Thimble Reed

Thimble Reed is a plant used primarily for producing Reed Fiber, one of the colony’s most important refined materials. It can be harvested for Reed Fiber and Thimble Reed Seeds, and the fiber is then used to craft Atmo Suits in an Exosuit Forge, clothing in the Textile Factory, and Insulation in the Molecular Forge.

A domestic Thimble Reed can be planted on Farm Tiles or Hydroponic Farms and requires 160 kg/cycle of Polluted Water to grow. It matures in 2 cycles when domesticated, and this can be shortened further by placing it in a Greenhouse, which also halves the water cost of producing a single Reed Fiber. Wild Thimble Reed takes 8 cycles to grow.

Thimble Reed grows in a temperature range of 22 °C to 37 °C and can survive in an atmosphere of Oxygen, Polluted Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Water, or Polluted Water. It is one of the few plants that can grow underwater; however, planting it in Polluted Water does not eliminate the need to irrigate it.

Because domesticated Thimble Reed consumes so much Polluted Water, it is often used as a sink for excess bathroom output. A closed bathroom loop can feed the plant with the extra waste water from Lavatories, making it especially useful in early colonies that want to turn toilet output into fiber production. One plant can consume roughly the Polluted Water generated by about 24 Lavatory uses per cycle, and it does not require solid fertilization.

• Reed Fiber does not rot, so wild Thimble Reed can be a practical source of fiber without immediate cultivation.
• If Thimble Reed is your only Reed Fiber source and you only account for Exosuit repair losses, each Duplicant needs about 0.15 plants, or roughly 24 kg/cycle of Polluted Water per plant.
• Because it is so water-hungry, it is often best paired with a reliable Polluted Water supply rather than ordinary farming water.