Tips for Food
For early game, It’s recommended to get ~25 crop tiles per colonist in regular soil fertility.
So plant per colonist a 5×5 patch of corn, potato or rice and you should have ample food supply for simple meals. You can get away with just 20 tiles but you have to account for accidents and other factors such as bad harvests. If you supplement with hunting, you can half your crop tiles requirements while cooking fine meals but this isn’t feasible in bad biomes.
If you want to go fine vegan meals, add 50% crop tiles for ~38 tiles per colonist or a 6×7 patch per colonist.
To calculate what you need for winter is relatively simple. The calculation = (60 days / growing days * 25 = how many crop tiles you need.
Multiply the resulting number by:
- x0.5 if you have a stable protein source from hunting or animal produce (see further below*).
- x1.33 for fine vegan
- x2 for lavish vegan
- x0.6 if you use nutrient paste
For example:
A Boreal Forest biome only has 30 growing days.
- You will need 60 / 30 = 2
- x 25 crop tiles
- = 50 total crop tiles per colonist on average for simple meals year round.
- x1.33 if you want fine vegan meals = ~67 crop tiles per colonist
- x0.6 if you go nutrient paste = 30 crop tiles etc.
If you have a lot of fertile soil the calculation is a bit trickier but generally speaking you can get away with planting 1/3rd less crop tiles. (discount 33% per fertile tile)
If you have a hydroponics bay you can get away with 2 bays per colonist (8 crop tiles) with a good surplus to spare. A full hydroponics bay setup can get you 24 bays, which would provide food for ~12 to ~15 colonists using 1 sunlamp.
To quickly calculate how many animals you need for regular fine meals from animal produce*:
- For chickens, geese, ducks: You need 2 females per colonist.
- Cows: you need 1 female cow per colonist for steady milk.
- Yak, Elk, Dromedary: You need slightly more than 1 female per colonist, so just keep 1 extra every 5 colonists.
2 female chickens are then as good as 1 female cow for example.
You will generally need more than 4 animals per colonist if you want to go full on carnivore BBQ and get all your food strictly from meat. (only important for ranchers with maximum carnivore precept)
My normal setup is then something like this.
15 normal fertility crop tiles per colonist + 1 cow per colonist (or 2 chickens) on a temperate biome (assuming 20 days of winter).
If i have 10 colonists then I need 15 tiles x 10 colonists = 150 crop tiles of either rice, potato or corn and 10 cows for fine meals everyday.
TL:DR
- Plant 25 crop tiles (or a 5×5 crop patch) per colonist on regular soil for year round simple meals.
- Add 2 egg laying animals or 1 milk producing animal per colonist to half your needed crop tiles per colonist and get fine (vegan) meals.
- 2 hydroponics bays with sunlamps per colonist.
- Use nutrient paste to slash 33% of your food costs if you’re desperate.
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