Hydroponics

Hydroponics is the process of growing plants in nutrient-rich water solutions. Nanotrasen has standardized the use of state-of-the-art hydroponics technology across their many corporate outposts, and employees are encouraged to disregard any evidence that departments on some stations still include rudimentary soil mounds.

The Hydroponics department is the home of the station's Botanist, who has the extraordinary task of not only producing crops to feed the crew, but catering to the specific needs of the station's many departments and pushing the boundaries of agricultural science. Though any crew member may stop by Hydroponics, you can expect to see the Chef making visits to request ingredients, Cargo stopping by to task you with bounties to complete, and the occasional Chemist requesting medicinal herbs.

The department in a high population station

Equipment

A variety of different machines, tools, crates and chemicals can either be found within Hydroponics, or serve to aid the Botanists working there.

Machines

Appliances and utilities found within the Department

Image	Name	Usage
	Hydroponic Tray	The heart and soul of botany, these advanced trays allow the cultivation of any plant in the galaxy, with diagnostic systems that allow the user to easily identify a crop's needs. These needs are signaled through the various LED lights that blink on the tray's side; you can find their meaning in the Tray section. Trays need to be regularly refilled with water and must have their nutrients refilled with fertilizer or by mulching plants. Trays can receive any liquid solution, with some being more helpful to the plant's well-being than others; the tray absorbs 1 unit of a solution every second, even when there is no plant inside.
	Patch of Soil	The classic and much less responsive way of cultivating plants. You can still inspect it to check on nutrients and water saturation, but say goodbye to fancy lights and automatic warnings.
	MegaSeed Servitor	Contains 3 to 5 of every common seed.
	NutriMax	Dispenses all of the tools found in the Tools section, including Left-4-Zed when Emagged.
	Biogenerator	An advanced machine capable of processing plants into biomass, which can then be printed into a variety of useful items. Allows Botany to use their excess produce to restock spent chemicals and aid the Chef in food preparation.
	Seed Extractor	Insert a plant's produce into this machine to extract 1 to 3 seeds. Note that on all plants, you can alternatively use Plant Clippers on the plant before it dies instead, which will not waste one piece of produce.
	(High Capacity) Water Tank	Contains a large quantity of liquid Water. Use a bucket or container on the tank and then on the tray that needs watering. Without water, plants will die. Normal Water Tanks contain 1500 units of water, while the High Capacity kind, which are found much more commonly in Hydroponics, contain 10000 units.
	Reagent Grinder	Always found in the kitchen and/or Chemistry lab, although some Hydroponics departments are found with one. Can fit up to 6 materials and a glass, beaker or other container to process them in. All plants can be ground up to extract their inner chemicals (such as Vitamins and Nutriment). Some can be juiced to obtain specific juices.
	Microwave	Primarily used for Cooking, but also to dry out tobacco, cannabis, and aloe into more useful items.
	Hydrobe	Contains Hydroponics marked clothes, such as aprons and gloves. You can find a list in the Wardrobe section.
	Botanist's Locker	Contains some useful items which aren't immediately found on the Botanist at the start of the shift. (A list of these, which might lose relevancy to newer version, finds: an empty Apron, a Botanical Belt, Botanist's Leather Gloves, a Botany Bandana, a Hand Labeler, Overalls, a Plant Bag, a bottle of Robust Harvest and a Box of Sterile Swabs)

