Since most of the Subnautica map is underwater, the Exterior Growbed will most often be used for farming aquatic plants – but it can also be placed on any surface above the water to grow terrestrial plants.
Fabricating the Exterior Growbed
The Exterior Growbed costs only 2x Titanium to fabricate – half the price of the Indoor Growbed. It also has 24 growing slots, 50% more than the 16 of the Indoor Growbed.
You can place the Exterior Growbed almost anywhere but it needs a flat surface. You may need to rotate it (Square bracket [ ] keys on the PC, controllers vary) in order for the hologram to turn green, indicating that it can be built at that position and orientation.
Once fabricated it works just like the Indoor Growbed and plant pots – click to access the Planter inventory and place the plant seeds or samples into it.
Creepvines grown from a seed cluster will grow seed clusters. Those grown from a Creepvine sample, like the one on the left, will not.
Just to prove it could be done, I also built a terrestrial garden by placing 4x Foundation base pieces (8x Titanium + 8x Lead) in a square just above the surface of the water, and placing 16 Exterior Growbeds (32x Titanium) on top of them.
Several of the terrestrial plants glow in the dark.