Agriculture is not a Dirty Word -

[Philosophiac]

Wheat, Barley, Rye, Rice, Hops, various other crops... they play a significant role in the farming landscape of the modern world. From bread and beer to feeding our livestock, farming has been the singular means by which humanity has survived during the darkest hours of its existence. While there is no real way, short of pure conjecture, to determine which of these kinds of farm crops might survive in the harsh post-nuclear world, I posit that for the purpose of creating a much more fulfilling experience... it's better to have the models for such plants available, rather than have them completely absent from the world due to any personal theories in regards to 'lore friendliness'. I, for one, find it hard to believe that the measly crops of corn we see in the Mojave Wasteland are significant enough in size and scope to keep both the wastelanders and the brahmin fed.

 

To that end, I have provided some wiki-links to various plants which would be very good to have. And if anyone is actually INTERESTED in taking up this request of mine, I would also ask that you prepare models of these crops in both a 'grown', and 'harvested' state. While I would love If you could also provide a world model and inventory icons, I understand that not everybody will be able to provide these things. In fact, I'll actually be surprised if anybody touches this request at all.

 

Pleasantly surprised, I should say.

 

Anyhow, without further ado-

 

 

Rye: Rye plays an important role in many basic, important recipes. Because it can grow in much poorer soil than other plants of its kind, Rye is actually one of the most naturally believable wasteland crops. Used in flour, rye bread, rye whiskey, rye beer, and as feed for cattle. If you were only going to make ONE plant from my request, this would be the one to go with.

 

 

Rice: While hardly a plant which would immediately come to mind in an arid wasteland setting, the fact that most farming in such a setting would be done using large greenhouses and hydroponics leads me to believe that rice would actually be a very reasonable suggestion. Rice is both nutritious and plentiful... existing as the primary food source for more than half the world's population. It seems only natural that we would at least see a LITTLE of it being cultivated here and there.

 

 

Barley: From feeding the cows, to providing the malt to our liquor, Barley is as important to the agricultural landscape of a growing nation as having a flag and a motto. It's one of the oldest, most cultivated grains in the world. You'd be hard-pressed to SPIT in a field and not find barley somewhere.

 

 

Oats: One of the most common grains to use as feed, oat has long been a staple in the diet of livestock and plays an important part in human nutrition. Oats are a valuable crop to have, and it would only be fitting to include it here in my list.

 

 

Wheat: If you need me to tell you why Wheat is important, then the odds are that you're not the one who is going to be making models for me... because wheat is one of the most widely-used, well-known cereal grains in the world. In fact, it's the third most-produced grain in the world. It seems to me that it probably has its place in the post-atomic world too.

 

 

Hops: There's an awful lot of homebrewed beer in the wasteland, considering that there's a disturbing lack of anything that even looks like a hop plant. That probably explains why everyone largely seems to agree how terrible the wasteland beer is.

 

 

Coffee Berry: While most of the other plants in this list were put here because they seem like they might BELONG, the idea behind this one is that it's actually not COMMON in regards to the crops typically known for being grown here in North America. That doesn't mean it can't be done, there's been a long history of people cultivating the plants in their own private gardens... but the rarity of such plants and their non-native natures would actually make them quite a valuable commodity in the wasteland. Especially for those of us who have a coffee mod.

 

 

Tea: The plant itself isn't exactly well-suited to the desert, but again... the fact that much of the farming done in the Core Region (and the New Vegas) area relies upon long-distance irrigation and use of advanced hydroponics techniques leads me to believe that such plants would truly find their home amongst the greenhouses of the sharecroppers and the gardens of the folks living in Westside.

 

 

Fennel: Another of the better-suited plants in this list, Fennel actually does very WELL in dry climes... and it has many uses in the culinary arts. It is a very popular plant, and widely enough found growing wild as to be a believable survivor of the post-apocalyptic world.

 

 

Flax: Not everything in the wasteland can be made of scraps and leather... some of the fabric and cloth needs to be newly produced. That's where flax comes in. The only trouble with flax is that it doesn't do very well in dry, sandy soil... but since most of our farming here is being done in greenhouses with considerable amounts of water... it seems like this would be one of those 'specialty' plants these wastelander types would try to keep around. Add in the fact that linseed oil is used for everything from a strongly-flavored nutritional suppliment to the manufacturing of linoleum, and you've got yourself a very versatile crop.

 

 

 

There are more, of course... but this is already getting to be a long list, and since the odds of anyone coming across it and actually WANTING to do this are slim to none, I think I'll stop spinning my wheels for now. If anything else important comes to mind, or you happen to be reading this and think of something I've missed, the list might grow.