More soil variety.

[Monkeylord]

So, as I said as a response to @MKMoose's "Diversity of small and medium plants, especially on gravel and plains" topic , this suggestion is basically to add more soil types.

This game as a heavy focus on geology: you can find 21 different kinds of rocks, most of them with associated gravel and sand blocks. However, you can only find 4 (7 if you count peat and clay) naturally generated soil types, wich only vary depending on their fertility. I suggest that we should have a more extensive soil diversity based not only in fertility.

Of course this post is not just "Bro we need more soil the game will be better with more soil bro". Adding more soil variety would enrich the world as some plants (and therefore animals) can only grow on a specific selection of soils (sometimes even just one soil type), wich would creat a higher variety of landscapes and so make the world feel richer and more alive. Also, some soils can serve as indicators of specific resources such as rocks, minerals and plants (As I've stated before) or even as indicators of rainfall and temperatures. They could even boost specific crops.

Here I present you a simplified selection of soils that I think could be implemented, each with a description and the fertility levels they can come in:

Arenosol/Sandy soil (Fertility: Barren, Low): Soils that appear on areas subjected to heavy erosion such as coasts, deserts, arid plains and mountains. They are low in nutrients and have very poor water retention (they dry fast). They would appear mostly over sanstone, granite and chert layers. These soils would grow only plants that tolerate acidic soils and low humidity, such as pine, larch, heathers and fuzes.

Regosol (Fertility: Barren, Low): Rocky and gravely soils, very sallow (only 1 or 2 block deep) and poor in nutriens. They appear mostly in dry, hot areas of the world and, like arenosols, have poor nutrient content and low water retention. They could appear not only as a top soil but also as an interface between rock and soil. Panning them would give you lot of stones and flint, maybe more ores than other soils. Same plants as arenosols.

Clay-rich soil (Fertility: Low, Medium, High): Soils enriched with clay. Very common over claystone (although they can appear over any rock layer) and in areas with high rainfall or close to lakes and rivers. They have very good water retention and will host more clay deposits than other soils, including sub-surface clay deposits embeded between clay-rich soil layers. Good for growing crops that require a lot of water. Can grow most plants except those that need drier soils like cacti, heathers, red-top grass and most cereals.

Terra rosa (Fertility: Barren, Low, Medium): A special kind of clay-rich soil enriched with iron oxides that are created by the lixiviation of limestone and other calcareous rock. They appear in drier, hotter areas (Not tropical or deserts, closer to mediterranean or hot-temperate) and only over limestone layers. Their pressence will indicate iron ore somewhere below.

Calcisol (Fertility: Barren, Low, Medium, High): Soils rich in calcium carbonate. They will always spawn on top of limestone and chalk, serving as indicators. Very good for growing most root vegetables. Will only grow plant that like carbonate and high pH: Acacia, mediterranean cypress, woad, cornflower, walnuts, currants, cacti...etc. Blueberries, craberries, birches and heathers will not grow here (among other plants) . Expect tons of shells and conchs when panning.

Siliceous soil (Fertility: Barren, Low, Medium, High): Acidic soils rich in silicates: they will generate mostly on top of granite, sandstone, chert and andesite. Very common along all climates. They will grow only plants that love low pH and silica, so expect lots of horsetails, oaks, birches, maples, blueberries, cranberries, heathers, pines, larches and lupines. Woad, cornflower, acacia, cypress and breadfruit trees will not grow here. Great for growing grains.

Molisol (Fertility: Medium, High): Very dark and fertile soils that appear on large plains with high-ish temperatures and good rainfall. Will mostly be high fertility, so they are really good for agriculture. However, most of ther fertility comes from hummus and organic matter, so they will get depleted fast if you do not have good agricultural practices.

Chernozem (Fertility: Medium, High): Very similar to Molisols, but they appear in cold regions. Specially rich in N and P.

Oxisol(Fertility: Low, Medium, High): A very interesting soil. These are red soils filled with iron oxides that appear almost exlusively on the tropics. Their presence will indicate bauxite and/or iron ore somewhere below. Greater phosphorous content than their fertility would indicate, good for growing tropical crops. If caolin clay  (white clay) is ever added, these soils will host deposits.

