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[Mystify]

We all want to be able to farm mushrooms. This has been suggested many times. The recurring problem is that spreading mushrooms would clog your caves. As such,  I propose a two-fold solution.

Part a.
Mushrooms do spread. However, they also die. In a natural setting, like a cave, Their spread rate and death rate are equal, so on average you have a steady population of mushrooms, and you don't get caves full of mushrooms.

Part b.
You can get fertilizer. There are plenty of suggestions floating around for sources of fertilizer, that is not the point. Assume you can get fertilizer from one or more sources. With it, you can fertilize your ground. This would make things grow faster/more often on it. A Fertilized tree would grow bigger and/or faster, fertilized crops grow faster, and, key to this idea, mushrooms are more likely to spread on it. This shifts mushrooms from a steady-state growth that is unfarmable, to spreading faster than they die, so they can be harvested without destroying your supply.

You would have to keep your mushroom farm well-fertilized, but if you research real mushroom farms, this is reasonable. This could also be extended to flowers and any similar plants we get in the future. All the normal requirements for mushroom placement hold, so you have to keep the mushroom farm dark.

Ancillary to this idea, a dimmer light source for lighting the mushroom farms would be handy. Say, something along the lines of a candle, that starts out half as bright, and correspondingly illuminates half as far.

[Lordofq]

Shrooms.  In reality I hate them, in Minecraft I could grow to love them.  Especially if they are a farm-able resource.
Candles is a great idea but wax would need to be added.  If carry-able torches are added I don't think they should affect growth for trees/flowers/mushrooms.
My internet decided to submit this unfinished so EDIT!

[DeathShad0]

Mystify said:

ll the normal requirements for mushroom placement hold, so you have to keep the mushroom farm dark.

Ancillary to this idea, a dimmer light source for lighting the mushroom farms would be handy. Say, something along the lines of a candle, that starts out half as bright, and correspondingly illuminates half as far.

I just posted an idea about plants that glow faintly. Perhaps using glowing mushrooms and moss could illuminate enough to see/keep monsters at bay, while still allowing the other types of mushrooms to grow.

[A10050]

You putting Dwarf Fortress in my Minecraft?! Good idea...

[Swingerzetta]

This seems both simple and flawless. I really can't see anything wrong with this system, and I think it would be a great addition.

[thecraww]

Swingerzetta said:

This seems both simple and flawless. I really can't see anything wrong with this system, and I think it would be a great addition.

This. You've got a fantastic solution to the mushroom conundrum here. If a bit fragile.

[Giga102pl]

Yeah the mushroom farm will be great!!!

[Interrobang Pie]

A10050 said:

Dwarf Fortress

What is this? Everyone keeps spamming it.


Looks like an interesting idea. I think untouched mushrooms should only die if they've succesfully created a spawn. Y'know, so you can actually find them.

[muffins69]

This idea is the awesome

[Lordofq]

Dwarf Fortress is a 2d text only inspiration for Minecraft.  It's been around awhile though I've never played it.  I want a shroom farm, and bioluminescent fungi wouldn't bother me neither.

[Nidor]

Sorry if I misread, will the mushrooms only spread from a starter mushroom, or is this idea more suited to ideal mushroom conditions promote growth.

I apologize if I go too off track with this.
If it is the ideal conditions aspect of it, i.e. anything damp and dark, it could expand so that certain things produce certain mushrooms, say a log block would produce one type, grass/dirt another, cobblestone would make moss. Would make for specialized 'shroom rooms. Perhaps out of every 5 or so normal expected mushrooms, you could get a unique one. Despite trying to come up with a different name for it, I keep thinking of a "critical success" mushroom lol. These unique mushrooms could be your glowing mushrooms or any other special mushroom idea that comes up in the future if implemented.

If it is just the starter mushroom part, I would think the mushroom type to be random on new mushroom growth, I think having a patch of all one kind of mushroom wouldn't look as nice as one sprinkled with a variety every now and then. Say you intend to grow the edible (brown) type mushrooms, a small percent of the patch could have your red ones, or the glowing ones.

Anyways, just a few thoughts, I'd prefer the ideal conditions/material type determines mushroom type one personally though. Gives a sense of control and makes it feel like farming it rather than designating a mushroom reservation .

[Mystify]

Mushrooms will both spread and die, on average maintaining a stable population. A type of mushroom would create others of the same type. If you want both brown and red mushrooms grown, which I assume you would if you want to make soup, you would need to find and plant both kinds. Once they are growing, they will intermingle unless you design your farm to prevent it.

You would control which mushroom types you get by which types you put into your farm. If there are too many of a certain type growing for your taste, harvest it more heavily to cut back on its population. You have to re-fertilize blocks on occasion, so you have to put work into farming them.

[virulentRant]

I kind of like this idea.

I also kind of want mushroom genetics.

Like, we could get some sort of rare mushroom that could be used as a poison, or as an additive to make mushroom soup heal even more.

[Brightside]

I fucking love mushrooms! Kinda want this, as it would seem more fitting for my underground bases.

[blaster]

If you have a situation of equal deaths and equal births (As in, random between 1-100 second that a mushroom will be born, and random 1-100 second that it will die) eventually an unlucky streak will happen and the mushrooms would die off.

[Duke 2.0]

Idea: Mushrooms grow within perhaps five to ten blocks from water. Mushrooms will breed more mushrooms in a seven block distance and cannot live within two blocks of another mushroom. Thus they breed around underground rivers but don't cover the entire length of it. This law only applies to stone, as mushrooms will grow with the same 'born within seven but not within two' rule on dirt, wood and mossy cobblestone tiles. Each of those blocks are generally not generated in large amounts and would make the underground interesting. Perhaps some deep forests would have patches of dirt around tree bases because of the lack of light, allowing for mushrooms.

[Eavan]

Lordofq said:

Dwarf Fortress is a 2d text only inspiration for Minecraft.  It's been around awhile though I've never played it.  I want a shroom farm, and bioluminescent fungi wouldn't bother me neither.

A little off topic, but Minecraft was not inspired by Dwarven Fortess. Infiniminer is Minecraft's inspiration. Sure, some people probably have made suggestions when inspired by Dwarven Fortress, but Notch was not inspired to create Minecraft by Dwarven Fortress.

On-Topic: This does seem to be an elegantly simple method of mushroom growing. I would personally be happy if it were implemented.

[Lordofq]

Oh really?  I must have read something wrong/confused myself.  It is off topic but he (interrobang Pie) asked.
EDIT:  Oh yeah.  Doing the ol' slippery slope on myself.

[Swingerzetta]

blaster said:

If you have a situation of equal deaths and equal births (As in, random between 1-100 second that a mushroom will be born, and random 1-100 second that it will die) eventually an unlucky streak will happen and the mushrooms would die off.

This is true, and also realistic. colonies do die off sometimes.

If necessary a mushroom could randomly grow in the dark now and then. but with infinite, you can just explore to new territory to find a mushroom. they won't ever quite go extinct.

[Mystify]

And sometime a lucky streak will happen and you get more mushrooms.

When you consider that fresh mushroom patches appear when you explore new chunks, I don't think it would be a problem.