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[Thedogjob]

I recently had a revelation that my fortress, that has a population of nearing 50, will not be able to supply enough food for all of them with one single 5x5 farm. I am relatively new to the game so I need to know, what other methods will supply food to my fortress? The more options the better!
-Thanks

[Torrasque666]

more farms.

[Repseki]

Fishing, Hunting, cage traps and an "air vent" from your butcher's workshop 9+ z-levels below.

[Laurin]

Add some small farms for the other underground crops. That will give you some variety in both booze and food production and also provide you with thread to produce cloth. (The different plants may require further treatment at a farmers workshop or a quirn/mill).
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Crop

Also, buy some poultry and/or pigs from the caravans. Neither of them needs feeding and they can be cept underground. If you build nest boxes, the female birds will provide you with lots of eggs which can be cooked into meals.
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Egg_production
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Sow

[Rogue Yun]

I agree with more farms.

Until the first caravan arrives I do a lot of outdoor herb gathering so that I have enough seeds to keep my fort self sustained with food and clothes (rope reed grows all year round and that makes it awesome for producing lots of clothes).

Something to note is that you can have an outdoor farm safely indoors by digging a channel, removing the ramps, cover over it with floor, and building a farm where you cleared the ramps. My farms tend too looks something like this.

Code: [Select]

Just below the first layer
###########
#=========#<---Assorted indoor plants/fungi
#####.#####
#=========#<---Assorted indoor plants/fungi
#####.#####
#=========#<---Plump helmet all year round.
#####X#####<---Connects to main stair of my fort.
#=========#<---These lower three farms are dug by a channel from the surface and then tiled over. This one is nothing but strawberries or sunberries
#####.#####
#=========#<---Strawberries, fisherberries, prickleberries, etc.
#####.#####
#=========#<---Nothing but rope reed for the clothing industry
###########

All nice safe and snug indoors.

Another important step to keeping you fort safe and providing lumber is to breach a cavern with plant life (or fungi life) and to clear out a large area to pen your animals/harvest lumber nice and safely from within the walls of the fort.. and one can do more plant gathering... though farming is much better. I just do this for the trees!

Butcher animals... take a pair of breeding llamas with you... or set up some cage traps outside and catch some goblin ambushes (curse them) wildlife. You will need to train them before you can butcher them... but I found it a steady supply of food.

I put the butcher shop in a small 3x3 room with a door to the north... Never had a butcher go insane from miasma. But I make sure I have stockpiles to dump the refuse and collect the "ripe meat off the bone." ("what about their legs? they don't need those!")