Point in Hydroponics?

[MoistRick]

(Mind my ignorance, there is probably an obvious answer)
Why not use fertilizer pumps and sun lamps?  They are more efficient, correct?
I live in a mountain and the fertilizer pumps work fine, and my plants do grow.
Do hydroponics grow faster, or am I not deep enough in the mountain?

[nuschler22]

I didn't realize you could use fertilizer pumps inside.  I'll give that a try.  Seems like it would be more efficient.

For my hydroponics rooms, I have 12 tables in a 9x9 room, all drawing quite a bit of power for 48 growing spots.  In a 9x9 room with fertilizer pump, it would be only the pumps and the sunlight drawing power for 81 total spots (minus 1 for the sunlight and each fertilizer pump I need).

I believe the all day growing is what makes them grow faster, not the basins themselves.

[Chibiabos]

(Mind my ignorance, there is probably an obvious answer)
Why not use fertilizer pumps and sun lamps?  They are more efficient, correct?
I live in a mountain and the fertilizer pumps work fine, and my plants do grow.
Do hydroponics grow faster, or am I not deep enough in the mountain?

I jsut re-discovered fert pumps + sun lamps, but then ... Tynan posted on the Dec 15 log that fert pumps are getting cut.

The problem is the solar flares happen too frequently ... on even Boreal biome, there is no way to grow Devilstrand except through greenhousing.  Solar flares will kill Devilstrand in hydroponics (and happen so frequently that despite several attempts, I never got more than halfway through their growth cycle) and in the open, outdoors, the growing seasons are too short.

The only option now, after Alpha 9 is released with fertilizer pumps cut, is 'greenhousing' ... build outdoors so its on soil, but walled in with a roof, sun lamp and heaters (I put mine in the same room as a hydrothermal generator, which creates immense heat).

[nuschler22]

I imagine some clever person who can do mods will reincorporate fertilizer pumps back into the game.

[milon]

Sure, it would be easy enough to mod back in, but Ty cut them out to force players to choose between hydroponics and natural soil.  That's a fair choice for players to have to make, especially considering that a "fertilizer pump" really shouldn't be able to turn bedrock into soil.  (Having said that, I'm really enjoying using them on an Ice Sheet biome [there's a mod for that] to see if I can make a go of it.)

[Cimanyd]

Plants grow much faster in hydroponics. I think hydroponics still do better than soil because of that, even though they don't cover the whole area. The only reason to use soil is so it doesn't require power, meaning the crop won't die during a solar flare., which would be necessary for devilstrand since it takes so long and probably good for xerigium considering it takes a while and also gets killed by blights.

[Redclaw]

Ty cut them out to force players to choose between hydroponics and natural soil.

But how will we defeat the marshlands without fertilizer pumps!?

[Chibiabos]

But how will we defeat the marshlands without fertilizer pumps!?

I read Ty has added in rice as a crop, which presumably will grow in marshland.

[_alphaBeta_]

My concern with fertilizer pumps coming out is there's now no way to remove flooring, especially outdoor flooring. Re-organizing outdoor layouts and walk paths could now be a problem. If I decided to pour concrete around my beacon in the early game to get it up and running, that area is now forever useless for farming.

We need a way to remove man-made flooring to once again open up areas that used to have farm-able dirt. Ideally in any builder game like this, players should have the ability to undo and remove most objects they place. This promotes maximum flexibility, and is also realistic.

[Vas]

I don't like hydroponics in particular, because it takes so much energy, however they do grow things faster.
I did make a new mod though to make better hydroponics systems.
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=8349

[kasimirtlw]

i tend to use hydroponics for the  medicine plants and mushrooms only.
I'm able to fit 16  hydroponics in the sun lamp area and be fully workable.
Now at least I get devilstrand and medicine before it always died due to the cold.

[Chibiabos]

i tend to use hydroponics for the  medicine plants and mushrooms only.
I'm able to fit 16  hydroponics in the sun lamp area and be fully workable.
Now at least I get devilstrand and medicine before it always died due to the cold.

Whenever I try devilstrand in hydroponics, I always get a solar flare before it can be harvested

[Innese]

Not sure if anyone else has tried this for devilstrand, but when I get a solar flare when I'm growing things in hydroponics, the first thing I do is tell them to quickly Cut all the plants before they die. Usually if the plants are just far enough along you'll managed to get a partial harvest, whether it be devilstrand or any other crop