Tools

Items for the Botanist to use

Image	Name	Usage
	Mini Hoe	Removes weeds from your precious Hydroponics Trays.
	Spade	Removes living or dead plants from the tray. Can be used as a rudimentary weapon.
	Plant Clippers	The Botanist's best friend. Takes samples from plants, giving you a seed; all of the plant's genetics at the time of clipping will be copied onto this seed. Overuse will decrease the health of the plant. Some plants are multi-harvest plants and so can be clipped at the final harvest. Other plants are single-harvest plants so should be clipped before each harvest, especially if they've been treated with Robust Harvest. If the plant is still seed-bearing, the Seed Extractor is often more useful for mass production of plants.
	Hatchet	Useful for harvesting Tower Caps and certain mutated plants. A territorial Botanist's best weapon.
	Scythe	Sharp, a more showy but less damaging alternative to the hatchet.
	NT "AgriChem Is Fun" kit	A kid-friendly chemistry kit with everything you need to get started with botanical science. Includes 30u each of Potassium, Phosphorus, Nitrogen, Hydrogen, and Ethanol, 5u each Radium and Chlorine, an empty 30u bottle, and detailed and not-at-all condescending instructions on mixing botanical chemicals.
	Bucket	Used to store and transfer large amounts of liquid (usually water). If dropped, spills contents on the floor. Holds 250u of liquid.
	Bottle	Used to store and transfer small amounts of liquid. Holds 30u. If dropped, shatters.
	Plant Bag	For transporting plant materials. When holding the bag, left click the ground near you to store up multiple plants (and seeds) at a time. Left click on a table or counter in order to empty the bag onto it. Right click on the bag to get the option to dump the contents where you are standing. Plant Bags only take up a 1x2 inventory slot, fit in backpacks, and can be stored in pockets. This makes them extremely useful for moving and storing huge amounts of produce.
	Sterile Swab	Used to transfer pollen from one plant to another for cross-breeding. They are found clean in boxes, or in the NutriMax, and after one single swabbing they're considered used, and will have stored one single, random genetic trait from the starting plant; swabbing again, on a different plant, will transfer said trait and collect another from it. It is so far not possible to know which traits are being taken, or to properly transfer desired genes without using multiple swabs.
	Syringe	Holds 15 units of liquid at a time. While holding it, press Z to switch 'Draw' and 'Inject' modes. Can draw from bottles, beakers and other containers, if you count people and animals 'containers' too.
	Dropper	A smaller version of the syringe, holds up to 5 units of liquid and dispenses only 1 unit at a time. Vital for careful use of Unstable Mutagen.
	EZ Nutrient	Can be used to easily add Nutrients to the Hydroponics Trays. 1u of EZ Nutrient adds 2 Nutrient to the tray.
	Robust Harvest	Increases plant potency (and size) up to 50 (i.e. half of max potency). Up to 15u to a Hydroponics Tray are needed to be completely sure to get to this value with most plants, although it can be made into a more precise measure by using the dropper. Be warned, as plants significantly modified with Robust Harvest will not produce seeds, making clipping necessary to produce new crops. Has fun side effects if metabolized by Diona.
	Pest Spray	Non-refillable spray bottle of Pest Killer, takes away any vermin that might be present in the tray, but poisons the plant.
	Weed Spray	Not refillable spray bottle of Weed Killer, takes away any weeds that might have grown in the tray, but poisons the plant.
	Plant-B-Gone	Kills plants and weeds. Best saved for unexpected Kudzu outbreaks.
	Left-4-Zed	Mutagenic, causes plant life to become highly unstable; best used along Unstable Mutagen to increase mutation probability.

Crates

A Botanist can request various Hydroponics oriented crates from Cargo. Most often you'll only be requesting Exotic Seeds Crates, you addict.

Name	Usage
Bulk Plant-B-Gone Crate	Contains a total of 1000u of Plant-B-Gone. Completely overkill, unless the station resembles a singular mass of Kudzu.
Exotic Seeds Crate	The most common purchase a Botanist will request from Cargo. Contains 2 Bungo, Cannabis, Egg-Plant, Fly Amanita, Nettle, Tobacco, and Tower Cap seeds. Some of the seeds are technically contraband, but it's extraordinarly rare for anyone to bat an eye.
Hydroponics Equipment Crate	Contains the equivalent of a Hydroponics locker. Not a common purchase, everything inside can be purchased at the NutriMax or Hydrobe.
Medicinal Seeds Crate	Contains 3 packets of Aloe, Ambrosia Vulgaris, Galaxythistle, Lingzhi, and Poppy seeds.
MegaSeed Restock Crate	Contains a MegaSeed restock box to refill your department's MegaSeed Servitor.
NutriMax Restock Crate	Contains a NutriMax restock box to refill your department's Nutrimax.
Seeds Crate	Contains 12 generic seeds that are otherwise available in the MegaSeed Servitor.

