Watering plants

[ZombieDupe]

I have been really confused with the weird mechanics of watering plants. You can only fill watering cans with pond water, but not sea water, even though shouldn't both be viable options? It is a bit annoying to have to base near a pond just to grow crops. Not entirely sure if water balloons water plants too, but if they don't they really should. This also seems like a very early game thing to do, yet you dedicate so much time watering each patch 4 times over without a more convenient alternative past a certain point. Some automated way to do it would be nice. The ice flingomatic could provide some hydration, or better yet bring the sprinkler from Hamlet over! I long for the day you could simply set up all plants to have a Wickerbottom player grow them instantly and getting all giant ones some time later in the game to make farming less of a hassle, because right now you just have to have someone doing all the farming non stop for a great harvest. I love the new farming mechanics, but I don't want to spend that much time on so many crops. Just a bit earlier on, and then massive yields later down the line thanks to automation and magic.

[ZTheNecromancer]

Salt water kills plants not adapted to the sheer amount of salt. It prevents osmosis. 

You don't have to do it non-stop, A 2x1 plots with 3 different plants and 6 rows and a self-nutrient-sustaining combo (E.x Potato+Carrot+corn in Autumn) that's tended to can yield about 10-14 crops each species if you get giant ones. It's best to farm in short bursts and when you have the time for it. I consider that 10-14 crops a good amount, so I dunno what your view on a "great harvest" is. Unless you have a huge plantation, it doesn't take all that much time to talk to each plant. It takes the same amount of time to talk to 40 plants than it is to harvest 40 grass tufts (Which people do quite often.) Spread apart or planted together. So I don't get the whole "It takes to much time" deal. 

[Notecja]

Dont use salt water (sea water) to water plants xD 

[Hornete]

I do wish the Malbatross can would allow you to use sea water (The idea being that it filters the sea water into fresh water) an idea brought up by @Electroely

 

Would give the item a really nice use, other than that perhaps ice could fill watering cans up a bit more? I've found them really bad at filling up cans and I figure a small buff to how much they fill wouldnt hurt.

[-Nick-]

10 minutes ago, Hornete said:

I do wish the Malbatross can would allow you to use sea water (The idea being that it filters the sea water into fresh water) an idea brought up by @Electroely

 

Would give the item a really nice use, other than that perhaps ice could fill watering cans up a bit more? I've found them really bad at filling up cans and I figure a small buff to how much they fill wouldnt hurt.

Maybe the can could even give you salt time to time xD

[ansuman]

I like the way it is implemented, it gives some real importance to the ponds.

[Sapientis]

Not only ponds, you can refill Watering Cans and Waterfowl Cans at a Pond, a Hot Spring, the Oasis Lake, at Vitreoasis and with Ice or a Water Balloon, although the two latter ones are really inefficient options.

For early game it would be best to make many Watering Cans so you can refill them all in one go.

And later most Megabases are made around Oasis Lake, so you could manage to refill your stocked Cans once a year. It's always good to make a Can out of 1% Malbatross Bill and they last for quite some time.

And this whole watering is only useful if you intend to grow crops faster and/or bigger. Without watering crops will still grow, so you don't have to mind that if you don't want to. In Winter watering is more efficient as water doesn't vapor so much and in Spring you can usually skip watering unless you farm Toma Roots and Watermelons only (they suck water like a vacuum cleaner).

In my opinion Ice and Water Balloons should refill Cans more and maybe rain could slowly refill them over time?

Also I like the idea of filtering Sea Water with Waterfowl Can, or maybe we could get a filter structure to obtain fresh water and Salt?

[ryvrdrgn14]

I wish the firepump on the boat can be used to refill the cans. They do water the crops last I heard except they randomly splatter unless you start fires in the farm plot.