Loftia hydroponics: Hydrofarm and trellis recipes

How do you build a Hydrofarm?

Craft it at your Project Station once that station reaches level 3. The recipe is Carbon Fiber 3, Circuit Boards 5 and Glass 2, and it draws 10 energy.

Two of the three inputs sit behind Refining Station level 3: glass from sand, and circuit boards from electronic scraps. Carbon fibre is not one of that station’s recorded outputs, so treat it as a separate find. Plan the refining chain before you promise yourself a Hydrofarm.

What are trellises and when do they unlock?

Trellises are the earlier sustainable-growing step. They unlock at Project Station level 2 and cost clay and scrap wood, which makes them the cheap way to change how you grow before the level-3 tier is reachable.

Recipe	Station	Materials	Energy
Straight Trellis	Project Station Lv. 2	Clay 5, Scrap Wood 8	2
Arched Trellis	Project Station Lv. 2	Clay 10, Scrap Wood 16	2
Hydrofarm	Project Station Lv. 3	Carbon Fiber 3, Circuit Boards 5, Glass 2	10

Qloud’s Steam description lists hydroponics under sustainable farming alongside aquaponics and trellis growing, so treat a trellis as the first version of the same idea rather than decoration.

How does a Hydrofarm differ from a garden bed?

A garden bed is the opening plot: you plant a seed, water it, harvest, and repeat. Hydroponics is the progression version of that loop, which is why the station level and the refined materials are gated so late.

Both still consume seeds, so the growing bottleneck moves from materials to seed supply. If seeds are the problem, the seed and watering guide covers the Tool Wheel and refills.

What are community farms?

Community farms are shared plots with fast growth and friendly leaderboards. Qloud’s Early Access page puts them in the Hanging Gardens and describes what you grow there as helping support Loftia’s people, so they are a shared contribution loop rather than a second personal garden.

They arrive with the Hanging Gardens, not with your starter island. The district summary is in the region guide, and the story that opens the district is in the unlock order.

Why won’t the Hydrofarm accept plants?

Check that the Hydrofarm is placed on the island rather than sitting in storage, then click the plot area itself instead of aiming at the frame. A Hydrofarm that sits in a chest behaves exactly like a broken one, because storage removes it from the plot and nothing fills until it is placed again (Steam discussion).

If a placed Hydrofarm still refuses a seed, compare the seed with the station tier and report it with a screenshot. The storage guide covers keeping station parts out of the bag.

What should you plant first in a Hydrofarm?

Plant what your current quest or recipe chain consumes rather than trying every seed once. Cooking requests pull from crops, and tailoring pulls from cotton and fibre, so one crop chain plus one fibre chain covers most of the early requests.

The cooking guide lists what the kitchen asks for early, and the recipe finder shows the materials each product needs, so you can check whether a crop feeds a recipe you actually use.

Does hydroponics replace watering?

No. Hydroponics is a growing method, not an unlimited watering can; the Advanced Watering Can is a separate Project Station level-2 recipe. Farming covers the planting loop itself, and refined materials explains the Carbon Fiber and Glass this recipe needs.