Plants

Most seeds will be available either in the MegaSeed Vendor or through the station, but some exotic seeds will need to either be purchases from Cargo, or through exploration of the maintenance tunnels, or through mutation.

Seeds

You can Examine a Seed to see its Yield and Potency.

Potency starts at 5 out of the Seed Extractor / Vending Machine but can be increased to 50 via 15u of Robust Harvest. Max potency is 100 and can only currently be achieved via mutations (e.g. via Unstable Mutagen). Potency affects the size of the plant and amount of chemicals it provides in the Reagent Grinder. For example, highly potent medical herbs break down into more medicine and can be eaten for more pronounced effect and higher number of bites. A higher potency in wheat equates to higher amounts of flour produced.

Yield differs by plant and can only be modified by mutation (e.g. via Unstable Mutagen). Yield affects the number of plants that will be harvested when a planted seed has grown.

Plants treated with Unstable Mutagen will undergo random genetic mutations. The more unstable mutagen, the more mutations but the higher likelihood the plant will die before harvest. Since many genes are essential to a plant's survival, randomly mutating them has a high probability of killing the plant. However, mutation is the only way to get some genes.

Plants can also be cross-pollinated with one another for a chance to transfer traits and other desirable properties. To transfer pollen from one plant to another, use a sterile swab. Avoid pollen cross-contamination! Different species can be crossed to produce hybrids. Since cross-pollination is also probabilistic, it may take several tries for you to transfer the traits that you desire.

Plant Name	Description	Plant Image	Produce Image
Aloe vera	Produces aloe, which can be used to make aloe cream. Aloe cream is useful for treating burns.
Ambrosia vulgaris	Produces ambrosia vulgaris which is poisonous raw but can be used to make medicine.
Apple tree	Produces apples, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used in various cooking recipes.
Banana tree	Produces bananas, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Banana bread or pulped for medicine. Their peels are useful for making people slip.
Berries	Produces berries, used in a variety of different dishes and pastries.
Bungo Plant	Produces bungo fruit, an unremarkable fruit that can be safely consumed. The bungo pit inside, however, contains Bungotoxin, a slow acting but remarkably lethal poison. Seeds come from Exotic Crates. Pits can also be used as seeds.
Cabbage	Produces cabbages, which can be eaten for light sustenance.
Cannabis	Produces cannabis leaves which can be dried and then crafted into a joint or blunt. Seeds come from Exotic Crates.
Carrot	Produces carrots. Carrots are used in various cooking recipes. Carrot Juice be used in healing eye damage.
Chanterelle mushrooms	Produces chanterelle mushrooms, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Mushroom pizza.
Cherry Tree	Produces cherries. Can be eaten for light sustenance and used in certain dishes. Eating cherries produces cherry pits, which can be used as seeds.
Chili Bush	Produces chilis, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Bowls of chili, Enchiladas, and Queso.
Cocoa Plant	Produces cocoa pods, the cornerstone of all chocolate dishes. Can be eaten for light sustenance, or turned into cocoa beans and used in certain dishes.
Corn stalk	Produces corn, which can be eaten for light sustenance. When ground in a grinder, it becomes cornmeal. Corn is used to make Popcorn and Enchiladas.
Cotton Plant	Produces cotton bolls, the cornerstone of all textile dishes. Can be eaten by moths for light sustenance and used in certain moth-friendly dishes. Cotton can be shaved with a knife and crafted into cloth.
Eggplant	Produces eggplant, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Vegetable Pizza.
Egg-Plant	Produces eggs slower than an animal can, and have half the amount of egg versus their animal counterparts. Are used in Cooking. Seeds come from Exotic Crates and the MegaSeed Servitor.
Fly Amanita	Are used in Cooking, and contain Amatoxin, a powerful poison. Seeds come from Exotic Crates, or Emagged MegaSeed Servitors.
Galaxythistle	Produces galaxythistle which can eaten raw as medicine or ground to produce a liquid medical chemical.
Garlic Heads	Produces garlic, which can be eaten for light sustenance or used to make Garlic Bread.
Gatfruit Tree	Produces gatfruit, which can be eaten to produce a loaded Python pistol. Very illegal.
Grape Plant	Produces grapes, which can be eaten for light sustenance or used in certain dishes.
Lemon Tree	Produces lemons. Lemons are used in various cooking recipes. They also help prevent scurvy.
Lingzhi	Produces lingzhi which can eaten raw as medicine or ground to produce a liquid medical chemical.
Nettle Bush	Produces nettles which are poisonous raw but can be used to make medicine. Seeds come from Exotic Crates.
Oats	Produces oat bushels. Oats are used in various cooking recipes.
Onion	Produces onions, which can be eaten for light sustenance. A Chef can slice these with a knife to make onion slices which are used in various cooking recipes.
Orange Tree	Produces oranges, which can be eaten for light sustenance or used in various dishes.
Pea Vines	Produces pea pods, which can be eaten for light sustenance.
Pineapple Bush	Produces pineapple, which can be eaten for light sustenance. Pineapples are used in various cooking recipes, and can be juiced for drink recipes.
Poppy Flower	Produces poppies which contain Bicaridine, a foundational medical chemical used to treat Brute damage.
Potato	Produces potatoes, which can be eaten for light sustenance. Potatoes are used in various cooking recipes.
Pumpkin	A fall classic. Can be carved with a knife to create carved pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns.
Red onion	Produces red onions, which can be eaten for light sustenance.
Rice Stalks	Produces rice bushels, which can be ground up and used in a variety of dishes.
Soy Plant	Produces soybeans, which can be eaten for light sustenance or used in a variety of dishes.
Sugarcane	Produces sugarcane. Sugarcane can be ground into sugar and used in various cooking recipes.
Tea Plant	Produces tea leaves, which can be dried and ground to make a variety of tea-related beverages.
Tobacco	Produces tobacco leaves which can be dried and then crafted into a blunt. Seeds come from Exotic Crates.
Tomato	Produces tomatoes, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make various dishes like Pizzas, Spaghetti, and Bowls of chili. Can also be thrown for fun.
Tower Cap	Produces tower caps. Tower caps are a source of logs. A hatchet is needed to chop these trees down. The resultant produce can be carved into Wood Planks via a hatchet or knife. Seeds come from Exotic Crates and MegaSeed Servitor.
Watermelon	Produces watermelon, which can be sliced into delicious watermelon slices and used in certain recipes. Can also be eaten whole, somehow.
Wheat	Produces wheat bushels. Wheat can be used in a grinder to produce flour which can be mixed with water to make dough or used in various cooking recipes.

