Hydroponics

Hydroponics is the process of growing plants with added nutrients, inside of water instead of soil; some departments might still include rooms with soil mounds.
A Botanist performs this role.
While this department exist primarily to help give ingredients to the Chef and feed the whole station, it also occasionally communicates with Chemists, Cargo Department and the rest of Service.

Starting the shift

The department in a high population station

The Hydroponics department involves using special machines to grow plants; these are the Hydroponic Trays .
Most plants are readily available from the start of the shift, although you can obtain special seeds with the help of Cargo Department, Salvage Specialists or by exploring the maintenance hallways for leftovers, or hidden rooms.
The Chef will come visit the department often, as will Service Workers, but it's not rare for Chemists to come asking for medicinal plants.

Equipment

All of Botany's equipment has the single and only purpose to help the Botanist obtain plants as efficiently as possible. While some objects can have different uses, making sure that you get the desired outputs out of the seeds you plant is the main objective.

Machines and Tools

Appliances and utilities found within the Department

Image	Name	Usage
	Hydroponic Tray	These oversized pots are where you plant seeds and grow plants into. They require some degree of maintenance given to them, which is signalled through the various LED lights that blink on it; you can find their meaning in the Tray section. They can receive water and food objects too, which will replenish the Water and Nutrient values respectively. It can receive any liquid solution, with some being more helpful to the plant's well-being than others; the tray absorbs 1 unit of solution every 1 second, even when there is no plant inside.
	Patch of Soil	Alternative, much less responsive, way of cultivating plants. You can still inspect it to check on nutrients and water saturation.
	MegaSeed Servitor	Contains 5 of every common seed.
	Nutrimax	Dispenses all of the tools found in the Tools section, save for the dropper.
	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. As of more recent versions, the seed extractor doesn't reset the seed's genetics.
	(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. A max. amount of 4 materials can be put inside, then either a drinking glass or a beaker in; all plants can be ground up to extract their inner chemicals (such as Vitamins and Nutriment), but some can be juiced too, to obtain specific juices.
	Cooking	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)

Items for the Botanist to use

Image	Name	Usage
	Mini Hoe	Removes weeds
	Spade	Removes plants from tray. Needed to remove any still living plant. 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. Underuse can lead to a lack of seeds. 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 each time they are harvested, or as they just got planted. If you have power and a Seed Extractor, you can potentially use it instead however you will lose one piece of harvest.
	Hatchet	For cutting wood and tower caps. A territorial Botanist's best weapon.
	Scythe	Sharp, a more showy but less damaging alternative to the hatchet.
	Bucket	Used to transfer water. If dropped, spills contents on the floor. Holds 250u of liquid.
	Bottle	Used to transfer water 5u at a time. 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, or left click on a plant / seed to put it in the bag. Left click on a table (not a counter or floor) 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.
	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.
	EZ Nutrient	Adds nutrients 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.
	Pest Spray	Not 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.
	Left-4-Zed	Mutagenic, causes plant life to become highly unstable; to use along Unstable Mutagen to increase mutation probability.

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.

Crates

A Botanist can request Hydroponics oriented crates from a Cargo Technician:

• Seed Crate - An assortment of seeds available from a Megaseed Vendor. e.g. carrot, chilli, corn, eggplant, lemon, oat, onion, potato, sugarcane, tomato, wheat
• Exotic Seed Crate - An assortment of rare seeds. e.g. banana, cannabis, egg-plant, fly amanita, nettle, pineapple, tobacco, tower cap
• Hydroponics Equipment Crate - Crate with some tools and equipment you would usually find in Botanist Lockers

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.
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.
Chili bush	Produces chilis, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Bowls of chili, Enchiladas, and Queso.
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.
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. Are used in Cooking.
Fly Amanita	Are used in Cooking.
Galaxy thistle	Produces galaxy thistle which can eaten raw as medicine or ground to produce a liquid medical chemical.
Gatfruit tree	Produces gatfruit. Very illegal.
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.
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.
Red onion	Produces red onions, 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. Seeds come from Exotic Crates
Poppy flower	Produces poppies which can eaten raw as medicine or ground to produce a liquid medical chemical.
Potato	Produces potatoes, which can be eaten for light sustenance. Potatoes are used in various cooking recipes.
Space tobacco	Produces space tobacco leaves. Unused?
Sugarcane	Produces sugarcane. Sugarcane can be ground into sugar and used in various cooking recipes.
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 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 turned into wood planks via a hatchet. Wood planks are used in Construction
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
Heat Resistant	Less prone to heat deamage
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	Turns in to a rapidly spreading kudzu vine that will take over any space if not killed with herbicide

On certain plants, there's a chance for it to mutate into a new species

Plant Name	Original Plant	Description	Plant Image	Produce Image
Egg-Plant	Eggplant	While obtainable easily at most vendors, it is still technically a mutation of normal Eggplants; also referred as "Eggy"
Ambrosia Deus	Ambrosia vulgaris	Contains Omnizine, Spacedrugs and Desoxyephedrine
Blue Tomato	Tomato	Contains Space Lube
Blood Tomato	Tomato	Contains Blood, can be mutated into Killer Tomtaos
Killer Tomato	Blood Tomato	Produces Killer Tomato Mobs, attacks any person that wasn't present for their harvest.
Chilly	Chili	Contains Frostoil
Koi Beans	Soy Beans	Contains Carpotoxin, useful for making cognizine
Laughin' Peas	Peas	Contains Laughter, 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
Spaceman's Trumpet	Lily	Contains Polypyrylium Oligomers, which heals both Airloss and Brute; optimal to heal spacing
Mimana	Bannana	Contains Mute Toxin, mime's favorite plant
Pyrocotton	Cotton	Contains Phlogiston
Steel caps	Woods Caps	Produces Steel Logs
Rainbow Cannabis	Cannabis	Contains Space Drugs, Lipolicide, Mindbreaker Toxin and Happiness, botanist's favorite plant

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.