How to get a growbed in Subnautica 2

Building a growbed in Subnautica 2 creates an unlimited supply of food, water, and medicine. As you can turn fibrous pulp into water and food (at the processor and fabricator, respectively), keeping an ever-replenishing batch of pulp-producing plants at your home base is extremely handy. Plus, a custom-made oceanic garden looks quite lovely, especially at night.

Here's how to obtain the growbed blueprint and start a farm in Subnautica 2.

[Ed. note: Before you dive in, be sure to open the character menu and enable all landmark signals. This will make it easier to spot the locations mentioned in this guide.]

How to unlock the growbed in Subnautica 2

To unlock the growbed in Subnautica 2, you must first reach the Alien Ruins, about 1,300 meters east of the Lifepod. You will receive the Alien Ruins signal after you've investigated the Tadpole Pens. Be sure to get yourself a tadpole submarine for the journey, and bring along a multitool and scanner.

To obtain the growbed blueprint, you must scan two growbeds. Luckily, there are two of them right beside the Alien Ruins signal. The first is on the roof (where the three lucifer rotsacs grow) and the second is on the ground, on the west side of the building.

Graphic: Marloes Valentina Stella/Polygon | Source images: Unknown Worlds Entertainment/Krafton via Polygon

How to use the growbed in Subnautica 2

Although you can't use the two growbeds left by previous pioneers, you can build your own. Use the habitat builder and go to "cultivation" to select the growbed. You'll need one titanium per square meter of growbed. It's not necessary to build the growbed near your base, though it can be useful to have your resource storage nearby.

To plant seeds, go to the cultivation menu again and select the plant you wish to grow, then place it on the growbed. This usually requires a plant's core or a certain amount of fibrous pulp. Here's a list of all farmable plants in Subnautica 2 and which seeds to use:

• Acid raion: 1 medical gel sac
• Cradle shootroot: 1 lucifer rotsac
• Necrolei cyst: 1 necrolei cyst
• Cherimoya rotsac: 1 cherimoya rotsac
• Pent: 1 pent
• Macaron sponge: 3 fibrous pulp
• Mimic pylon: 5 fibrous pulp, 4 copper
• Freesia flower: 3 fibrous pulp

If you hover over a plant, you will see a growth percentage. When a plant is fully grown, you can use the multitool to harvest. Note that you don't need to replant the seed; the plant regrows automatically unless you use the habitat builder's "deconstruct" option to remove a plant from the growbed. In other words, planting a single medical gel sac results in an infinite acid raion supply. It takes roughly one day for a plant to reach maturity.

If you're starting out in Subnautica 2, we have a plethora of guides to help you navigate the deep blue sea. Our Subnautica 2 beginner's guide will set you off in the right direction and our base building tips will assist in planning out your sprawling base. Don't forget to stock up on food and water, too. (And if you want to get fancy with your food, you'll want salt!)

If you need help finding materials, we explain how to get the sonic resonator, which you'll want to mine tons of materials. We have guides on where to find these resources, like lead, sulfur, copper, quartz, and gold.