Growing food is so slow

[JasTheBoyWonder]

So I have been playing Rimworld in Alpha 9 for a long while now. But, then i realized 3 new updates are out. So i downloaded Alpha 12 and got right into building a base. I then got the notification "Low Food." And I started to grow food. After, the growing plot was filled by my botanist colonist, i went on and tended to other needs around my base. After about 12 Rimworld days, i noticed the food was tiny and was only at 30% which at that rate wouldn't grow till the middle of Summer.
So I'm asking, did one of these updates make growing much more slow, or is it just me? Cause in Alpha 9 food grew in like 3-4 days after being planted.
This is a big problem for me, cause I now never have any food for the winter.

[A Friend]

Are you growing corn?

[JasTheBoyWonder]

No i'm growing potatoes

[A Friend]

Well that's weird. Maybe it's not outside or the temp is still too low for it to grow properly.
Haven't played much to check it myself.

Try growing strawberries

[Boston]

How..... how long do you think it takes for crops to grow in real life?

[JasTheBoyWonder]

I see what you mean, but this isn't real life. It's a game

[Mkok]

Also depends on where you live. Be too far north, and you have yourself some nice polar day/night cycle. And crops grow slower when light level is lower.

If you want to speed them up, build a sunlight lamp, it will speed things quite a bit, as they will grow full speed even in morning/evening.

[Grimandevil]

click "I" in the field tab to see how long it takes to grow selected culture (ideal conditions).

u can use this mod to hasten things up.
(keep in mind, once planted, u can not remove cultivated ground in the current game version)

[TLHeart]

Yes plant growth was lengthened between alpha 9 and 12... plants now rest for 12 hours a day. So potatoes take 12.5 days at 12 hours a day of 100% light.

[jzero]

So I have been playing Rimworld in Alpha 9 for a long while now. But, then i realized 3 new updates are out. So i downloaded Alpha 12 and got right into building a base. I then got the notification "Low Food." And I started to grow food. After, the growing plot was filled by my botanist colonist, i went on and tended to other needs around my base. After about 12 Rimworld days, i noticed the food was tiny and was only at 30% which at that rate wouldn't grow till the middle of Summer.
So I'm asking, did one of these updates make growing much more slow, or is it just me? Cause in Alpha 9 food grew in like 3-4 days after being planted.
This is a big problem for me, cause I now never have any food for the winter.

Wow. Sadly i arrived late to the party and din't get to experience the wonders of three day potatoes, so i kind of understand your distress. From my experience, if you plant things outside anywhere but on one of the neutral maps where there are no extreme temperatures. Then they will probably grow even slower than they normally do. To remedy this, either wall in some soil and grow plants in range of a sun lamp in a 50-60+ temperature range, or grow in bulk. As long as the temperatures are friendly enough for plants to at least grow slowly, you could be kind of well fed by growing TONS of plants at once. but sometimes all you've got is sand or snow so in that situation you could invest time and resources into the new fangled technology that is hydroponics, you can use almost every space of sunlamp range for growing using hydroponics. And if you keep power constant and temps good they grow even faster than outside. Hope these tips help you in our age of the travesty that is twelve+ day potatoes.

(not actually sure if you know about hydroponics so if you do than sorry for being a..jerk i guess?)

[skullywag]

Ah the ol accele potato. Yeah theyre gone now, hydroponics and different soil fertilities put them to rest.

[Jarwy]

Crops yields are also less now. You should try a meat diet. Outside of ice sheets, there should always be something to hunt.

[Innese]

Don't forget that the growing skill can actually cause a colonist to fail at harvesting the plant, destroying it and giving you no food.

[BugPowderDust]

Don't forget that the growing skill can actually cause a colonist to fail at harvesting the plant, destroying it and giving you no food.

Wouldn't that be the cutting skill, surely?

[Shurp]

BTW, if you're going to go the hydroponics route, make sure to have a food backup of some kind.  A single solar flare will wipe out your entire crop.

(In other words, always have at least one indoor potato patch in natural soil)

I hope the next update allows us to imitate The Martian and grow some food in a feces-filled airlock