v0.31:Farming

Farming is the action of growing crops for alcohol production, food and clothing material. It is one of the main sources of food, and it is critical to a selfsufficient clothing industry.

Underground Farming

Underground farms are required to grow the 6 "dwarven" plants, including the Template:L; the only seeds available at embark are for underground crops.

In order to create a Template:L underground you must first muddy the ground by 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), or find a muddied area in a Template:L) (each tile underneath the farm plot must be muddied). Most caverns have entire open areas which will be permanently covered in mud, though beware the underground inhabitants when farming. Any underground surface can be used to create a farm plot, provided you muddy it first. Due to a bug, this currently includes soil layers, which would normally not require muddying.^v0.31.02.

See Template:L for more.

Above Ground Farming

Above ground farming is basically the same as underground farming, with the (current, see above) distinction that above ground plots on soil do not need muddying. The complications are that, first, seeds cannot be chosen at embark. They can either be bought from caravans (Template:L or Template:L) or simply gathered using the Template:L designation. The second complication is that it, ostensibly, must be done above ground, which is dangerous (due to agressive animals, ambushes and sieges). However, any land which has ever been exposed to sunlight becomes permanently marked as "above ground", so if you channel some above ground land, remove the resulting ramps, then construct a floor above, where the surface once was, the (now dark and protected) soil will still be suitable for farming Template:L, Template:L, Template:L, and anything else you may find.