Mutations

When using Unstable Mutagen on plants, they can gain a bunch of new attributes, lose some or change the ones hey have.

Mutation	Effect
Screaming	Screams when harvested, clipped and killed.
New Chemical	The produce now contains a different chemical than the one it normally would have had.
Bio-Luminescence	Both plant and produce glow.
Ligneous	Requires a hatchet or a scythe to be harvested.
Higher Yield	The yield of the plant is increased.
Higher Potency	The potency of the plant is increased.
Long Life	Longer life cycle.
Seedless	The fruit cannot be extracted for seeds.
Weed Resistant	Less likely to get weeds.
Pest Resistant	Less likely to get pests.
Less Water	Requires less water to grow.
Low-Lights Tolerance	Requires less light to grow.
Toxin Tolerance	Toxins have less of an effect on the plant's health.
Heat Resistant	Less prone to heat damage.
Low Pressure Tolerance	Resistant to low pressure
High Pressure Tolerance	Resistant to high pressure.
Slippery	Makes you slip when running on the fruit.
Sentience	The tray gains sentience (becomes a ghost role); can be killed by deconstructing.
Kudzu	Kills the plant and replaces it with rapidly spreading Kudzu vines. Kudzu obscures tiles and slows movement to a crawl, and it's capable of overtaking entire stations if left unchecked. Best dealt with through liberal use of Plant-B-Gone, or sharp weapons like the Hatchet.

Mutated Species

Some plants can mutate into entirely new species if exposed to Unstable Mutagen early in their life cycle. These Mutated Species often resemble the original species while containing different chemicals, serving different functions, or otherwise radically differing from normal plant life. Mutate with caution, as some of the plants on this list are extremely dangerous.

