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

Farming is the best way to ensure sustainability in Minecraft and achieve long-term steady growth of resources. So far, we’ve covered how to farm wheat, pumpkins, sugar cane, and even trees, and now it’s time to cover how to farm one valuable resource in Minecraft – amethysts. Farming amethyst is specific in several aspects, and naturally, players have many questions. Let’s start with the basics and see how long does it take for amethyst to grow in Minecraft.

How long do amethysts take to form in Minecraft?

Budding amethyst block goes through several stages of growth. The first three stages of growth form so-called amethyst buds, and the last, fourth stage of growth is called the amethyst cluster, which is a harvestable form of amethyst. Amethyst clusters take 2 hours and 16 minutes to form on average. That objectively sounds like a long time. The matter is further complicated by the fact that you cannot harvest budding amethyst blocks (even if you use a tool enchanted with silk touch), which makes farming them even more inconvenient.

Can you bonemeal amethyst?

No, you cannot use bonemeal on an amethyst to make it grow faster. Even though you can use bonemeal on most of the things that grow in Minecraft you cannot use them on amethyst, in fact, you cannot use bees to pollinate them either. Minecraft tries to be as realistic as possible when it comes to simulating farming and stages of growth so the mechanics would make sense. You cannot fertilize rocks and minerals in real life, as well.

Do amethyst crystals grow back in Minecraft?

Yes, amethyst crystals do grow back again. After you harvest them and idle them long enough within a 128-block radius, they will go through all growth stages again, and they will be ready to harvest. In that sense, amethysts function like most plants and are renewable resources.

Manual amethyst farming vs. automated amethyst farming

One more peculiarity of farming amethyst is the fact that manual amethyst farming is much better than automated farming. If you farm amethysts with a Fortune 3 enchanted pickaxe, there’s a chance of 8, 12, or 16 amethysts dropping per mined amethyst cluster. However, if you decide to break amethyst clusters with an automated piston, on average, only 2 amethyst crystals will drop.
This makes manually farming amethyst vastly more efficient than farming it manually. It’s important to mention that amethyst is among rare resources where manual farming is more efficient.

As you can see farming amethyst is much different in comparison with other farmable resources in Minecraft. You cannot simply “plant” an amethyst, as the budding amethyst block cannot be harvested. Even when you come across a budding amethyst block in the wild on average 2 hours and 16 minutes need to pass until amethyst is ready to harvest. To make matters even more complicated, you are going to have to harvest them manually since it’s much more efficient than automatic farming.

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