Hydroponic Garden

Hydroponic Garden is a production building that generates the Ingredients Mushroom and Algae without requiring any soil or plants. It appears in the midgame tech line and requires power and water goods to operate. Hydroponic Gardens produce slowly but yield large stacks of ingredients that must be processed further: Mushrooms are fed to Fermenters and Algae are fed to Food Factories.

Hydroponic Gardens stop production whenever there is any item in their output inventory; they must be emptied before a new cultivation cycle begins. Each harvest requires water during the growth process: if the building runs out of water while cultivating, the crop wilts, will spoil if not replenished in time, and the growth timer resets. When water supply is insufficient the building displays the Cultivation Halted state and ceases progress.

Hydroponic Gardens have high food-per-surface efficiency and can be stacked, making them one of the most space-efficient ways to produce ingredient raw materials. They do not require irrigation infrastructure but do consume Water goods from tanks or nearby water logistics. Their production output depends solely on worker productivity and building condition; no external plant modifiers affect yield.

Practical notes and interactions:

• Growth times are long: Mushrooms take 192 hours and Algae take 288 hours per harvest, but each harvest provides sizeable quantities that require processing. Plan Fermenter and Food Factory capacity accordingly.
• Storage is limited: the Hydroponic Garden’s internal output buffer holds exactly one harvest’s worth. Buildings or haulers must empty it completely to allow the next cultivation to start. Place Warehouses and routing close by for reliable collection.
• Water logistics are critical: locate Water Tanks and dedicated haulers nearby to prevent cultivation halts and spoilage.
• Production ratios: it takes more than eight Hydroponic Gardens producing Mushrooms to continuously supply a single Fermenter, and more than sixteen producing Algae to continuously supply a Food Factory. A single bot-staffed Hydroponic Garden at max condition supplies enough Mushrooms for 202.5 beavers or enough Algae for 378 beavers across its output, making very large fleets unnecessary for moderate colonies.
• Power is required and the building sits in the power generation construction chain; ensure adequate and stable electricity to maintain continuous operation.

History: Hydroponic Garden was introduced in Update 4. Its build cost changed in later versions from requiring Metal Blocks to using Metal Parts while retaining 20 Planks and 10 Gears.