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Author Topic: Farming should use Organics  (Read 2128 times)

SonnaBanana

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Farming should use Organics
« on: February 19, 2020, 12:02:30 AM »

Colony size -2 or -3.
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Perq

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2020, 02:59:55 AM »

Aren't "organics" essentially crude oil? Not really sure if you need crude oil for farming. D:
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bobucles

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2020, 04:13:53 AM »

Trees and bamboo are tasty, uh, I guess.

Megas

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2020, 04:39:52 AM »

Aren't "organics" essentially crude oil? Not really sure if you need crude oil for farming. D:
That is what it looks like.

Colonies built on non-habitable worlds need organics by default.  Population and Infrastructure gain Organics demand on non-habitable worlds.
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Thaago

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2020, 09:29:31 AM »

Well farming might require fertilizer? I think some fertilizer's are petroleum based?

I wouldn't mind this suggestion, but I'm also not sure I really see a justification for it either.
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Plantissue

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2020, 10:22:53 AM »

How fertilizer works is by providing specific nutrients, usually in the form of either slow releasing solids or as water soluble chemicals. There's also slow releasing water soluble "capsules". The main activation being the chemicals that plants use to grow and development. The main one are NPK, or Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium. You need a large uptake of Nitrogen for leafy veg like Cabbages, a large uptake of Phosphorus for fruiting and root, like strawberries and potatoes and a large uptake of Potassium for stem plants like broccoli, though potassium is more general purpose. All plants need all three in some amount as well as much smaller amounts of other elements like Iron or Sulfur.

How does this translate to starsector? Production of NPK can be produced from just about anything. Manure, or blood, fish & bone industrial waste, or potash are examples of traditional sources, whilst nowadays chemical processing can be taken from all sorts of sources. For instance N is mainly produced from water, natural gas and air. Since Starsector is supposed to be a highly advanced technologically, you can find reasons for fertilisers to be produced from Ore, Organics or Volatiles.

Better to just abstract it all. Let food be produced without requiring any physical inputs. If there needs be suggested any, let it be drugs as like for mining.
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bobucles

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2020, 11:00:52 AM »

If a planet has farm viability, it's because the planet already has the existing eco system and raw nutrients which make farming viable. All of the supporting infrastructure such as pesticides, fertilizer and simple machinery are not massive industries, and could easily fall under the broad blanket of farming industry.

If the farming industry wasn't sustainable on world and required gigantic imports to function, the planet wouldn't have basic farming viability. You'd be talking about a completely different industry, some type which utilizes a high level of technology and raw material demand to fabricate food. There may be a market for synthbars and colored soylents, but it's never going to be as cheap as throwing seeds in the ground and letting it grow.

Megas

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2020, 11:26:28 AM »

No drugs for farming, especially if demand matches mining.  Miners need so much that meeting demand (if your planet is size 8+) is not possible without using cores.

I can see drugs for mining because that is a blatant homage to the movie Outland (with Sean Connery).
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Thaago

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #8 on: February 19, 2020, 11:56:43 AM »

TIL about fertilizers! With that in mind, I agree that there shouldn't be any physical inputs required.
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Perq

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2020, 03:10:49 AM »

If planet can produce food, it can produce "organics" (crude oil is just organic matter that was transformed into that over time). I assumed that "organics" is simply crude oil, or some other form of organic matter that is present in planet's crust.

Having to use "organics" to produce "organics" seems a little weird, all things considered. :D
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Morrokain

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #10 on: February 20, 2020, 10:04:06 PM »

Aren't "organics" essentially crude oil? Not really sure if you need crude oil for farming. D:

I might be wrong, but my personal take on this was that organics definitely include things like crude oil, but also more generally they are literally anything that is considered useful in a planet's biosphere, from bacteria and other organisms useful for medicinal purposes to pretty flowers for housing habitats and spices for food. It's kind of a catch all that way.
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Lucky33

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #11 on: February 20, 2020, 10:11:56 PM »

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Morrokain

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Re: Farming should use Organics
« Reply #12 on: February 20, 2020, 10:39:35 PM »

Ah ok so I'm ~ half right lol. Thanks for the link! No flowers or spices but still medicines, etc (unless the prior two are chemically produced using organics I guess).

Actually come to think of it, it makes more sense that flowers/spices etc would be under Luxury Goods as a commodity category. Maybe Domestic Goods. It depends on your definition considering the setting.
« Last Edit: February 20, 2020, 10:41:43 PM by Morrokain »
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