Outdoor Farming Question

[Itharus]

So, I made a farm plot outdoors, I have hundreds of local seeds... but my only option is "leave fallow". What's up with that? I have planters and farmers and what not. Tons of seeds in bins -- local stuff.

What am I missing? Is fertilization *required* (potash) before planting? Do I need to do some sort of irrigation (how)?

[harlequin_corps]

It's winter.

[harlequin_corps]

Actually. That was a bit, short. On the farm plot you will see seasons, spring, summer, autumn, winter. For outdoor farms your only option is to leave fallow during the winter. But you can preset what you want to plant for the other 3 seasons. just click those three and see what planting options you have. If you STILL don't have any options, your seeds are somehow task locked or in a place that the farm plot can't allocate.

[malthenielsen]

There's underground seeds that won't grow above ground vice versa. So I am guessing you're using underground seed for "upstairs"?

If you want a normal farm under the sun, then you need seeds for that - you can get them by buying from caravans or from plant gathering.

[Itharus]

Task-locked or inaccessible?

Near as I can tell they are chillin' in bins in my stockpiles.

No season has anything but fallow... the soil is sandy clay loam -- is that a non starter? I assumed it would be ok because the stuff is growing wild in some areas.

[Fohcs]

Might be the biome. Very few things will grow in colder mountain biomes. I had a map where most was a mountain but a bit across the river was a different biome so I was able to plant above ground plant there. What I did was built a bunch of 1 tile sized fields to see where my biome edge was.

If a plant can grow in the biome then it will be listed in the farm field window even if you do not have the seeds.

[Philtre]

Originally posted by Itharus:

So, I made a farm plot outdoors, I have hundreds of local seeds... but my only option is "leave fallow". What's up with that? I have planters and farmers and what not. Tons of seeds in bins -- local stuff.

What am I missing? Is fertilization *required* (potash) before planting? Do I need to do some sort of irrigation (how)?

You don't need fertilizer to plant, it just helps with yield. The most likely explanation is that the soil in the place where you put the field is barren, as suggested above. Look around for soil that has native plants growing on it, and try putting a field there.

[Itharus]

Alright. How can I tell what biome I'm in? I did a tutorial start and it auto selected where I started :-/

[McFuzz]

Sounds like mountain biome to me.

If there are trees on your map, try putting the farm plot between them.

[Xcorps]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2899235556

[Philtre]

Originally posted by Itharus:

Alright. How can I tell what biome I'm in? I did a tutorial start and it auto selected where I started :-/

I don't think it will let you embark on a map with no trees, and anywhere that there are trees you can grow all of the outdoors crops. So just look around the map, and check different z-levels.

[McFuzz]

Originally posted by Philtre:

Originally posted by Itharus:

Alright. How can I tell what biome I'm in? I did a tutorial start and it auto selected where I started :-/

I don't think it will let you embark on a map with no trees, and anywhere that there are trees you can grow all of the outdoors crops. So just look around the map, and check different z-levels.

No, you definitely can. Icey biomes, for one.

The caverns will always have mushroom trees, though. If there are no (or few) surface trees, you're expected to go down there early.

[Xcorps]

Originally posted by Philtre:

Originally posted by Itharus:

Alright. How can I tell what biome I'm in? I did a tutorial start and it auto selected where I started :-/

I don't think it will let you embark on a map with no trees, and anywhere that there are trees you can grow all of the outdoors crops. So just look around the map, and check different z-levels.

You can embark anywhere except an ocean biome that has no land in the embark range.

[Itharus]

Ok, across the brook I cleared a bunch of trees and tried there. That worked. Thanks folks :) Guessing maybe closer to my fort was Mountains? Dunno.

[Itharus]

Although new question: growing some Amaranth... how do I ensure they set aside seeds to plant the next crop? Will they eat/brew everything?

[BlackSmokeDMax]

Originally posted by Itharus:

Although new question: growing some Amaranth... how do I ensure they set aside seeds to plant the next crop? Will they eat/brew everything?

There are controls for all of that in the kitchens menu. That is an available tab when in the main labor menu. Just know that if you cook an item you do NOT get a seed. Any item eaten raw, or brewed, you do get the seed/spawn.