Evidently crops require micromanegement

Quote from quantumleaf7895

In my world, I downloaded the new IC2 version, got up a whole bunch of crossbreeders going, and thought to myself "This is going to take a while. Wasn't there an abandoned mineshaft not far from my workshop?" So I get my tools together, charge into the mineshaft, suffer many close shaves, stayed a bit longer than is probably healthy, but emerge from the experience all the wiser (literally, I gained several levels), and with oodles of melon and pumpkins seeds to boot.

And come home to find out that weeds have destroyed my entire farm.

muhaha

Coming soon:
Advanced crops(the stick things) that destroy weeds
It will happen, trust me

Quote from quantumleaf7895

In my world, I downloaded the new IC2 version, got up a whole bunch of crossbreeders going, and thought to myself "This is going to take a while. Wasn't there an abandoned mineshaft not far from my workshop?" So I get my tools together, charge into the mineshaft, suffer many close shaves, stayed a bit longer than is probably healthy, but emerge from the experience all the wiser (literally, I gained several levels), and with oodles of melon and pumpkins seeds to boot.

And come home to find out that weeds have destroyed my entire farm.

You just have to make sure no plain cropsticks are in your garden. Also make sure there is no weed starting to grow, then you can leave.

Quote from Kane Hart

muhaha

Exactly.

Try some NaClO3 in germany known as "UnkrautEx"^^.

Actually it may destroy all plants also the one wanted

I didn't get to the part of crossing crops, because I just wanted to start my server yesterday, but IC2 doesn't actually work in SMP. Being totally depressed I just got something to eat.

Quote from raGan

You just have to make sure no plain cropsticks are in your garden. Also make sure there is no weed starting to grow, then you can leave.

Exactly.

I'm not so sure about that. I had a field of crops that got completely overrun with weeds, and there wasn't a bare crop stick in the group. Unless the crossbreeding sticks count...which if that's the case, then that's somewhat annoying because it basically means you're going to have to have separate fields for growing existing species and crossbreeding new ones.

I guess it's kind of realistic in a way, but still annoying.

Quote from Nightdagger

I'm not so sure about that. I had a field of crops that got completely overrun with weeds, and there wasn't a bare crop stick in the group. Unless the crossbreeding sticks count...which if that's the case, then that's somewhat annoying because it basically means you're going to have to have separate fields for growing existing species and crossbreeding new ones.

I guess it's kind of realistic in a way, but still annoying.

Crossbreeding sticks count. Any type of bare stick counts, when it comes to weed invasions.

Great. So if all you're doing is growing crops and you have full fields, you're fine, but if you're trying to do any crossbreeding, it does require micromanagement (and smaller, specialized fields specifically designated for it, so that any weed invasions don't wipe out your general crops)

Good to know. Time to redesign my agricultural center <_<

The problem I had untill I just decided it wasn't worth the trouble. I couldn't tell the weeds from wheat or some possible hybrid untill they had grown a good bit. So I'd go off to macerate something, ect and come back to find they destroyed the seeds I'd just spent the last 6 hours devoloping and effectivly sending me halfway back to the start of my seed devolopment. Weeds are just vicious and not easy enough to spot imho. I felt like a swarm of paid my home a visit after the experience and chose to just leave it alone untill it's refined a bit.

Weeds are really, really easy to spot once you know what you're looking for. However, it does mean that if you're trying to cross-breed plants, you have to watch them like a hawk, lest a weed take over while you were down grabbing just a little bit of coal to refuel your generators and ruin several generations worth of crossbreeding. Like my super-roses that got eaten by weeds this morning because I decided to go make a cheese sandwich to nibble on without pausing the game.

What I would actually like are some things to improve handling of farms:

1. Terraformer + Aggriculture, they seem to be made for each other, no idea of the effect, but it seems fitting.
2. Devices for fertilizing and hydrating larger areas on a regular basis.

What we have know is ancient aggriculture :P, it misses a little bit the industrial touch.

I would like a breeding station (a machine that "connects" to the 24 dirtblocks around it (5x5 with the machine in the center) and messures the quality of the soil and the hydration-level or such things. But I guess aggriculture is far from finished and it is a nice playground even while being that time-consuming.

Quote from Alblaka

Coming.
Though "larger area" wont be much then a few blocks radius per machine.

may i suggest an area of 5-5 (not to overpowered?)

Quote from mijnboogje

may i suggest an area of 5-5 (not to overpowered?)

3x3 would be more in line.

I will be quick to point out that, at least in the version I am using, which is 1.73 I think, it is wise to build the farm in a manner that keeps all mobs away, particularly if you are using other mods that add mobs that fly. (I may have to port my modpak myself because the official version seems to break my world to the point of crashing the game.).

Quote from RockRaiderZulu

it is wise to build the farm in a manner that keeps all mobs away, particularly if you are using other mods that add mobs that fly.

this. I like Thaumcraft, but it adds a slime that can spawn anywhere and a flying mob. Both will ruin farms.