apparently my 2606934 pop lvl 72 planet (very 1st colony, built from 2 ships.. heh)
Interesting, my lvl 72 planet formed from 1 ship has 1468574 people on it.
A single food planet can probably keep everyone in the sector supplied once it reaches max population, since it'll be making around 18 million in surplus every turn.
Also, Farming Subsidies, Mind Control, Slingshot and Planetary Defence bring a planet to 100% of your budget. You'll go over budget trying to get to that, but it seems like a nice mix of upgrades if you've got a small stack of Quatloos to let you go over budget for a few days.
assuming that leaving them non mind controlled won't end up draining all its food eventually.. making it completely useless.
It will, eventually
btw.. have you tried using the fleet overview screen to order your "hidden" fleet around?
Yup, but you can't put them on routes that way.
