Grounded 2 Horsetail Stem: Where to Find and Harvest It

Quick Answer

I find Horsetail Stem around the Skunk Pond side of the Pond, where several Horsetail plants grow close enough together for a repeatable farming run.

The harvesting tool depends on where the plant is growing:

underwater Horsetail → Tier 2 Clippers

above-water Horsetail → Tier 2 Axe

I analyze one of my first stems at a Resource Analyzer to unlock the Bubble Diffuser, Horsetail Brackets and Horsetail Scaffoldings.

If I am gathering Horsetail for the full Diving Suit, I reserve 9 stems for the 9 Quartz Glass it needs.

Horsetail is easy to recognize once I know where to look, but finding the plant is only half of the problem.

The first time I reached a good patch, the more useful question was whether I had brought the correct cutting tool.

That matters because submerged and above-water Horsetail do not use the same tool.

Where to Find Horsetail Stem in Grounded 2

The repeatable Horsetail farm I use is around Skunk Pond.

Instead of checking isolated shoreline plants, I head toward the Pond section with the nearby chip marker and sweep through the cluster around the water.

For one or two stems, I do not need to clear the whole area.

For Quartz Glass or a larger underwater project, the cluster is much more efficient because I can harvest several plants before leaving.

The broader Pond and Bridge-side area can contain Horsetail, but this Skunk Pond cluster is the location I return to when I specifically need to farm it.

How to Harvest Horsetail Stem

The important rule is based on the plant’s position.

Underwater Horsetail Needs Tier 2 Clippers

For Horsetail growing underwater, I use:

Tier 2 Clippers

Most of my larger farming runs involve submerged plants, so I check the Clippers before leaving base.

If I reach the Pond and cannot cut the plant, I do not keep searching for a different type of Horsetail.

I check the tool tier first.

Above-Water Horsetail Uses a Tier 2 Axe

Horsetail growing above the waterline uses:

Tier 2 Axe

That gives me one simple harvesting rule:

in the water → Tier 2 Clippers
out of the water → Tier 2 Axe

If I only need a small amount and find an accessible plant above water, the Axe can save me from setting up a longer underwater run.

For bulk gathering, I still prefer the submerged Skunk Pond cluster.

Analyze Your First Horsetail Stem

After collecting my first Horsetail Stem, I take one to a Resource Analyzer before spending the entire stack.

Analyzing it unlocks:

• Bubble Diffuser
• Horsetail Brackets
• Horsetail Scaffoldings

If I already have Horsetail but the Bubble Diffuser is missing from my available builds, the Resource Analyzer is the first place I check.

Farming additional stems does not replace that analysis step.

How the Bubble Diffuser Works

The Bubble Diffuser is the main reason Horsetail becomes part of my underwater progression instead of remaining a generic crafting plant.

I place it underwater, close to the area where I expect to spend repeated time.

Placement can fail even when I am in the correct general area.

When the blueprint refuses one position, I move it slightly and try another piece of usable underwater terrain rather than assuming the recipe failed to unlock.

Horsetail Stem for Quartz Glass

The largest Horsetail demand in my progression comes from Quartz Glass.

Each Quartz Glass requires:

2 Crushed Quartz + 1 Horsetail Stem

That makes the Horsetail requirement easy to calculate.

If I need five Quartz Glass, I need five Horsetail Stems.

If Quartz Glass is my current bottleneck, I collect for the number of Glass pieces I actually intend to make instead of stripping the entire Pond.

How Many Horsetail Stems I Save for the Diving Suit

The full Diving Suit requires 9 Quartz Glass.

Because every Quartz Glass consumes one Horsetail Stem, I reserve:

9 Horsetail Stems

for that part of the Diving Suit crafting chain.

I keep those nine separate from whatever I am willing to use for building or other recipes.

This prevents an unnecessary return trip after I have already gathered the Crushed Quartz and the other Diving Suit materials.

Do Not Spend Every Stem Before the Toe Biter Buggy

Horsetail is also used later when I prepare the Toe Biter Buggy.

The Hatchery requires Horsetail alongside the other incubation materials, and the incubation takes 12 in-game hours after the required materials are loaded.

Before starting that project, I check the complete Hatchery recipe rather than assuming whatever Horsetail remains after Quartz Glass will be enough.

The Buggy guide covers the full egg and incubation route.

For Horsetail farming, the useful takeaway is simply that I keep a small reserve instead of spending the entire stack on Glass or base pieces.

How Much Horsetail Should I Farm?

I base the number on the next project.

If I only need the Bubble Diffuser unlock, one stem is enough to analyze.

If I need Quartz Glass, I collect one Horsetail Stem for each piece of Glass I plan to make.

If I am preparing the full Diving Suit from zero, I protect at least 9 stems for its Quartz Glass requirement.

If the Toe Biter Buggy is next, I check the Hatchery recipe before spending the rest.

Once those needs are covered, I leave.

The Skunk Pond farm is easy enough to revisit that filling storage with Horsetail is usually less useful than moving on to the material actually blocking my progression.

Why Can’t I Harvest Horsetail Stem?

When a plant refuses to harvest, I check its position first.

Horsetail is underwater

I need Tier 2 Clippers.

Horsetail is above water

I need a Tier 2 Axe.

I harvested Horsetail but Bubble Diffuser is still locked

I analyze a Horsetail Stem at a Resource Analyzer.

Bubble Diffuser is unlocked but will not place

I get into the water and move the blueprint to another nearby surface.

A blocked placement point does not mean the recipe itself is broken.

My Fast Horsetail Farming Run

When I need another batch, I keep the run simple.

I decide how many stems the current recipe needs, bring Tier 2 Clippers for the submerged cluster, and head to the Skunk Pond farming area.

I cut the nearby underwater plants, take convenient above-water Horsetail with the Tier 2 Axe when it is on my route, and stop once the current crafting target is covered.

If I have never analyzed Horsetail before, I keep one stem aside for the Resource Analyzer.

From there, Horsetail stops being a resource I search for randomly and becomes a predictable Pond run whenever Quartz Glass or underwater progression needs another batch.