Hydroponic Garden

Hydroponic Garden is a production building that produces the Ingredients Mushroom and Algae without requiring any planted crops. The building can be stacked vertically and does not need irrigation; instead, it consumes water goods from its internal water inventory to sustain cultivation. Hydroponic Gardens stop production whenever there is any item in their output inventory, and they will halt cultivation (displaying Cultivation Halted) if water runs out during a growth cycle. When water is exhausted mid-cycle, the partially grown produce wilts, can spoil, and the growth progress timer resets.

Growth of Hydroponic Gardens is slow but yields are sizeable. Mushrooms require 192 hours per harvest and Algae require 288 hours per harvest. The raw outputs from Hydroponic Gardens must be processed: Mushrooms are processed in Fermenters and Algae are processed in Food Factories. The gardens’ production rate is affected only by their workers’ productivity; they do not receive bonuses from irrigation or soil fertility because no plants are involved.

Hydroponic Gardens have a limited internal output storage that matches a single harvest. Because the storage capacity equals one harvest, the building must be completely emptied before it can begin a new cultivation cycle; leaving any product inside will block the next growth. This makes nearby warehouses and reliable hauler access important for continuous operation. Hydroponic Gardens require water goods to operate, so locating water Tanks nearby is recommended to maintain steady supply and avoid cultivation interruptions.

The building was introduced in Update 4. Its construction cost was changed in a past update from 20 Plank, 10 Gear, 5 Metal Block to 20 Plank, 10 Gear, 5 Metal Part.

• Hydroponic Gardens can be stacked to maximize food-to-surface ratio because they do not need land for planting.
• They do not require irrigation infrastructure but do require a supply of water goods; build water Tanks or dedicated water delivery nearby.
• Output is determined solely by worker productivity; staffing and worker condition directly affect yield.
• Each garden’s output inventory holds exactly one full harvest; ensure haulers or nearby Warehouses empty the building before the next cycle.
• Raw output requires processing: Mushrooms → Fermenter, Algae → Food Factory. Scale your processor count to match the gardens’ long growth cycles.
• Because growth times are long (192 hrs for Mushroom, 288 hrs for Algae), plan storage and processing throughput to avoid bottlenecks and wasted harvests.