Farming in difficult environments AtE and other worlds

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

That's hydroponics though, right?

It doesn't have to be hydroponics, but it's basically closed system farming (unless the ship is very, very, very large).

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

That's hydroponics though, right?

Could be "The Martian"-esque potato farming. Could be algae. Rules for malnutrition could be handy too.

[(E)]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

That's hydroponics though, right?

It might be a tubular photobioreactor. The bunkertech write up was based (very loosely) on these.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by TGLS

Might be just me but I'd be interested in an emergency farming in spaceships example.

It's rather challenging coming up with an emergency for a spaceship that can be solved by farming, due to the time scale for emergencies killing you rarely being more than days, and the time scale for setting up farming without pre-existing infrastructure being months or more.

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Anthony

It's rather challenging coming up with an emergency for a spaceship that can be solved by farming, due to the time scale for emergencies killing you rarely being more than days, and the time scale for setting up farming without pre-existing infrastructure being months or more.

It might be interesting, but I definitely agree it's a pretty obscure corner case. Anything that hosed up a spacecraft's drive would probably shaft the entire power system, in which case the crew will either cook or freeze or suffocate (or get rescued) before they have the chance to grow a crop.

If it's a habitat, on the other hand, then it would probably have to qualify as "very, very, very large," for farming to be useful. :)

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

If it's a habitat, on the other hand, then it would probably have to qualify as "very, very, very large," for farming to be useful. :)

If it's a true long-term habitat there's a good chance it has farming already (as part of its life support system).

[(E)]

I think Veggie 03 is the latest micro G plant experiment to produce data. There are newer experiments but the data isn't in yet.

[acrosome]

There are already (somewhat disorganized, in several publications) GURPS supplements that cover farming up to TL4, so I'd say start at TL5 and go as high as you want.

[(E)]

I am rediscovering the head ache inducing amount of politics and interest groups that saturate the information on this topic.

A couple of bits of information.
Automotive waste oil can be used to treat external parasites in pigs.
Also the absolute best wheat production today is something like 30 times more productive than early TL 3, which out performs "essential earth" by an order of magnitude.

Which brings me around to "Does anyone want any notes on magic?"

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by (E)

(SNIP)

Which brings me around to "Does anyone want any notes on magic?"

Eventually, it's probably a good idea, but that's a pretty big chunk to try to chew, along with everything else.

I'd say, start with the basics, and then use them as your baseline when you start to look at magic, at some point in the future.