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[viskaslietuvai]

I was thinking of the comical image of a fully armored, bearded, blood and vomit-soaked dwarf in a tropical biome and then I had an epiphany. Banana farmer dwarf. But bananas grow on trees, not shrubs. Then the solution of orchards became clear.

Aside from the obvious lumber farms which have been desired ever since the move to 3D I think, there is also the aforementioned tropical fruit plantation. This led to some other amusing ideas such as a fort in the tundra importing pineapple tree seeds and then the farmers getting quite frustrated at the pineapple's inability to grow through the permafrost. Solution: Greenhouses.

Dwarves could build glass floors on a z level over a channel exposed to the sun and presto! Papayas in the arctic! I know that normally it would have to be heated as well, but one step at a time people. The greenhouse would obviously be more work than it's worth at this point in development so it would be mostly for bragging rights. Eventually though, a variety in diet could create a happy thought, or just the accomplishment of making something grow outside its normal biome could fill a wee dwarf with pride.

Also you could have some more traditional style orchards such as apples, oranges, pears, cherries and all that, the banana example was just to illustrate the stream of thought. Some of these fruit could be used for alcohol, hard apple cider, cherries used to make bounce, things like that. Others might be used to make juices for children, export, or to help with the infirm in their recovery. Vitamins and all that. I realize that in the case of children some may yell "Sacrilege!" at the removal of juvenile alcoholism.

Edit: Maybe the way I explained the greenhouse was shoddy, the way I was thinking is you would have a room carved out on the z level below the surface, either by channeling or by mining, and then exposing the room with a channel. The room could then have a floor/ceiling put over it with glass. And the room should have to be soil or irrigated.

[ March 06, 2008: Message edited by: viskaslietuvai ]

[Jayfrin]

Sounds interesting, the greenhouse on permafrost is not likely you'd need to probably coat the ground with rock then soil atop of that so the heat fro mthe house doesn't mealt the permafrost and cause the greenhouse to sink...
generally an interesting idea.

similar could be made in a desert but have an "ice gem" installed (http://www.bay12games.com/cgi-local/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=5&t=002607)

or whatever other suggestions, but a greenhouse would be cool have sorta clear glass causeing much mroe growing possibilites then green glass or yeild bigger crop hauls.

orchard would be nice for wood and fruit, you could also make alcohol more fun how bout a sewer brew with a hint of citrus, or a wiskey that burns your throat on the way down but to add insult to injury theres lemon in it so that stings the already burnt throat.. or cherry alchochol for children

[Sowelu]

Jayfrin, you are obsessed with your gem ideas.

But yes, glass not blocking sunlight is a great idea!  And can building-destroyer flying beasts please be allowed to path through your windows and invade your greenhouses?

[Draco18s]

quote:Originally posted by Sowelu:
<STRONG>But yes, glass not blocking sunlight is a great idea!  And can building-destroyer flying beasts please be allowed to path through your windows and invade your greenhouses?</STRONG>

KAW!  Im in ur greenhouse pecking your vegetables!

Nice.  

[viskaslietuvai]

The visualization of creatures busting through windows I posted somewhere else on the forums was of a giant eagle breaking through a noble's bedroom window to consume blue-blood flesh. I hadn't really imagined it as an extension of vermin with plants and agriculture. Makes sense though.

[Kagus]

I've been mucking around with coconuts and bananas and pomegranates and such, and I've just been keeping them as buy-only goods due to the inability to grow them on a tree.  Having an orchard would be very nice.

Want a heated greenhouse for growing tropical goods?  Channel out the space beneath it for magma!  Want soil for growing on a glacial map?  Implement the "buy sand from traders" request and dump sand out into an area for farming!

Orchards should be kept outside, however.  Or at least require a very, very big greenhouse area.

[viskaslietuvai]

quote:Originally posted by Kagus:
<STRONG>Want a heated greenhouse for growing tropical goods?  Channel out the space beneath it for magma! ...
Orchards should be kept outside, however.  Or at least require a very, very big greenhouse area.</STRONG>

The reason I thought of the greenhouse orchard is 'cause I remember hearing that Iceland can grow bananas (mostly for research of a banana-related nature) by utilizing the geothermal energy and greenhouses. Thought it was cool.

As for drilling out a magma heated floor, that sounds potentially difficult. If you build a screw pump out of adamantine can it pump up magma? I've never tried.

[Kagus]

Steel will work, as will iron.  But you need a bauxite mechanism inside of it.

[Mikademus]

Now, what it the average flight velocity of a swallow carrying a coconut?

I utterly oppose rock chairs being deployable to orchards. Bonus score for rotting chairs, though. Can tailors make grass skirts? And more importantly, can any fortress survive dwarves in grass skirts? Also, I want to use the strawberries to make Daquiries.

[Kogan Loloklam]

I haven't personally tried it, but I do believe you can already build a greenhouse via glass block floors.

[Kagus]

That just allows for the growing of outdoor plants, it doesn't heat up the area inside.

I wonder how many variations of that "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" thing...   I heard the grass houses/stow thrones version from Baldur's Gate 2, but I haven't seen or heard any others.

[Lyrax]

quote:Originally posted by viskaslietuvai:
<STRONG>But bananas grow on trees, not shrubs.</STRONG>

[nitpick]Banana plants are the world's largest herb, and are NOT true trees.  They have a wood-like stem, but  it's not actually a trunk.[/nitpick]

[Puzzlemaker]

quote:Originally posted by Lyrax:
<STRONG>[nitpick]They have a wood-like stem, but  it's not actually a trunk.[/nitpick]</STRONG>

That's what SHE said.

...

Yeah, I gotta agree with the OP, but I think it is planned already.