We all want to be cave dwellers in Rimworld. Besides the bug infestations, it’s a pretty sweet way to make sure your base is nearly impenetrable. However, unless your colony feasts on the endless waves of late-game raiders, you’re going to need to establish a source of food. Hydroponics is just the way to do that in Rimworld. The above picture shows the best hydroponics layout in Rimworld.
Basics of Hydroponics
In order to get hydroponic basins in Rimworld, you first need to research Hydroponics at the research bench. You will also need sun lamps which can be built after researching electricity. Hydroponic basins and sun lamps are a great combination because it allows you to use these basins indoors. They grow food at a much faster rate, but they can only be used by a limited number of plants. These plants are potatoes, rice, strawberries, cotton, hops, smokeleaf, psychoid, and healroot. You also have to worry about power. The plants in the basins will wither and die very quickly if they become unpowered due to solar flares, breakdowns, or even conduit explosions.
It should be noted that the basins only provide soil fertility. This means you will need to provide all the other requirements for the plants to grow including temperature and light. Now with all that out of the way, let’s look at the best hydroponics layout you can possibly have in Rimworld.
The Layout
So as you can see from above, the optimal hydroponics setup has one sun lamp and exactly twenty-four (!) hydroponic basins. This layout has only 4 wasted spaces which can be filled with pillars if you are (and should be) building this indoors. If your setup will not have walls directly outside the sun lamps range, the ceiling will collapse and injure or kill your colonists. It also is aesthetically pleasing to some people to fill those dirt spots with pillars – but you do you.
The above layout will consume exactly 4580W during the day and only 1680W at night. You can power exactly one of these setups with 3 solar generators or 1 geothermal generator and 2 solar generators with some extra power leftover.
This setup gives you the least amount of wasted space and maximizes your energy usage. It is without a doubt the best hydroponics layout in Rimworld currently and will be until something else is added or they change the way hydroponics work.
If you’re looking for more Rimworld tips and tricks, check out our other posts on how to get components, ranged weapons, and melee weapons!