From The Garden...
I'm sure you know what a plant is. If you don't, then I am highly concerned! Most of the people I work with have a strange lack of concern with how much they interact with the various flora and fauna of the universe, most especially those from Sol! (You know, where the Humans come from. They don't shut up about it!)
This diary entry is more or less an opinion piece, on the plants (and mutations of said plants) that have drawn my eye(s) throughout the years, that also contains an assortment of botanical advice. Nature is weird: It's hard to pinpoint exactly how a plant is going to grow. However, with a bit of finangling (is that really a word?!) you can definitely make some of these for yourself, and maybe even more successful than my own attempts!
Let's talk tactics:
Most NutriMAX™ brand vending machines have a special kit for the sake of making unstable mutagen, but did you know that you're only one wire away from a whole bottle of the stuff? What about "left 4 zed"? Grab yourself a pair of wirecutters and a screwdriver, and find the unlabelled manager wire. You'll know you got it, when a few new options on the machine open up. You'll know if you didn't, if you get shocked to hell and back... I didn't say it wasn't risky!
That was just a trick I learned from an old friend of mine. What about tricks from an even older friend, one of the Unathi variety? Well, a certain someone told me a strange tactic using a bucket, that starter kit, and an eyedropper. Fill a whole bucket up with EZ nutrient, drop one unit of radium into it, then spill out EXACTLY 28 units of the now "left 4 zed" into the empty EZ nutrient bottles. Now, you can fill in the remaining two units in each bottle with unstable mutagen. Tada! The perfect mix.
Do you like snails? Do you... LOVE snails? Well, if you can throw aside your animal loving nature, these pests can actually serve as an unlikely ally when it comes to your plants falling apart from old age. For some... strange reason, their blood is that of cryoxadone, which is a highly effective de-aging agent for all sorts of plants. Only one unit is enough to turn back the clock. If you see a snail, grab it, and keep it for future juicing with a syringe! That felt strange to type...
Cargo not getting off your back for a few apples that you kinda forgot about hours ago? You can get them all in the matter of minutes, should you decide to sacrifice quality! All you'll need is robust harvest, some swabs, and cocoa, alongside the plant you want to boost in production. Plant the cocoa, dump around 15 units of robust harvest into the tray it's in, then use four seperate swabs on the plant of choice. Just make sure to clip the plant before you harvest...
Sometimes, you're going to see the lack of care for Botany laid bare to the station. So... time to take matters into your own hands! With chanterelle spores and tower caps, plus the above mentioned technique, you can construct some spare plots of land to grow even more plants! This is only for TRUE BOTANY FREAKS. If you are not one, step aside! With proper technique, you can make botany into a huge garden, with only a few harvests from the tower caps and spores.
todo: show what it looks like to go beyond just a real botany freak