In The Planet Crafter, survival is more than just breathing on a barren alien world it’s about adapting, thriving, and building a sustainable future. One of the most critical aspects of survival is securing a steady food supply. That’s where the Food Grower comes into play. This essential machine helps you create your own food, keeping your health and energy up as you terraform the planet. Whether you’re a new explorer or well into your terraforming efforts, understanding how the Food Grower works will drastically improve your odds of long-term success.
Unlocking the Food Grower in Planet Crafter
Early Game Progression
To begin producing food, you need to unlock the Food Grower through terraformation progression. The Food Grower becomes available as you generate oxygen, one of the three key components of terraforming (along with heat and pressure).
Specifically, you unlock the Food Grower Tier 1 at 12.00 ppt (parts per trillion) of oxygen production. This may take some time in the early stages, so it’s important to set up multiple Vegetubes and generate oxygen as soon as possible. As oxygen accumulates, new blueprints including the Food Grower will unlock automatically.
Food Grower Tier 2
Later in the game, you’ll unlock Food Grower T2, a more efficient version that allows faster crop growth. It becomes available at 35.00 kg of biomass, another stat that progresses alongside your terraforming efforts. Investing in T2 is worth it once you’re producing large quantities of food or supporting multiple outposts.
Building the Food Grower
Crafting Requirements
Once unlocked, you’ll need the right materials to build your first Food Grower. The basic Food Grower requires the following resources:
- 1 Aluminum
- 1 Water Bottle
- 1 Iron
Aluminum can be found in caves or aluminum fields, while water bottles are crafted from Ice (collected from the ground) using the Crafting Station. Iron is one of the most common resources and should be easily available early on.
Power Requirements
The Food Grower consumes power like any other machine. Each Tier 1 unit uses 15 energy per second, so be sure your base has adequate solar or wind power before setting up too many growers. Insufficient power will shut down all connected systems, including oxygen production and food generation.
Using the Food Grower
Planting Seeds
After placing your Food Grower, interact with it and insert a food seed. You can find seeds in wrecks, chests, and later craft some through specialized machines. Each seed produces a specific type of food, such as:
- Mushroom Seeds â Mushrooms
- Bean Seeds â Beans
- Eggplant Seeds â Eggplants
- Squash Seeds â Squash
Once planted, the crop will grow over time. You’ll see a progress meter inside the Food Grower UI, and once it’s complete, you can harvest the food and replant the seed.
Growth Time and Efficiency
Each crop has a fixed growth time. For example, Beans usually grow faster than Mushrooms, making them a preferred option for consistent food production. However, certain recipes in later stages such as food packs may require a mix of different ingredients, so growing a variety is ideal.
The Tier 2 Food Grower accelerates this process significantly, nearly halving the time needed to grow crops. It’s especially useful once you start crafting advanced foods or maintaining farms across distant bases.
Where to Place Your Food Grower
Base Integration
The Food Grower is an indoor structure, so it must be placed inside a habitat or building module. It takes up a decent amount of space, so plan your room layout accordingly. Many players dedicate one or more modules to farming, aligning multiple Food Growers for an organized setup.
Remote Farming
As your terraforming progresses, you may want to establish outposts far from your main base. Setting up Food Growers in those locations helps reduce the need to carry food across long distances. Just make sure you also provide water and power to these remote locations.
Why the Food Grower Is Essential
Self-Sufficiency
Early in the game, you rely on food packs found in chests. But those supplies run out quickly. With the Food Grower, you take your first steps toward independence. You’re no longer scavenging, but producing what you need.
Support for Advanced Recipes
Later in the game, you’ll unlock the Food Grower Tier 2 and additional machinery like the Bio Lab. These allow you to craft complex food items and biomass-based materials, all of which stem from your food production chain.
Health and Survival
Food is one of three critical life support systems in Planet Crafter (the others being oxygen and water). Starving leads to health depletion and eventually death. Having a steady food supply is not just convenient it’s a requirement.
Expanding Your Food Empire
Scaling Up
As your terraforming level increases and you unlock more grower units, you can produce food at scale. Use this to support long expeditions, or simply stockpile food to avoid interruptions while exploring or building.
Automating with Drones (Endgame)
In the late game, you can automate parts of your base using drones. These can harvest and transport food across your network of storage and processing units. With this system in place, food generation becomes effortless and fully integrated into your survival infrastructure.
Tips for Efficient Food Production
- Upgrade to Food Grower T2 as soon as biomass allows it’s more efficient and space-saving.
- Use a variety of seeds to prepare for crafting advanced meals later on.
- Keep an eye on power levels. Each grower consumes 1545 energy depending on tier.
- Organize your habitat into farming, storage, and processing sections for better productivity.
- Build water collectors near your base to supply constant water for crafting and food growing.
The Food Grower in Planet Crafter is a turning point in your journey from desperate survivalist to self-reliant colonist. It transforms you from a scavenger into a cultivator, capable of feeding yourself, crafting bio-recipes, and supporting multiple bases with reliable food production. Whether you’re preparing for long-distance exploration, setting up drone networks, or building your dream habitat, mastering the Food Grower is key to thriving on an alien world. As you continue shaping the barren land into a livable paradise, your food production setup becomes one of the strongest pillars of survival and progress.