5 plot can produce up to 7500 units of food and drink per year, enough to support 265 dwarves.

Management[edit]

Use the labor menu, and go to the Kitchen tab. From here you can see how many of each kind of food you have. If you're running out of a certain kind of seed, toggle the corresponding plant "Cook" setting to red. Cooking plants doesn't leave a seed. If you have too many of a certain kind of seed, or of plump helmet, as noted above, toggle the seed "Cook" setting to green. Just make sure you check on the amount and toggle it back before you run out. It may also be a good idea to set aside a few seeds from each type of crop and forbid them, as a seed bank in case of fun times.

Managing seeds[edit]

Seeds are used to grow crops. You may begin the game with a certain number of seeds, trade for them, or gather them. In addition to this, eating, milling and brewing plants often yield a seed (assuming your fortress hasn't hit the seed cap for that plant). Cooking plants does not yield seeds, and cooking seeds makes them unusable for planting, so you may want to watch out and make sure you don't convert the last of your plants into +strawberry roast+ without the ability to make more.

You can create a custom stockpile near your farm which will only accept seeds. This will consolidate your seeds into one place, instead of having them littered all through the dining room. Seeds are stored in bags (up to 100 seeds per bag), and seed bags can be stored in barrels. However it is recommended to not use barrels on seed stockpiles, since the hauling habits lead to barrels getting carted around to collect each and every loose seed, interrupting the planting work; see the Bugs section below for workarounds.

For DF2014 the theoretical seed stockpile maximum size is 31 tiles for 200 seeds of each of 155 crops, but the actual maximum needed is much less because no fort will be situated in the right place to grow all of those. Four tiles gives enough space for 20 different crops.

Each plant has a fortress-wide seed cap set at 200 (this value can be adjusted in d_init.txt). Brewing, milling, and eating raw plants will not generate additional seeds once the cap is reached, although you may still get additional seed bags via trading and thus exceed this limit. Once the count of seeds falls below 200, new seeds will again be generated.

There is also a fortress-wide total seed cap, initially set at 3000 (also configurable in d_init.txt). Once your fortress reaches this cap new seeds will still be generated, but the oldest seeds on the map will disappear. Unfortunately, this cap counts all seeds on the map, including those carried by traders Bug:8108, and removes old seeds even if they have already been planted Bug:8107. Finally, because the two caps behave differently, they can cause undesirable behavior when both are in operation Bug:8091.

Seeds may be toggled for cooking on the Kitchen tab of the labor menu. Disabling seed cooking will keep your seeds safe from starving dwarves. Although the item properties label them as EDIBLE_RAW, rock nuts, like all other seeds, are not consumed as-is.

Managing crops[edit]

When your crops are ripe, your dwarves will harvest them from the farm plots. This will yield one or more stacks of plants, which will be hauled to the appropriate stockpile. It is generally a good idea to have sufficient barrels to hold the food, as food is subject to withering and the predation of vermin. Metal barrels are especially effective against vermin. You can create a custom stockpile that will only accept plants, to avoid having it all mixed up with your meat and drinks. It would be a good idea to have this stockpile near your still, farmer's workshop, kitchen, etc. You may also choose to make more specialized stockpiles, for instance if your windmill is located far away from your farms, you might have small nearby stockpiles dedicated solely to millable plants and flour so as to save on hauling.

The Kitchen tab on the labor menu allows you to control which crops, if any, your dwarves will use as ingredients when cooking. Be careful when you are cultivating new crops or running low on others, and make sure you don't cook the last of them instead of recovering the valuable seeds. Note that experienced farmers and crop fertilization significantly increase the return on planted seeds, and can be quite useful when attempting to build your seed stockpile.

If you suffer from plump helmet overflow, create a plump-helmet-only stockpile, forbid plump helmets from all other food stockpiles, and let the crops in the field die if they can't be picked. Withering crops do not produce miasma.

Adventure mode[edit]

Interestingly, farming does work in adventure mode, though it requires the use of DFHack's advfort plugin - buy fruit at a market, brew them into booze and seeds, build farming plots, plant the seeds. Unfortunately the time it takes for stuff to grow is adapted to fortress mode, and it takes an inordinate amount of time for your adventurer to do a single harvest.

Bugs[edit]

  • "Store item in container" jobs block access to items already in the container. This causes stored seeds to become unavailable, spamming job cancellations. Bug:9004
    • Workaround #1: set your seed stockpile to only take from links. When seed supplies run low, toggle it back to "anywhere" temporarily to gather up all the loose seeds.
    • Workaround #2: set desired barrels to 0 in the seed stockpile. This means making the stockpile larger, as only one seed bag will be stored per tile. However, at 100 seeds per bag and with the 200 seed cap per seed type (cf. seed), this still only amounts to 12 tiles for a full underground-crop seed stockpile, assuming each seed type is only stored in 2 bags. Haulers will still lock a whole bag to gather individual seeds, but this is better than locking a whole barrel full of seed bags.
    • Workaround #3: create two custom stockpiles which only accept seeds. Disable barrels in the first stockpile, and set it to give to the second stockpile. Set the second to only take from links.
    • Workaround #4: disable seeds in all stockpiles and recruit a few extra farmers. No hauled seeds means no planting job cancellation spam.
  • Fortress-wide seed cap counts seeds carried by traders Bug:8108
  • Fortress-wide seed cap removes seeds that have already been planted Bug:8107
  • Conflict between seed caps can cause all seeds for a crop to disappear Bug:8091
  • Some crops can't be processed, and so can't be used or replanted Bug:6940
    • partial workaround by editing the raws for bitter vetch (possibly works for other crops too)

Caveats (warnings)[edit]

Red crops[edit]

Crops will sometimes be displayed as red in the field listing. This means that planting the crop would be fruitless, as it will not survive long enough to be harvested (due to it not being plantable during the next season). Note that this will only happen if your dwarves actually know that the crop will die, which will be learned either by observation (i.e. having the seeds die during a season transition) or by being planted by a sufficiently skilled Farmer.

See also[edit]

"Farming" in other Languages Books-aj.svg aj ashton 01.svg
Dwarven: ivom
Elven: tòbafí
Goblin: gotåm
Human: ab
Primary
Beekeeping · Farming · Fishing · Gathering · Meat · Poultry · Stone · Wood
Secondary
Alcohol · Armor · Arms · Ceramic · Extract · Finished goods · Fuel · Furniture · Gem · Glass · Metal · Paper · Soap · Textile
Tertiary
Quaternary
Workshops Ui b.pngbUi bo.pngo
Clothing and Leather Ui b.pngbUi bo.pngoUi bol.pngl
Clothier · Dyer · Leather · Loom
Farming Ui b.pngbUi bo.pngoUi bof.pngf
Furnaces Ui b.pngbUi bo.pngoUi bou.pngu
Other
Creatures Ui u.pngu
Tasks Ui t.pngt
Places Ui P.pngP
Labor Ui y.pngy
Work orders Ui o.pngo
Nobles and Administrators Ui n.pngn
Objects Ui O.pngO
Justice Ui j.pngj