Farming Station
The Farming Station from EnderIO is an automated crop and lumber management block. It can be configured to automatically plant and harvest when supplied with power and tools; a Hoe for crops and Axe for wood. Any enchantments applied to the tools also work, such as Looting/Fortune to increase drop rates. Farming Station is well suited to mass lumber or sweed production, where it's high energy consumption is offset by the utility of having resources in bulk. Eventually superseded by the Tree Growth Simulator.
Usage
Opening the Farming Station's GUI gives access to its internal slots. A capacitor can be added to the bottom left, below the red power bar. Capacitors increase the range, power use, and power storage of the Farming Station. Tools and fertilizer go in the top row, while seeds are placed in the center four slots with padlock icons. Up to four different plants can be managed in separate quadrants. Locking a seed will prevent any other from being used in that quadrant. Axes, Lumberaxes, Mattocks, or Shears are all accepted tools and will function the same as if a player were using them, except leaves are instantly collected. When harvesting, the Farming Station will prioritize refilling its own internal seed storage. The six slots in the bottom right are output for produce and extra seeds/saplings. The Farming Station can automatically push/pull items from specific directions when configured using the white gear icon interface. Messages such as "No Seeds" or "No Hoe" are displayed above the Farming Station if it's lacking critical components.
As a RF machine, it can be powered with RF or EU from a GregTech power source. In its smallest configuration (7x7), the Farming Station passively consumes ~225 EU/s even when not actively working, and significantly more when harvesting or planting. For wood harvesting, three Vibrant Photovoltaic Cells (480RF/t) and a Basic Capacitor will let a 7x7 Farming Station work all day and night with default size/growth speed trees, such as Darkwood or Birch. Conduits can be used to provide power and item logistics with a minimal footprint.
Sprinklers can be added to accelerate crop or tree growth for no extra cost other than a steady water supply, which is far more efficient than providing the Farming Station with bone meal or another fertilizer. Forestry Fertilizer, vanilla Bone Meal and Botania Floral Fertilizer are accepted, IC2 Fertilizer, Witchery Mutandis and Forestry Compost are not. Floral Fertilizer can be used to grow Botania flowers on grass or dirt blocks. Dirt is recommended as grass blocks will also produce grass which clogs up the farm and prevents more flowers, and Sprinklers should be avoided as they make tall flowers the Farming Station will not get any harvest from. The Farming Station won't use Floral Fertilizer on Garden Soil but flowers will be placed there, so this can be used to make Botania flower farming more efficient by having a ring of dirt in the middle of the Station's range.
It is highly recommended to get an Unbreakable tool to reduce upkeep. Enchantments on tools are applied when the Farming Station uses them, up to normal vanilla limits. Fortune for example will increase the number of apple and sapling drops from Oak trees. Overchanting or otherwise exceeding the normal limits does not seem to have any additional benefit; a Fortune X axe works the same as a Fortune III.
Limitations
Every time the Farming Station harvests it costs tool durability, eventually requiring replacement or unbreakable tools such as the Healing Axe or Tinker's Construct Unbreakable trait. IC2 Crops do not work with the Farming Station. The Farming Station does not collect 100% of drops automatically, sometimes dropping items into the world. Vacuum Hoppers or Item Collectors are recommended to collect these loose entities.
| Capacitor | Total Farm Size | Plots (in blocks) | Power Usage (RF) |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | 7x7 | 12 x 4 | 40 RF /t |
| Double-Layer Capacitor | 11x11 | 30 x 4 | 67 RF /t |
| Octadic Capacitor | 15x15 | 56 x 4 | 93 RF /t |
| Crystalline Capacitor | 19x19 | 90 x 4 | 260 RF /t |
| Melodic Capacitor | 21x21 | 132 x 4 | 460 RF /t |