Plant Name	Original Plant	Description	Plant Image	Produce Image
Ambrosia Deus	Ambrosia vulgaris	Contains Omnizine, Spacedrugs and Desoxyephedrine
Blue Pumpkin	Pumpkin	Contains Chlorine and Ammonia instead of Pumpkin Flesh.
Blood Tomato	Tomato	Contains Blood, and can be further mutated into Killer Tomatos
Blue Tomato	Tomato	Contains Space Lube. Bursts when thrown at walls or disgruntled security officers.
Capfruit	Gatfruit	Beloved by Clowns and Mimes alike, the Capfruit can be eaten to produce Cap Guns, much like the Gatfruit.
Capfruit (Fake)	Gatfruit	Beloved by Traitors and Criminals alike, the Fake Capfruit produces Fake Cap Guns, loaded with .45 magnum armor-piercing rounds. It is indistinguishable from normal Capfruit.
Chilly	Chili	Contains Frostoil
Death Nettle	Nettle	Produces Death Nettles, cause heat and caustic damage when used in combat and can be ground up to produce Sulfuric Acid.
Egg-Plant	Eggplant	While obtainable easily at most vendors, it is still technically a mutation of normal Eggplants; also referred as "Eggy"
Glasstle	Galaxythistle	Produces razor-sharp thistle that can be used as a fragile melee weapon, welded to create glass, or ground up for Razorium.
Golden Apple Tree	Apple Tree	Produces golden apples, which contain Doctor's Delight, a healing cocktail.
Killer Tomato	Blood Tomato	Produces Killer Tomato Mobs, attacks any person that wasn't present for their harvest.
Koi Beans	Soy Beans	Contains Carpotoxin, useful for making Cognizine.
Laughin' Peas	Peas	Contains Laughter, a chemical which causes uncontrollable laughter if metabolized. The clown's favorite plant.
Lemoon	Lemon	Contains Milk, looks the same as a normal lemon.
Lily	Poppies	Same as normal Poppies, can be mutated into Spaceman's Trumpet.
Mimana	Bannana	Contains Mute Toxin, mime's favorite plant
Papercane	Sugarcane	Can be whittled down with a knife to produce paper.
Pyrocotton	Cotton	Contains Phlogiston, an extremely dangerous and flammable chemical that ignites on contact with living beings.
Rainbow Cannabis	Cannabis	Contains Space Drugs, Lipolicide, Mindbreaker Toxin and Happiness, botanist's favorite plant
Spaceman's Trumpet	Lily	Contains Polypyrylium Oligomers, which heals both Airloss and Brute; optimal to heal spacing
Steel cap	Tower cap	Produces Steel Logs

Chemicals

The raw plant can be eaten for a small medical effect or poison. This effect can be boosted if the plant was grown with Robust Harvest. Alternatively, the plant can be processed into a more powerful medicine.

Plant Name	Properties	Description
Aloe vera	10 seconds: 10 Aloe cream. Aloe & Dermaline	Dermaline can be ingested or injected to heal burn/shock damage. Aloe cream can be applied to the body to greatly heal burn/shock damage. Aloe can be eaten.
Ambrosia vulgaris	Kelotane & Desoxyphredrine	Kelotane heals burns, but is less effective than Dermaline. Desoxyephedrine causes poison damage and stuttering, but makes you somewhat stun/knockdown resistant.
Banana tree	Pulped Banana Peel	Effective against internal bleeding.
Chilli bush	Capsaicin Oil	Causes caustic damage.
Galaxy Thistle	Stellibinin	An anti-toxin that heals against amatoxin damage.
Lingzhi	Ultravasculine & Epinephrine	Ultravasculine rapidly flushes toxins. Epinephrine brings back people from a critical state. Do not overdose.
Nettle bush	Histamine	A poison that can range from mildly annoying to lethal depending on the dosage. Used to mass produce Ultravasculine
Poppy flower	Bicaridine	Used for brute damage/stabilize someone who is badly beaten.
Galaxy Thistle & Aloe vera	Siderlac & Dermaline	Siderlac heals against caustic damage.