Diarrhea

Dirt is a common early-game resource used across farming, research, sanitation, ranching, and several production chains. It occurs naturally in the Temperate Biome and Forest Biome, and can also be obtained by processing other materials, making it one of the most flexible bulk resources in the game.

Its most basic uses are construction and agriculture. Dirt is used to build Planter Boxes, Farm Tiles, and Algae Terrariums, and several crops require it as fertilizer when domesticated: Mealwood, Sleet Wheat, Nosh Sprout, Oxyfern, and Arbor Tree. It is also consumed by Research Stations for basic research, by Outhouses, and by the Apothecary to make Allergy Medication from Blossom Seed. Microbe Mushers use Dirt and Water to produce Mush Bars, so Dirt can serve as both a building and food-chain input in the early game.

Dirt has many renewable and semi-renewable sources beyond map generation. Compost converts Polluted Dirt and other compostables into Dirt at 100% efficiency, though it requires duplicant labor and produces waste heat. Polluted Water can leave small amounts of Dirt behind when boiled into Steam, and filtering Polluted Water with a Water Sieve produces Polluted Dirt as a byproduct that can later be composted. Heating some organic resources, including Slime, Algae, and Fertilizer, above 125°C also turns them into Dirt. Mud can be refined into Dirt and Water with a Sludge Press, or heated into Dirt and Steam.

Several farming and ranching loops can generate Dirt at scale. Ethanol Distillers convert a portion of Lumber into Polluted Dirt, which can then be composted into Dirt; this pairs well with domesticated Arbor Trees, which can produce large amounts of Lumber. Pips also create Dirt by consuming growth from Arbor Trees and Thimble Reeds, with wild Arbor Trees supporting multiple domesticated Pips without input materials. In ranching, Hatches and Sage Hatches eat Dirt and excrete Coal, while Sage Hatches convert all consumed mass into Coal, making Dirt a useful feedstock for power and Refined Carbon. Shove Voles also eat Dirt, though their output is inefficient and not usually worthwhile.

Dirt can also be harvested from space missions in Organic Mass Fields, making it renewable at a colony scale once rockets are available. In contrast, some conversion chains are best treated as sinks or emergency options: boiling polluted water, cooking organics, or using Dirt for research and mushroom production all consume it quickly, so long-term farms often need a dedicated Dirt source.

• Each basic research point at a Research Station costs 50 kg of Dirt.
• Each Mush Bar at a Microbe Musher costs 75 kg of Dirt and 75 kg of Water.
• Each Outhouse visit consumes 13 kg of Dirt and produces 19.7 kg of Polluted Dirt.
• Dirt is one of the ingredients for Fertilizer in the Fertilizer Synthesizer, alongside Polluted Water and Phosphorite.
• Because Dirt is so broadly useful, it is often worth saving compact, renewable sources such as compost loops, Pip-supported Arbor Tree farms, and ethanol processing chains for the mid and late game.