40d Talk:Soil

Is it worth having a map tiles category to relate all the individual (non construction) features of a map, such soil, sand, floors, trees, stairs, ramps, sky, unseen rock, etc.? --Markavian

I have a map with silty loam, but when I build a farm plot on this soil it says I have no seeds to plant there... Is it the soil type or the lack of seeds? It doesn't make sense, because wild plants and trees can grow on that soil type. I'm looking into it.Schm0 06:36, 21 November 2007 (EST)

I'd have said lack of seeds it will only show the crops that you have seeds for. However if your talking outdoor farms then some crops will only grow in certain biomes. --Shades 06:50, 21 November 2007 (EST)

So silty loam is an acceptable soil type to have outdoor farming? I get the message "no seeds available for this location".Schm0 12:32, 21 November 2007 (EST)

I'm assuming you haven't modded anything and are playing as Dwarves. Dwarves cannot start out with any above-ground crops or seeds, so you indeed won't have any seeds to plant for any above-ground farm plots without first foraging or buying some. This isn't related to the type of soil you place it on; if it lets you build a farm plot, then you can plant the appropriate crops there as long as they fit the biome. Silty loam underground would be fine for planting plump helmets, or above ground fine for planting rope reed. --Hesitris 12:14, 2 December 2007 (EST)

The message "no seeds available for this location" means that nothing can grow at this combination of biome, light/dark status (or is it inside/outside?) and season. In other cases it lists all crops, that can be farmed, even if you don't have seeds.

This is untrue. I've personally embarked to an area with plenty of wild plants, and it still said "No seeds available". After gathering some plants, however, and obtaining seeds, this message no longer displayed. G-Flex 13:54, 10 August 2008 (EDT)

Dorten 00:24, 9 January 2008 (EST)

Sandy Loam

All right, the list in the article is "possibly incomplete".

The question is, can Sandy Loam be farmed without being irrigated?

Maybe, even more importantly than the possibly incomplete list of soils which can be farmed without irrigation, there needs to be a list of soils which cannot be farmed by irrigation.

Of course, I would have chosen to do this by having an article for each type of soil saying simply:

Sandy loam is a type of soil.

It may (not?) be farmed without being irrigated.

(other properties: is it in layers? what icon does it use? etc)

Category:Soils which need irrigation or Category:Soils which do not need irrigation

GarrieIrons 07:28, 8 January 2008 (EST)

Anything can be farmed with irrigation. Irrigation creates the mud that is then farmed, not the floor under it. --Edward 20:21, 8 January 2008 (EST)

you do not need any irrigation to farm on any soil. it can ALL be farmed without irrigation Chariot 21:59, 8 January 2008 (EST)

The article already says loam (found near rivers) cannot be farmed without irrigation. What needs clarifying is that (modifier) loam also cannot be farmed without being irrigated. Which I guess to be the case but I don't source-dive so I won't present it as a fact. Maybe I was doing something wrong bcs I'm a {{newbie}} at this game.GarrieIrons 05:54, 9 February 2008 (EST)

loam CAN be farmed without irrigation, i even just made a new world and fortress to see, they farmed on it fine. likewise, (modifier) loam also CAN be farmed on. >>ALL<< soils can be farmed without irrigation, as said repeatedly before. the only thing that would stop it is being in a BIOME which doesnt support the plant, which is not a property of the soil. -Chariot 17:38, 9 February 2008 (EST)

Collapsing

Are sandy soils more likely to collapse? Is white sand the soil, the same as what is used to make glass? If so I guess I'm on a good map, I've got bituminous coal, trees, and sandy soil from one map edge to the other.GarrieIrons 05:54, 9 February 2008 (EST)

Soils are basically all the same, sandy or otherwise. They won't collapse any more than rock will. I believe the (color) sand soils (and only those soils) are used for glass, which includes white sand. LegacyCWAL 20:26, 15 February 2009 (EST)

Peat

Can it be farmed without irrigation? Peat is not mentioned anywhere on the wiki. Robje 15:30, 4 April 2008 (EDT)

is peat a soil? yes. therefore can it be farmed without irrigation? yes. it does need to be added to the soil list -Chariot 03:20, 5 April 2008 (EDT)

Aluminum

I just found some Aluminum in Sandy Clay Loam, so I'm adding it to the list of minerals that can be found in soil.

I have a screen shot if needed. --Hkidnc 20:48, 25 July 2008 (EDT)