Forestation Plant Question

[davokingy]

Hi there
I am enjoying the hell out of this game, especially with the new Green Planet DLC (excellent work DEVS!)

But - got a quick question.

Normally in factories, extractors etc... you get three shifts that you can turn on or off.
I totally get this. You can turn on or off a night shift depending on demand - or whatever

However in my Forestation Plants I also get three shifts - or rather options (I don't think they are actually work shifts)

For example - if my soil quality is at 40 percent, I can choose all 3 options and grow grass, bushes and trees.
However - I do not think they are shifts.
If I do this am I seeding all three vegetation types at the same time?

Would it be better to go for all three options, or focus for example entirely on grass until I get a really high soil quality and only then switch to bushes and trees??

Any thoughts would be welcomed

 

[davokingy]

Also another question I just thought of

Does mixing up the plant types (eg. grass bushes and trees) at the same time maybe increase the soil quality quicker than picking just a single vegetation type?

 

[SillySMS]

I'm unsure if 3x grass is better than 1x grass, for example.

What I do know is that something like lichen+grass+trees is better than any one on it's own. Higher end plants are more valuable (bushes and up, for example, produce seeds), but require nonzero soil quality. Earlier plants like lichens and grass can start to build up soil quality on the dead patches while trees are planted on the already good spots.

 

[davokingy]

So it's better if I mix the vegetation up??

For example. Trees unlock at 40 percent (I think)

Rather than going straight for trees (when I hit 40 percent) and nothing else, it would maybe be better for the soil if I do a mixture of all the vegetation available (a mix of grass, bushes and trees)??

I guess that is what I am really asking

 

[SillySMS]

In general, for me, I progress like this, as things unlock (as temperature/water go up and Adapted Vegetation is researched)

Lichen
Lichen + grass
Lichen + grass + bushes
Lichen + bushes + trees
Lichen + bushes + mixed trees

While maybe you can micromanage, I prefer to have lichen for the initial colonization, an intermediate plant to speed partially developed soil along, and a big seed maker.

 

[davokingy]

Right - thats a good reply. Thanks mate

I figured it would probably be better for the soil if I eased into it, ie. Lichen-Grass- Bushes- Trees

What you say makes a lot of sense.

Cheers fella!

 

[Promethian]

I am uncertain if it alternates each seed type when it attempts to plant a tile or if it tries all 3 at the same time. However I know for a fact that selecting 3 types does work out just fine.

 

[Xeorm]

If I had to guess there's some split focus depending on which seeds you're using, but having a spread seems to work fine. Shouldn't matter overall much. As long as the plant is running you'll get the +vegetation for terraforming. Getting the soil quality up for open farming takes more time but you should get it up gradually anyway.

 

[YertyL]

I'm unsure if 3x grass is better than 1x grass, for example.

What I do know is that something like lichen+grass+trees is better than any one on it's own. Higher end plants are more valuable (bushes and up, for example, produce seeds), but require nonzero soil quality. Earlier plants like lichens and grass can start to build up soil quality on the dead patches while trees are planted on the already good spots.

I'm reasonably certain that 1x grass and nothing else is equivalent to 3x grass -- at least the seed input seems to remain the same.
Otherwise, I would also be pretty interested in the original topic -- especially for outdoor farms, for which you will often want to mix herbs and leaf crops/potatoes, but in such a way that soil quality remains stable, and I am still not sure how to best accomplish that.