Podzol (Fertility: Barren, Low): Poor, acidic, sandy, reddish and grey soils that appear in very cold and rainy areas. They will generate over almost any rock layer, but are more commonly found over granite and sandstone. They will host more peat deposits and ferns than other soil types. Expect tons of larches and pines in podzol, as they will appear near the poles and in cold mountains.

Andosol (Fertility: High): Reddish fertile and porous soils derived from volcanic activity: they will only appear on top of basalt, tuff and scoria in areas with relatively high geologic activity and frecuent precipitations. Great for crops and fruit trees, but very rare. You will find obsidian stones when panning them.

So, that's it. Of course I don't expect something like this being added tomorrow: to make full use of a complex soil system, we would need a broader variety of plants and some way to reduce clutter in our inventory. If something like this was to be implemente we could start with sandy soils, clay-rich soils and calcisols.

 

 

Edited January 25 by Monkeylord

[Samu50hiderpo]

I view it as a highly positive step. The game still requires a lot of polishing regarding its geological and environmental systems, I would love to see a future update centered around this aspect.
However, I wonder to what extent implementing this might complicate things for them… Introducing a feature like this must be a huge headache. I known´t nothing about coding, but I imagine that tracking three distinct worldgen parameters (lithological, environmental, and morphological) has to be quite complex.


 

[Lampookie]

Coming from my old Minecraft brain, when they started implementing new soil types, It got overwhelming for me pretty quick, granted that wasn't too bad as they released each type one by one so players had time to get used to the new materials.

While I do think adding new soils would be very good in the long run, perhaps not all of these suggested in one big go as it would be a lot for newer players to learn, the soil fertility system + grass types on top are still very confusing to me as of playing for about a week, I still don't know what "forest soil" does over normal soil.

[Bruno Willis]

From a gardening perspective, I'd really like to see multiple "best soil" end steps, rather than just the one. At the moment terra pretta is best for growing everything. It would be very satisfying if there were better soils for different plants. I imagine it could be fairly simplified  while still being realistic(ish):

• Light, sandy, soil would help root crops provide larger yields, as long as the nutrients are high enough, but would dry fast and loose nutrients fast. Good for root crops, would need regular additions of compost to retain nutrient quality. Turns to loamy soil after the addition of 20 compost per block?
• Loamy soil would be the best all-round soil, with a reasonable water retention and good nutrients. Good for all plants, would need crop rotation and a fallow period to maintain quality.
• Cloggy, clay heavy soils would retain moisture well and hold nutrients longer, so need less maintenance while producing standard yields. Good for rice and wet-loving plants, bad for other grains. Turns to loamy soil after the addition of 20 compost per block?

This sort of thing would need to come with a re-working of the hydration system, so that crops can be overwatered as well as dried out. I wonder if it would work with a further simplified version of the natural soil types? They seem to imply adding PH to the game, which would be really interesting, as something to be balanced long-term. I imagine plants would have a PH tolerance, and a preferred PH: they'd grow as long as the soil PH was within their limit, and they'd produce slightly better if the soil PH was at their preferred level. Seems like PH wouldn't change much over time except with deliberate tampering, so it'd be a good way to set up which garden is best for which specific crop. 

On 1/25/2026 at 11:47 PM, Monkeylord said:

Here I present you a simplified selection of soils that I think could be implemented, each with a description and the fertility levels they can come in:

Arenosol/Sandy soil (Fertility: Barren, Low): Soils that appear on areas subjected to heavy erosion such as coasts, deserts, arid plains and mountains. They are low in nutrients and have very poor water retention (they dry fast). They would appear mostly over sanstone, granite and chert layers. These soils would grow only plants that tolerate acidic soils and low humidity, such as pine, larch, heathers and fuzes.

Regosol (Fertility: Barren, Low): Rocky and gravely soils, very sallow (only 1 or 2 block deep) and poor in nutriens. They appear mostly in dry, hot areas of the world and, like arenosols, have poor nutrient content and low water retention. They could appear not only as a top soil but also as an interface between rock and soil. Panning them would give you lot of stones and flint, maybe more ores than other soils. Same plants as arenosols.

Clay-rich soil (Fertility: Low, Medium, High): Soils enriched with clay. Very common over claystone (although they can appear over any rock layer) and in areas with high rainfall or close to lakes and rivers. They have very good water retention and will host more clay deposits than other soils, including sub-surface clay deposits embeded between clay-rich soil layers. Good for growing crops that require a lot of water. Can grow most plants except those that need drier soils like cacti, heathers, red-top grass and most cereals.

