TE 2.2.0: No more Niter->Saltpeter

[MilConDoin]

With the upcoming TE 2.2.0 version (the one with the tesseracts (teleport pipes)), Niter cannot be pulverized to saltpeter anymore. Currently I rely on this recipe in my automated fertilizer production for my fermenters.

What are the best options to produce fertilizer in a world with TE 2.2.0+?

Based on the recipes currently in MindCrack v7, I assume building a peat bog for the ash production is the most viable solution. Does anyone have a better idea?

 

[Abdiel]

In addition to ash (which is a good choice), you can also use mulch in your fermenters, which can be made from wheat or apples.

 

[MilConDoin]

Mulch is slower than fertilizer, so I would need a second fermenter to feed my 5 stills.
My apple to saplings ratio isn't big enough to keep my fermenter running, I think. So I'd need to supplement with a wheat farm->moistener.

I'm not sure, which of these two options is less work (and how many peat bogs I'll need to produce enough ash / how many moisteners I'll need to produce enough mulch).

 

[Abdiel]

From practical experience, one wheat farm + one moistener produces much more mulch than needed to keep a fermenter running with saplings from two tree farms and plantballs from excess seeds. It could probably sustain three tree farms, I haven't tried that.

 

[MilConDoin]

Just in: (change for Forestry 2)

- Changed: Ash cannot be used to create fertilizer anymore. It can be mixed with existing fertilizer to double it though.

Abdiel: How much biomass is produced by two tree farms + plantballs? More than 4 stills can use? I use a steve's carts farm, not an arboretum, so I cannot directly translate that info. My farm produces a bit more than 4 stills can manage (if apple juice is used to boost on occasion), it is enough to keep 5 36 HP boilers running with a very small surplus.

 

[Abdiel]

One still can't keep up with the biomass produced, two stills can. I use biofuel to fuel 6 combustion engines permanently and there's still some surplus being produced.

 

[ItharianEngineering]

I think this change has to do with the fact that forestry 2.0 changes it so that you need apatite to make fertilizer now and can't use ash. Removing the way to generate renewable saltpeter prevents people from using that instead. You can get saltpeter from nitrogen, potassium, and compressed air cells if you have gregtech. Ender pearls have both the nitrogen and potassium so that shouldn't be an issue. The problem would be the wasted tin from using up the cells, which means you are probably using the tin from centrifuged lava. You should probably just move to mulch instead of fertilizer.

 

[MilConDoin]

I think I should install Forestry 2 and check the current numbers for the machines. Then I'll decide if I go grind 1024 Endermen souls, or go mulch. The odds seem to be stacked high in mulch's favor

 

[Honza8D]

I think this change has to do with the fact that forestry 2.0 changes it so that you need apatite to make fertilizer now and can't use ash. Removing the way to generate renewable saltpeter prevents people from using that instead. You can get saltpeter from nitrogen, potassium, and compressed air cells if you have gregtech. Ender pearls have both the nitrogen and potassium so that shouldn't be an issue. The problem would be the wasted tin from using up the cells, which means you are probably using the tin from centrifuged lava. You should probably just move to mulch instead of fertilizer.

if you use GT electrical crafting table you get all the cells back

 

[MagusUnion]

Interesting... While I had no idea that you can use Saltpeter for that function, this change of multi-mod metagame shift is very interesting. Basically, it's as if the mod developers of all parties are saying that Biomass is 'too' renewable, and shifting the game more back towards mining. Once this change hits, though, I'm sure people will beg for things like a UU-Matter recipe for Apatite or some other interaction, but to think that the mods are being adjusted based on their interaction in this way is surprising...

OT though: Despite the energy cost for creation, Niter does seem a bit exploitative in fermentation. Plus, this change makes Moisture machines more important to gameplay, but then again, I rarely run out of Apatite on my worlds as is, lol...

 

[Vovk]

according to dw20, apatite will no longer spawn in little 2-4 crystal specks across the map. It will spawn in relatively rare but huge apatite veins, and each ore will drop 1 to 4 apatite crystals (like redstone,nikolite, etc)

I'm assuming you can fortune the apatite for even more - i'm also assuming a quarry will bring in more apatite than you will be able to use in a month. Having to expand and hunt for more of a resource isn't necessarily a bad thing, and if you want 100% renewable you can always go for RP2 wind farm and bluelectric engines.

 

[danidas]

Interesting... While I had no idea that you can use Saltpeter for that function, this change of multi-mod metagame shift is very interesting. Basically, it's as if the mod developers of all parties are saying that Biomass is 'too' renewable, and shifting the game more back towards mining. Once this change hits, though, I'm sure people will beg for things like a UU-Matter recipe for Apatite or some other interaction, but to think that the mods are being adjusted based on their interaction in this way is surprising...

OT though: Despite the energy cost for creation, Niter does seem a bit exploitative in fermentation. Plus, this change makes Moisture machines more important to gameplay, but then again, I rarely run out of Apatite on my worlds as is, lol...

It is mainly due to the fact that a lot of the mod makers actively play together now a long with communicate with one another a great deal. So you can expect a lot more of these multi-mod metagame fixes in the future.

Also for apatite it is being changed to make it a lot harder to acquire in Forestry 2 mainly to help balance the new multiblock farms that will eventually replace all the other farms in Forestry. Basically apatite will only spawn above Y60 and will be in larger clumps so you will hardly see it while mining any more. Which is a pain since last I checked sea level in minecraft is around Y65 making it very hard to get mass amounts of it with out removing all the dirt from your area or hollowing out mountains.

 

[MilConDoin]

My reasoning:
Boilers need to run without downtime, so I wanted to have it fed by 100% renewable resources. Depending on the abundance of apatite, maybe using fertilizer could stay an option, maybe I switch to mulch.
Also: If I interpret the forestry wiki correctly, the new multifarm will always need fertilizer, so apatite will be used there mainly. Depending what the "fertilizer consumption:10" means at the peat bog, maybe using ash to double fertilizer can lead to a peat bog producing fert to feed other farms.

 

[Vovk]

other possible setups

run the boiler on seed oil squeezed from a few steve's carts wheat farms.
run the boiler on nether pumped or nethersmelted lava.
run the boiler on steves cart'd charcoal.
turn the boiler off <cooling time> hours before you think you're going to log off for at least <heating time> hours.

 

[MilConDoin]

run the boiler on steves cart'd charcoal.

3 of those are run additionally to the 5 fed by saplings, so one cart nets 1088 MJ/t (56 used to keep fermenter/stills/fertilizer production running).