Today we’re going to learn how farming works in Minecraft. If you have been playing Minecraft for a while you are probably wondering how to make a farm.
You will want to know what tools to use for farming and what materials you need to gather. This guide will take you through all of these questions. As well as the basics, we will also look into what crops you can grow and where to find the seeds and resources to grow these crops.
To swiftly answer your question. To make a farm in Minecraft you will need a hoe, some dirt blocks, a water source, and some seeds to plant. You have to plant the dirt blocks near the water so they are getting adequate water supply. Once that’s done, you can plant the seeds in the dirt blocks and wait until the crops grow.
But it’s not as easy as that. It never is, is it? So without further ado. Let’s jump into the details of how farming works in Minecraft.
Preparing and Planting
Nobody starts something without planning right? Let’s get planning then. You will need a hoe, wood or better, it doesn’t really matter that much. If you don’t know how to make one, see below or go to your recipe book and craft one.
Choose an area of flat ground preferably near water. If you are not near water you can use a water bucket to place a water pool in the ground. We will touch on that later.
Destroy the ground and place down dirt blocks in their place. Keep in mind water will keep the soil hydrated up to 4 blocks from the water source. Therefore, you need to place a water source down every 5th block to keep the dirt hydrated.
Finally, gather some seeds. Find some grass and punch it. When the grass is destroyed it will drop seeds that you can plant and grow. Equip the seeds and use your action button to plant them in the dirt block.
Optimal Water Range and Farm Layout
As mentioned above a water source will keep the soil hydrated up to 4 blocks from it. Therefore, it is recommended to be aware of the best water to soil ratio when making a farm in Minecraft.
If you’re not near a river or other source of water. You can make a bucket and fill it with water. Then when you need a water source for your crops. You can pour some water into a hole near the dirt blocks.
For example, if you create a 9×9 block farmland and place a water hole in the center of it. The entire farm will be adequately hydrated. When the dirt is a slightly darker brown than normal, that means it is hydrated.
Growing and Harvesting
Because you have planted grass seeds, wheat will grow eventually. It takes a full night and day cycle until the wheat is ready to harvest. Harvesting the crops too early will wield nothing. When the wheat is ready to harvest, it will be a golden brown. Harvesting wheat will give you 1 wheat and up to 3 seeds or possibly none.
Keep Pesky Animals Off Your Farm
Now that your farm is alive and kicking. You need to do all you can to stop kicking your crops. (that was cheesy). You and other animals in the world can walk on your crops and destroy them. In order to protect your farm from you and animals walking over them. Place fences around your farm to stop wanderers wrecking the place.
A great tactic to practice from the beginning is to place a dirt pathway in the center of your farm. When checking in on your crops. You can use this to walk on instead of trampling your crops. If you don’t want to go to this length, sneaking over your crops doesn’t damage them.
Faster Crop Growing
There is a way to grow your crops faster in Minecraft. Nobody likes waiting too long, even in a game. You can use bone meal to speed up your crop growing. Bone meal is essentially used as a fertilizer. When used on plants or crops it has the chance to instantly grow the crop to harvest. However, you cannot use bone meal to fertilize wheat.
Skeletons will drop bones when they are destroyed. You can use the bone to craft into bone meal. Use your crafting table to make bone meal.
| Crops Bone Meal Can Be Used On |
| Pumpkin seeds, Melon seeds, Wheat seeds, Mushrooms, Saplings, Sweer Berry Bushes and Tall Grass. |
Plants You Can Farm In Minecraft
We have compiled a list of all the plants you can grow in Minecraft. In the table below you will find what you need to farm the crop, what you get when you harvest it and most importantly where to find the seeds/ plants in order to farm it.
Grass, Potatoes, Carrots, and Beetroot
Grass, potatoes, carrots, and beetroot can be grown with the normal farming methods mentioned above. However, the rest of the crops require slightly different methods.
Melons and Pumpkins
Melons and Pumpkins don’t grow on dirt like wheat or potatoes. You grow them by placing them next to a dirt block or grass block. The melon or pumpkin seed will harvest a melon or pumpkin next to them. When harvesting, don’t destroy the crop in the ground itself, harvest the melon or pumpkin next to the crop.
Sugar Cane
Sugar Cane grows by placing it next to a large pool of water. It has to be right next to the water in order to grow. Essentially plant them in the same fashion you found them, next to a pond or lake.
Cacti
Cacti will grow on a sand block only. It does not require a water source to grow.
Cocoa Beans
You will need to make a wall of jungle wood to plant your cocoa beans on. Once planted, they take a while to harvest. You will know they are ready when the cocoa pods turn orange.
Nether Wart
Nether Wart is grown on soul sand blocks similar to the way you grow wheat, potatoes or carrots. Plant the crop on soul sand and wait for it to grow.
Trees
You can grow them pretty much anywhere without a water source nearby. Remember to leave a lot of space because the trees are quite large.
| PLANT | HARVEST | FOUND |
| Grass seeds | Wheat | Destroying tall grass |
| Potatoes | Potatoes | In villages or killing a zombie |
| Carrots | Carrots | In villages or killing a zombie |
| Beetroot seeds | Beetroot | In chests and village farms |
| Melons seeds | Melons | Chests in abandoned mineshafts |
| Pumpkins seeds | Pumpkins | Chests in abandoned mineshafts |
| Sugar Cane block | Sugar Cane | Near small ponds and lakes |
| Cacti Block | Cacti | Dessert biomes |
| Cocoa Beans | Cocoa Beans | Jungle Biomes in cocoa pods |
| Nether Wart | Nether Wart | In the Nether Fortress |
| Tree Saplings | Trees | Breaking the bark of a tree |
Farming Underground (Advanced)
If you have been playing Minecraft for a while and want to spice things up a bit. You can build a farm underground. To build a farm underground simply follow the same farming methods mentioned above.
However, you will need to create light sources as there will be none underground. You can use torches, Redstone lamps, and Glowstone to adequately light the area so crops can grow. Lighting the area will also keep mobs from spawning in your farm. To create enough light, you can also make a skylight that will provide light to your crops during the day. Make a skylight by crafting glass panes and placing them above your farm.
Top Farming Tip: If you use a tool like a hoe to harvest your crops. Enchant it with Fortune. This will increase the crop wield you obtain.