Terra rosa (Fertility: Barren, Low, Medium): A special kind of clay-rich soil enriched with iron oxides that are created by the lixiviation of limestone and other calcareous rock. They appear in drier, hotter areas (Not tropical or deserts, closer to mediterranean or hot-temperate) and only over limestone layers. Their pressence will indicate iron ore somewhere below.

Calcisol (Fertility: Barren, Low, Medium, High): Soils rich in calcium carbonate. They will always spawn on top of limestone and chalk, serving as indicators. Very good for growing most root vegetables. Will only grow plant that like carbonate and high pH: Acacia, mediterranean cypress, woad, cornflower, walnuts, currants, cacti...etc. Blueberries, craberries, birches and heathers will not grow here (among other plants) . Expect tons of shells and conchs when panning.

Siliceous soil (Fertility: Barren, Low, Medium, High): Acidic soils rich in silicates: they will generate mostly on top of granite, sandstone, chert and andesite. Very common along all climates. They will grow only plants that love low pH and silica, so expect lots of horsetails, oaks, birches, maples, blueberries, cranberries, heathers, pines, larches and lupines. Woad, cornflower, acacia, cypress and breadfruit trees will not grow here. Great for growing grains.

Molisol (Fertility: Medium, High): Very dark and fertile soils that appear on large plains with high-ish temperatures and good rainfall. Will mostly be high fertility, so they are really good for agriculture. However, most of ther fertility comes from hummus and organic matter, so they will get depleted fast if you do not have good agricultural practices.

Chernozem (Fertility: Medium, High): Very similar to Molisols, but they appear in cold regions. Specially rich in N and P.

Oxisol(Fertility: Low, Medium, High): A very interesting soil. These are red soils filled with iron oxides that appear almost exlusively on the tropics. Their presence will indicate bauxite and/or iron ore somewhere below. Greater phosphorous content than their fertility would indicate, good for growing tropical crops. If caolin clay  (white clay) is ever added, these soils will host deposits.

Podzol (Fertility: Barren, Low): Poor, acidic, sandy, reddish and grey soils that appear in very cold and rainy areas. They will generate over almost any rock layer, but are more commonly found over granite and sandstone. They will host more peat deposits and ferns than other soil types. Expect tons of larches and pines in podzol, as they will appear near the poles and in cold mountains.

Andosol (Fertility: High): Reddish fertile and porous soils derived from volcanic activity: they will only appear on top of basalt, tuff and scoria in areas with relatively high geologic activity and frecuent precipitations. Great for crops and fruit trees, but very rare. You will find obsidian stones when panning them.

 

[Kulze]

I like the expansion of the gardening/farming system definitely.

Though instead of introducing 'soil types' I think the direction of making only 'soil' itself would be a better solution here, more lightweight and simple.
What I mean with that is that all those tags can exist... but only if the proper nutrient composition and other aspects are existing.

My suggestion hence is the following:
- The already existing 'NPK' values we have are kept.
- Add 'airation' as a new quality to soil.
- Add 'water retention' as a new quality to soil.
- Add 'bio-activity' as another quality to the soil.

That's basically the real combination of how soil gets its different results. If it's clay it's dense and retains water hence easily, but roots have a hard time getting through. If it's gravel it's the opposite, it's quite well airated, but doesn't retain water easily. Same with the bio activity. Gravel/sand isn't a lot of biological matter, hence doesn't make for a great place for diversity to thrive, but a compost is highly biologically active.
The NPK is simply the nutrient density of any specific material inside it anyway, which plants leech from the ground to grow.

This would allow things like crop rotations as well as using plants for their special attributes... beans for example being a Nitrogen (N) fixer as they bind it from the air, adding it hence to the soil. So if you wanna plant (N) reliant plants you can first plant beans, increase hence the (N) value while also increasing the values for water retention and airation in some manner. Same with other plants accordingly. Some provide materials, others leech heavy amounts... would be a fun complex system.

[Heegrim]

I would definitely like some more surface variation between biomes instead of just a hard line between soil and gravel/sand. 
 

I’m sure the mud hut builders will soil themselves in excitement with more types of dirt blocks. Look how happy they were when the 4 different rammed earth textures were added.