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v0.31:Irrigation
| This article is about an older version of DF. |
Irrigation is is the process of adding water to an underground or rock tile so that it can be Template:L. This is done by flooding the tile with Template:L. Any amount of water will suffice but the less water, the better—farms cannot be built on any square containing water of Template:L. Tiles of depth 2/7 will flow into nearby tiles until the area is 1/7 if possible so this is only an issue if deep water is placed in an enclosed area.
Once the water has evaporated or been allowed to flow away, the tile will remain muddied unless a Template:L is built over it. Viewing the tile will cause it to display 'a pile of mud', 'a small pile of mud', or 'a dusting of mud' in its contents.
Farms can be built on unsuitable ground but doing so will display a warning message. If even a single square of the farm is not irrigated, it will be unusable.
Template:L, for obvious reasons, cannot be used to irrigate[Verify] but can cause Template:L.
Early Irrigation
Farms must be built on muddy tiles. Farms cannot be built on underground tiles (rock or soil) unless those tiles have been muddied. This is not the case for above ground farming, where you can Template:L and Template:L them for alcohol or even farm in above ground soil with the gathered seeds. But underground farming is a generally quicker, safer and more reliable (and dwarven) way to gain Template:L and Template:L. Plus, you can only embark with seeds for underground crops. So, it is useful to know how to irrigate with as little investment in workshops and mechanisms as possible.
One obstacle to early irrigation is the time required to build mechanisms (which cannot be taken when Template:L and take time to set up). They can also be daunting to newer players and mistakes can result in floods or famine - common sources of Template:L. The methods below are designed to work without mechanisms.
Murky Pools
Most areas contain Template:L, which provide one of the quickest, simplest methods of starting a farm. Digging out an area near a murky pool and draining the pool into it is an easy way to make the ground muddy and farmable.
You should first locate a pool near where you wish to put the farm. While any finite water source works, you need to drain the excess water somehow or allow it to evaporate, so smaller pools are usually preferable. Once you find a good location, dig out the room and dig a tunnel that ends with only 1 tile between it and the pool. If you want to simply allow the water to evaporate after irrigation, the floorspace in the farm should about about 5 or 6 times that of the pool. Otherwise, you can dig another room out underneath the farm via stairs placed on the opposite side from the pool to drain the water after irrigation.
Finally, channel out the one tile between the tunnel and the pool and the water will flow in.
If you miscalculate the area, there are two possible outcomes, both easily solvable-
- If the dug area is too large, some tiles will be left unmuddied. While muddying these squares is a lot of trouble and arguably not worth it, these tiles are perfect for seed stockpiles.
- If the dug area is too small, there will be at least one tile of 2/7 depth. Until some of the water Template:L (which will still happen, albeit slower, in the 1/7 tiles), you won't be able to farm it. However, unless you've drastically miscalculated, dwarves will be able to wade through the water and dig more tiles to expand the farm to the correct size.
Buckets
If you have access to a large source of water such as a Template:L or Template:L, it is possible to irrigate an area with Template:L.
To do this, find a subterranean area where you plan to locate your farm and channel the entire area. Remove all the ramps and add stairs/a ramp to access it. Since the farm will be built one level below this, make sure there is nothing below this area.
Template:L the area directly above the farm as a Template:L. Dwarves will begin carrying buckets of water from the nearest source to fill it. Keep an eye on the pond and, as soon as the entire area is filled to 1/7, remove the designation immediately. Now that the area is irrigated, place your farm.
If you accidentally add too much water, you can wait for some of the water to evaporate or dig some surrounding tiles to expand the farm until the water is all at 1/7.