Dirt

This article has not been revised for the current version (***U50-583750***). It was last updated for *LU-356355*. It may contain inaccuracies.
This article has not been revised for the current version (***U50-583750***). It was last updated for *LU-356355*. It may contain inaccuracies.

## Dirt

Dirt is a soft, nutrient-rich substance capable of supporting life.
 It is necessary in some forms of Food production.

### Properties

 Generic Buildable, Solid, Cultivable Soil

### Overheat Temperature

-10 °C

**Dirt** is an important type of agricultural resource. It's especially important in the early game for the Research Station and initial food sources via Mush Bars and Mealwood. In the late game, it is necessary to grow domestic Sleet Wheat and to manufacture Fertilizer.

## Usage

* Research Stations consume Dirt for basic research. Each basic research point costs 50 kg of Dirt.
* Microbe Mushers can produce Mush Bars from Dirt and Water. 75 kg Dirt + 75 kg Water = 800 kcal Mush Bar.
* Outhouses consume Dirt. Each "visit" consumes 13 kg Dirt and creates 19.7 kg Polluted Dirt.

### Farming

Dirt can be used to build Planter Boxes, Farm Tiles and Algae Terrariums.

* Some plants require Dirt as fertilizer to be grown domestically:
	+ Mealwood - 10 kg/cycle.
	+ Sleet Wheat - 5 kg/cycle.
	+ Nosh Sprout - 5 kg/cycle.
	+ Oxyfern - 4 kg/cycle.
	+ Arbor Tree - 10 kg/cycle.

Fertilizer Synthesizers can produce Fertilizer from Dirt. 39 g/s Polluted Water + 65 g/s Dirt + 26 g/s Phosphorite = 120 g/s Fertilizer + 10 g/s Natural Gas.

### Ranching

* Hatches and Sage Hatches can eat Dirt and excrete Coal. When eating Dirt, it will increase the chance of laying Sage Hatch eggs. Sage Hatches convert 100% of consumed mass to Coal, making this a viable source of Power & Refined Carbon for Steel.
* Shove Voles can eat Dirt and excrete Dirt tile with 50% mass. (Not recommended)

### Medicine

* Apothecary can produce Allergy Medication from Blossom Seed and Dirt. 1 unit Blossom Seed + 1 kg Dirt = 1 unit Allergy Medication.

## Production

* Dirt occurs naturally in the Temperate Biome and Forest Biome.
* Compost converts Polluted Dirt (and other compostables) into Dirt at 100% efficiency. It requires duplicant operation and releases waste heat.
* Boiling Polluted Water into Steam will leave small amounts of Dirt behind (1% of mass).
	+ Note that when boiled in a high temperature environment, the generated dirt may quickly transform into sand, or even glass natural tiles due to its low mass.
* Filtering Polluted Water into Water with the Water Sieve, consumes a filtration medium, and produces Polluted Dirt as a byproduct at 4% of water mass, which can be converted to dirt with the Compost.
* Some organic resources (Slime, Algae, Fertilizer) can be cooked into Dirt by heating them above 125°C.
* Ethanol Distiller coverts 33.3% of the mass of the input Lumber to Polluted Dirt, which can be composted to Dirt. Each Arbor Tree, if domesticated, can produce up to 333.33 kg/cycle of Lumber. This can be used to produce up to 111.11 kg/cycle of Dirt *per Arbor tree*. However, note that each plant consumes 10 kg/cycle of Dirt, so the net is +101.11 kg/cycle (Polluted) Dirt. This requires 1.86 Compost heaps per domesticated Arbor Tree.
* A Pip consumes 9% growth of Arbor Trees and 20% growth of Thimble Reeds per cycle, producing 20 kg of Dirt per cycle.
	+ A wild Arbor Tree can support up to 3 domesticated Pips, producing 60 Kg of Dirt per cycle without any input materials.
	+ A domesticated Arbor Tree can support *more* than a full ranch of 8 Pips. This produces a net gain of 150 kg of Dirt per cycle with surplus lumber, for the cost of 70 kg of Polluted Water per cycle.
* Mud can be converted to Dirt and Water using a Sludge Press. Mud can also be heated to Dirt and Steam.
* It can be harvested on rocket missions to renewable Space POIs:
	+ In Organic Mass Fields at a rate of 162 – 486 kg per cycle.

## See also

* Resource
* Agriculture Guide
* Food Guide