Minecraft: Here’s How Long It Takes for Crops To Grow

Crops are among the most important renewable resources in Minecraft as well as a source of numerous food items. If you plan on thriving in Minecraft’s environment, sooner or later, you are going to have to farm some, if not all, crops. Today’s guide is going to be focused on crops; more specifically, it’s going to give you some general guidelines on how to farm them. Let’s start with the basics and see how long does it take for crops to grow in Minecraft. 

Crops are extremely important in Minecraft

There are currently 18 types of crops in the game, with 4 of them being known as “basic crops.” Those are wheat, beetroot, carrot, and potatoes. 

Some crops can be planted as seeds, and some crops are planted directly in the ground, such is the case with potatoes and sugar cane, for example. 

Not all crops take the same amount of time to reach their full maturity. For example, cactus and sugar cane grow to the size of one block in 18 minutes on average, while carrot takes anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to grow. 

Do crops in Minecraft need sun? 

Some of the crops in Minecraft need sun; to be more specific, basic crops need light levels of 9 or above in order to grow. Some crops like sugar cane and cacti can grow in the absence of light as well. It’s important to note that the sun doesn’t have to be the only light source for your farm, you can easily place torches around your farm to provide your crops with the light, allowing them to grow overnight as well. 

When it comes to conditions under which crops grow, basic crops like potatoes, carrots, wheat, and beetroots have the exact same prerequisites.

• They need to be planted on farmland blocks
• Farmland blocks need to be near water and hydrated
• A light level of 9 or above needs to be provided 
• The chunks on which the crops are growing need to be loaded, and the player needs to be nearby. 

Other crops can have different conditions under which they grow. For example, sugar cane needs to be near water, and cacti need to have adequate space to grow. 

Which biome is best for farming?

You can farm on any biome in Minecraft as long as you provide specific conditions that the crops needs. For example, you can easily farm cacti in plains biome as long as you provide them with sand, even though they naturally generate in badlands and desert biomes. You can grow potatoes and wheat in the desert as well, as long as you provide farmland blocks and water.

It’s hard to say which biome is the best for farming since it’s really not important as long as you give your plants everything they need. When it comes to natural generation, yes, biomes are important, but for farming, not so much.

How to speed up crop growth in Minecraft?

You can speed up the growth of four basic crops by using bone meal and bees. If the bone meal is used on the crops, they have a chance of skipping one or several stages of growth, making them reach maturity faster. 

The same goes for bees as well, bees pollinate crops with their pollen, and if the pollen hits the crop block, there’s a chance that it will skip some stages of growth. Bone meal and bees cannot be used for some crops like sugar cane, cacti, and Nether Warts. 

The most important factor when it comes to crop growth, however, is luck.

Can you grow crops underground in Minecraft?

Yes, you can grow your crops underground in Minecraft as long as you provide them with adequate conditions. When it comes to basic crops (potatoes, carrots, beetroot, and wheat) you will need to provide an alternative source of light as they require a light level of 9 or above to grow.

To summarize everything, except for the four basic crops that share conditions under which they grow, most other crops grow under specific conditions. The time needed for crops to reach maturity is around 52 minutes which sounds like a long time. And it is, it can be even longer if you’re unlucky or don’t have the right conditions. For some crops, you can speed up the process by using bone meal on them, or bees. While for others, only patience will do. 

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