A Guide to Farming in Minecraft

Farming is extremely important in Minecraft as it not only gives you food to eat, it can help you acquire important supplies that you cannot get anywhere else in the game. Whether you are farming wheat, veg or fruit here is our quick guide to Farming in Minecraft to help get you started.

Before you Start

Before you start farming, you must have some tools to help to farm easier. You will need the following:

• Hoe- which you can make with sticks and the material you want to make it out of (for example, stone)
• Fences- which can be made out of sticks and planks
• Torches- which can be made with a stick and a piece of coal. Plants need light to grow so having torches can be useful
• Water- As with plants in the real world, they need water to grow a good crop. You can either plant directly next to a water source or you can use blocks of water. Place your water blocks in the middle and grow crops around it.
• Bone meal- this is acquired from killing skeletons and is used to help speed up the growth of plants

Prepare your farm

It is best to have a plan before you start farming as it will make the setup easier to look after and a lot more efficient which will help you bode well to progressing through the rest of the game.

Start by clearing enough land. Choose your land carefully to ensure a good position. Once you have decided, use a hoe to create your farmland. The soil will appear to have rows on it so that you can identify farmland.

Farmland can become hydrated if it is within 4 tiles of a water source. You will notice that the ground becomes darker, indicating its ready to be used for farming.

Once you have a designated farming area, build fences around the perimeter of your farmland. This can help keep mobs out of your farms. If you leave them unprotected they can be destroyed by creepers standing on your crops. Ensure you build your fences at least 1.5 blocks high. Anything can jump one block so you need to ensure that the fence is higher than that.

Get started with planting

Once you have prepared your farmland, its time to start planting. Once you have your water source, you can plant your seeds. You can acquire seeds by destroying grass but be aware that not all grass will produce seeds.

Wheat

Many people start with planting Wheat as it is easy to obtain the seeds. It is used to make hay bails but also for food. Although you cannot eat it in its raw form, you can farm it to create cakes and cookies. Wheat is also used to help breed animals including sheep, cows and chickens.

A quick way to harvest your wheat is to run water down your field. This will destroy the seeds and crop on the soil but will leave the soil itself intact for future farming.

Carrots

Unlike wheat, carrots grow by planting the carrot instead of seeds. You will know when to harvest once the tops of the carrots start to show. Carrots are great as they can be eaten raw. They also have a range of other uses. You can use them to breed pigs or can be attached to a fishing pole and when used alongside a saddle allows you to ride a pig.

Potatoes

Like carrots, plant potatoes directly into the ground to produce more rather than using seeds. Potatoes can be found in village gardens however sometimes zombies can drop one when they die, although this is rare. You can eat raw potato however this will only give you 1 food point. To make the most of this crop, cook in a furnace to produce a baked potato. Be careful when harvesting as you may come across a poisonous potato.

Pumpkins

Place a pumpkin onto your crafting table to remove the seeds. Once planted, the pumpkin will appear in the square next to the one you planted the seeds, so you must leave enough space. Once you have collected the pumpkin, the block below will turn to dirt. Once you have harvested your pumpkin, the stalk remains in the ground which means you do not have to bother with replanting several times as it will continue to grow from the stalk. Although pumpkins are rare, they do appear in several biomes. Pumpkins also have another use that is not related to food. You can weirdly wear the pumpkin as a helmet. This means you can stare directly at an enderman without them attacking you.  Pumpkins grow naturally and can be found in mountainous biomes.

Melons

Melons are found in Jungle biomes however they do not grow in the wild. You can discover them in chests or by trading with villagers. To reach the seeds you need to break the melon and then plant them the same way you plant pumpkins. They are also similar to pumpkins in the way they will continue to grow from the stalks that stay in the ground after harvesting. Each block of melon consists of 3-7 melon slices. The downside to this fruit is that it doesn’t provide you with much nourishment.

Cactus

Cacti can be discovered in the desert biomes. They hurt when you touch them so you need to be careful around them. They are useful to have as they will destroy mobs and items that land on them. You can also use them to create green dye. Destroy the block below the cactus to harvest it. Cacti only grow in desserts and do not require water.

Sugarcane

Sugarcane grows on dirt, sand or grass in any biome that has access to water. You need to grow it next to water making it impossible to grow near ice. Sugarcane can easily grow 3 blocks high. If you break it off but keep the bottom block, the crop will continue to grow. Use sugarcane to make sugar or paper. The great thing about sugarcane is that you need not need farmland for it to grow. It can even be planted underwater if desired. You just need to ensure it has an air pocket for it to breath in.

Mushrooms

Unlike a lot of crops in Minecraft, mushrooms will not grow in high light levels, so do not place torches near them as they emit too much light. Mushrooms also do not need water to grow. Harvest your mushrooms by using a shovel. Team up with bone meal to create large versions of the crop. Mushrooms are a great food source, however that take a long time to grow to make them difficult to farm.

Cocoa Bean

You can find cocoa pods in the jungle. Place the bean on a tree to plant it. They turn from green to a reddish-orange which indicates that they are ready for harvesting. Unfortunately, cocoa beans serve little purpose. However, they can be used to create brown due or make cookies.

Planting Trees

Once you have vegetables planted, turn your attention to planting trees. Doing so guarantees a huge supply of wood for your crafting needs and is one of the most important elements of the game.

To harvest, use an axe. Alternatively, you can punch the wood and leaves. You can plant a range of trees including the following: Oak, Spruce, Birch, Acacia or Jungle

Top Farming tips

• Be careful around your plants. Avoid stepping on them as it will hurt the crop.
• Much of the farming discussed above can take place indoors, outsides or even underground. You just need to ensure the light requirements are correct.
• Start farming crops before you think about breeding animals. For example, you will not be able to start breeding pigs until you have a supply of carrots.

This is just an overview of how to get started at farming in Minecraft. In order to succeed and progress in the game, you need to become efficient at farming. It provides you with sustenance to avoid you starving to death but as you can see, can also provide a whole lot more.