Overview#
Thermal Cultivation is the dedicated agricultural module of the Thermal Series. Designed to streamline and enhance the farming experience in Minecraft, it introduces a tiered system of Watering Cans and specialized fertilizers known as Phyto-Gro. While other Thermal modules handle industrial processing and resource generation, Cultivation ensures that your food and plant production can keep up with the demands of a high-tech base.
In modern versions (1.19.2 and 1.20.1), the mod focuses on providing tools that interact with the vanilla farming system and other Thermal machines like the Phytogenic Insolator and Aquatic Entangler. It is a lightweight but essential addition for any player looking to maximize their crop yields and automate their agrarian needs.
Watering Cans#
Watering Cans are the primary tools added by Thermal Cultivation. They are used to irrigate farmland and significantly speed up the growth of plants, crops, and saplings. Unlike bone meal, which provides a one-time growth boost, Watering Cans provide a continuous area-of-effect (AoE) buff as long as they are held and used.
Tiers and Statistics
Watering Cans come in six distinct tiers, each offering increased water capacity, a larger maximum watering area, and a higher chance to trigger a growth tick.
| Tier | Capacity | Max Area | Growth Chance | Material Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 4,000 mB | 3x3 | 40% | Copper |
| Hardened | 12,000 mB | 5x5 | 50% | Invar |
| Reinforced | 24,000 mB | 7x7 | 60% | Electrum |
| Signalum | 40,000 mB | 9x9 | 70% | Signalum |
| Resonant | 60,000 mB | 11x11 | 80% | Enderium |
| Creative | Infinite | 11x11 | 100% | N/A |
Usage and Mechanics
- Filling: To fill a Watering Can, sneak and right-click on a water source block. Each block removed adds 1,000 mB of water. They can also be filled automatically using a Fluid Transposer or a Reservoir.
- Watering: Hold right-click to begin watering. The tool will consume water every 4 ticks (5 times per second) to attempt to force a growth update on all plants within its area.
- Mode Switching: For tiers higher than Basic, players can cycle through smaller watering areas (e.g., 1x1, 3x3, 5x5) by pressing the Cycle Item Mode key (default V).
- Dyeing: Watering Cans can be customized by combining them with any dye in a crafting grid. To remove the color, place the dyed can back into a crafting grid alone.
Phyto-Gro#
Phyto-Gro is a high-potency fertilizer that acts as a superior alternative to bone meal. When used on a block, it affects a 3x3 area, making it highly efficient for large-scale manual farming. It is also a critical ingredient for the Phytogenic Insolator machine (from Thermal Expansion).
Variants
| Item | Description | Growth Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Phyto-Gro | Standard fertilizer made from industrial byproducts. | 1.25x |
| Rich Phyto-Gro | Enhanced fertilizer that provides better yields and faster growth. | 1.5x |
| Flux-Infused Phyto-Gro | The ultimate fertilizer, infused with Redstone Flux for maximum efficiency. | 2.0x |
Aqua-Chow
Thermal Cultivation also adds Aqua-Chow, a specialized fertilizer used in the Aquatic Entangler. It speeds up the rate at which fish and other aquatic resources are gathered.
- Aqua-Chow: Standard efficiency.
- Rich Aqua-Chow: Increased efficiency.
- Flux-Infused Aqua-Chow: Maximum efficiency, requiring RF to produce.
Recipes#
Watering Can Crafting
The base Watering Can is crafted using a bucket and the corresponding tier's metal. Higher tiers are created by upgrading the previous tier.
- Basic Watering Can: 4x Copper Ingots + 1x Bucket.
- Hardened Upgrade: Basic Watering Can + 2x Invar Ingots + 1x Redstone Dust + 1x Hardened Glass.
- Reinforced Upgrade: Hardened Watering Can + 2x Electrum Ingots + 3x Phyto-Gro + 1x Hardened Glass.
- Signalum Upgrade: Reinforced Watering Can + 2x Signalum Ingots + 3x Rich Phyto-Gro + 1x Cryotheum Dust.
- Resonant Upgrade: Signalum Watering Can + 2x Enderium Ingots + 3x Flux-Infused Phyto-Gro + 1x Pyrotheum Dust.
Phyto-Gro Recipes
Phyto-Gro is typically produced in a shapeless crafting recipe or an Induction Smelter.
- Phyto-Gro (Shapeless): 2x Sawdust (or 1x Pulverized Charcoal) + 1x Niter + 1x Slag.
- Rich Phyto-Gro (Shapeless): 1x Phyto-Gro + 1x Rich Slag.
- Flux-Infused Phyto-Gro: Produced by processing Rich Phyto-Gro with Flux in a Fluid Transposer or Induction Smelter.
Mechanics and Enchantments#
Growth Cycles
The Watering Can operates on a 4-tick cycle. During each cycle, the tool checks every block in its AoE. If a block contains a "plant-like" object (crops, saplings, sugar cane, etc.), the tool rolls a percentage chance (based on tier) to force a block update. This mimics the natural "random tick" growth of Minecraft but at a vastly accelerated rate.
Enchanting
Watering Cans support the Holding enchantment, which is unique to the Thermal Series.
- Holding I-IV: Increases the water capacity of the Watering Can.
- Level I: 1.5x Capacity
- Level II: 2.0x Capacity
- Level III: 2.5x Capacity
- Level IV: 3.0x Capacity
Irrigation
Using a Watering Can on Farmland blocks will keep them hydrated indefinitely while the tool is active, preventing them from turning back into dirt even in arid environments without nearby water sources.
Configuration#
Thermal Cultivation offers several configuration options found in the thermal-server.toml file (located in the world's serverconfigs folder).
- Watering Can Effectiveness: Adjust the growth tick chance for each tier.
- Water Consumption: Modify the amount of mB consumed per watering cycle for different AoE sizes.
- Phyto-Gro Efficiency: Change the growth multipliers for the various tiers of fertilizer when used in machines.
- Dyeing Enabled: Toggle whether Watering Cans can be dyed.
