Sprout Garden Phase 7: Harvests & Recipes

Accumulation and Synthesis - Collecting, filtering, and combining

Overview

Phase 7 introduces advanced harvests - plots that collect, filter, count, and combine sprouts. This teaches data aggregation, pipelines, and synthesis - turning raw ingredients into finished products.

This phase teaches: Collect many things. Combine them into new things. Build something greater than the parts.

Plot Types Introduced

Plot	Symbol	Category	Behavior
Filter	🧹	selection	Only passes matching sprouts
Counter	🔢	aggregation	Counts sprouts, outputs count
Basket	🧺	collection	Holds until N sprouts arrive
Recipe Pot	🍲	synthesis	Combines sprouts into new form
Splitter Emitter	🌱ⁿ	source	Emits N sprouts
Timed Emitter	🌱⏱️	source	Emits one sprout every X ticks

Filter Mechanics

Only passes sprouts matching criteria:

// "Only red sprouts pass"
redFilter = createFilter({ color: 'red' });

// "Only stars pass"  
starFilter = createFilter({ shape: 'star' });

// "Only red stars pass"
redStarFilter = createFilter({ shape: 'star', color: 'red' });

    🔴 ───┐
    🟢 ───┼───▶ [🧹 red only] ───▶ 🔴
    🔵 ───┘
    
    (green and blue are blocked/discarded)

Basket Mechanics

Holds sprouts until threshold reached:

basket = createBasket({ 
  capacity: 5,
  releaseMode: 'all'  // or 'first', 'random'
});

    🌱 ───▶ [🧺 need 5] ───▶ (nothing yet)
    🌱 ───▶ [🧺 need 4] ───▶ (nothing yet)
    🌱 ───▶ [🧺 need 3] ───▶ (nothing yet)
    🌱 ───▶ [🧺 need 2] ───▶ (nothing yet)
    🌱 ───▶ [🧺 need 1] ───▶ 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 (all release!)

Use case: Synchronize multiple streams before continuing.

Recipe Pot Mechanics

Combines specific sprouts into new form:

recipe:
  name: "Build a Car"
  requires:
    - { shape: 'star', color: 'red', count: 4 }    # 4 red stars (wheels)
    - { shape: 'square', color: 'blue', count: 1 } # 1 blue square (body)
  produces:
    shape: 'car'
    color: 'red'

    ★🔴 ───┐
    ★🔴 ───┤
    ★🔴 ───┼───▶ [🍲 car recipe] ───▶ 🚗🔴
    ★🔴 ───┤
    ■🔵 ───┘

The magic moment: Five simple shapes become a car!

Counter Mechanics

Counts sprouts and outputs the count:

counter = createCounter({
  outputMode: 'continuous',  // Output count after each sprout
  // or 'final'             // Output count at end
});

    🌱 ───▶ [🔢] ───▶ "1"
    🌱 ───▶ [🔢] ───▶ "2"
    🌱 ───▶ [🔢] ───▶ "3"

Use case: "How many red sprouts came through?"

Emitter Modes

Burst Emitter (🌱ⁿ)

burstEmitter = createSpring({
  mode: 'burst',
  count: 5,
  emits: { shape: 'circle', color: 'red' }
});
// Emits 5 sprouts at once on tick 0

Timed Emitter (🌱⏱️)

timedEmitter = createSpring({
  mode: 'timed',
  interval: 3,  // Every 3 ticks
  emits: { shape: 'circle', color: 'red' }
});
// Emits 1 sprout every 3 ticks

Continuous Emitter (🌱∞)

continuousEmitter = createSpring({
  mode: 'continuous',
  emits: { shape: 'circle', color: 'red' }
});
// Emits 1 sprout every tick until stopped

Source Files (To Be Created)

File	Purpose
src/plots/types/filter.js	Property-based filtering
src/plots/types/counter.js	Sprout counting
src/plots/types/basket.js	Collect N before release
src/plots/types/recipe-pot.js	Combine into new forms
src/core/recipes.js	Recipe definitions

API Documentation

files:
  - /Users/graemefawcett/working/ben.fawcett.family/activities/sprout-garden/src/plots/types/filter.js
  - /Users/graemefawcett/working/ben.fawcett.family/activities/sprout-garden/src/plots/types/counter.js
  - /Users/graemefawcett/working/ben.fawcett.family/activities/sprout-garden/src/plots/types/basket.js
  - /Users/graemefawcett/working/ben.fawcett.family/activities/sprout-garden/src/plots/types/recipe-pot.js

❌ Fence Execution Error: "'code-api-docs' - Down the rabbit hole we went, but that node doesn't exist! Try 'oculus list' to see what's available."

Implementation Notes

Recipe System

// recipes.js
export const RECIPES = {
  'car': {
    requires: [
      { shape: 'star', color: 'red', count: 4 },
      { shape: 'square', color: 'blue', count: 1 }
    ],
    produces: { shape: 'car', color: 'red' }
  },
  'house': {
    requires: [
      { shape: 'square', color: 'red', count: 4 },
      { shape: 'triangle', color: 'blue', count: 1 }
    ],
    produces: { shape: 'house', color: 'red' }
  },
  'rainbow': {
    requires: [
      { color: 'red', count: 1 },
      { color: 'green', count: 1 },
      { color: 'blue', count: 1 },
      { color: 'yellow', count: 1 }
    ],
    produces: { shape: 'rainbow', color: 'multi' }
  }
};

Recipe Pot State

recipePot.state = {
  collected: [],
  recipe: RECIPES['car']
};

recipePot.receive(sprout) {
  this.state.collected.push(sprout);
  
  if (this.checkRecipeComplete()) {
    const product = this.synthesize();
    this.state.collected = [];
    this.emit(product);
  }
}

recipePot.checkRecipeComplete() {
  for (const requirement of this.state.recipe.requires) {
    const matches = this.state.collected.filter(s => 
      (!requirement.shape || s.shape === requirement.shape) &&
      (!requirement.color || s.color === requirement.color)
    );
    if (matches.length < requirement.count) {
      return false;
    }
  }
  return true;
}

Level Ideas

Level	Challenge	Teaches
46	Filter red from mixed	Selection
47	Count how many stars	Aggregation
48	Collect 5 in basket	Synchronization
49	Build your first car	Synthesis!
50	Build a house	Recipe variation
51	Sort then count each color	Pipeline
52	Build rainbow from all colors	Complex recipe
53	Factory: continuous car production	Automation
54	Optimize throughput	Efficiency
55	FINAL: Build the ultimate machine	Everything combined

Pedagogy

What Kids Learn (Without Knowing It)

• Data pipelines: Filter → Transform → Aggregate
• Map/Filter/Reduce: The fundamental operations
• Synthesis: Combining ingredients
• Manufacturing: Continuous production
• Optimization: Throughput and efficiency
• Systems thinking: Everything connects

The Factory Floor

By Phase 7, kids have built a visual factory:

Raw materials (springs)
    ↓
Transformation (growers)
    ↓
Quality control (filters)  
    ↓
Assembly (recipe pots)
    ↓
Output (harvest)

They've built a data pipeline without knowing it.

The Grand Finale

Level 55: Build a machine that:

• Takes continuous input from multiple springs
• Filters by property
• Routes through forks
• Transforms through growers
• Synchronizes with logic gates
• Assembles with recipes
• Outputs finished products

They've built Factorio. They've built ETL. They've built Wanderland.

Verification

Live test results from [[sprout-garden-phase-7-test]]:

Test	Status	Details
filter.js exists	fail	not yet implemented
counter.js exists	fail	not yet implemented
basket.js exists	fail	not yet implemented
recipe-pot.js exists	fail	not yet implemented
recipes.js exists	fail	not yet implemented

Slots

North

slots:
- sprout-garden
- sprout-garden

South

slots:
- sprout-garden-phase-7-test

East

slots: []

West

slots:
- sprout-garden-phase-6