At first glance, a cactus farm may not seem practical, but it can be quite useful. Additionally, it is easy to build and can be integrated into any Minecraft world. Normally, cacti are only found in the desert in a Minecraft world. However, if you break the blocks and take them home, you can build an automatic farm! We’ll show you exactly how it works and why you might want to build such a cactus farm. It is very useful, and not just for obtaining green dye.
Why Do I Need a Cactus Farm?
1. For Green Dye
If you smelt a cactus in a furnace, it turns into green dye. This is the only recipe you can use with cacti. Green dye is necessary to color various blocks. Surprisingly, many items are available in multiple colors, which you can use for decoration.
Uses for Green Dye:
- Wool (or sheep)
- Carpets
- Beds
- Bundles
- Cyan Dye
- Lime Dye
- Candles
- Fireworks
- Glass and glass panes
- Terracotta/Ceramics
- Concrete
- Banners
- Coloring collars (cats and dogs)
You can also trade 12 green dyes with a shepherd. This trade is available in both Java and Bedrock editions at the expert level. The villager will give you an emerald in return. With a large cactus farm, this trade can be very profitable, especially with a discount. We also have the right article for you on how to build a trading post with villagers (How to Build a Villager Trading Post: Acquire Valuable Items Through Trading) !
2. For Experience Points
A byproduct of smelting is that furnaces give you experience points. We have talked about this in one of our articles before (How to Build an XP Farm: Level Up Quickly and Easily) . We will also show you an automatic cactus farm in this post, but with a slightly different design. With a cactus farm, you can collect XP without fighting monsters. This is especially cool on Peaceful mode!
3. For Camel Breeding
These large animals can be found in desert villages and can be tamed. You need a saddle, a lead, and cactus for this. So, if you want to have many camels and breed them, an automatic cactus farm is perfect for you!
4. For Compost
You can also compost cacti to make bone meal. This saves you from fighting skeletons, building a monster trap, or taking a trip to the Soul Sand Valley in the Nether.
Building a Cactus Farm: Step-by-Step Guide
This cactus farm allows you to achieve all the above points. It is best to catch the cacti with a hopper and direct them into a chest. From there, you can either extract the cacti, build a smelter, or use a composter.
Build the farm a bit above ground level to allow space for a furnace or at least some storage chests below. From the hopper, form a star shape extending 4 blocks in each direction. This ensures the water flows correctly and directs the cacti into the hopper.
Build a wall one block high around the collection basin. Place a water bucket in each of the four corners. The water should flow exactly to the center but no further.
Next, plant the cacti. You need to build a construction block above the water basin in an alternating pattern. Cacti cannot grow next to each other, so this design takes advantage of that mechanic. Place a sand block or another suitable block on each construction block where the cactus can grow. Plant the cactus on these blocks.
Now, place fence posts or iron bars one level above and between the cacti. These ensure the cactus can grow but will break as soon as it tries to expand. The broken block will fall into the water and be directed to the hopper by the water flow.
Finally, build a wall around the automatic cactus farm to ensure no cacti fall out. Use glass for visibility, but any solid block will do!
Tip: You don’t have to limit this farm to one level; you can build it as high or wide as you want. Just make sure the water flows correctly to a single endpoint. You can easily continue the pattern described above.
Adding an Automatic Smelter
If you want experience points or green dye, you can build an automatic smelter under the cactus farm. You need three hoppers and three chests for this.
A furnace works like this:
- The top slot is for the item to be smelted, in this case, the cactus.
- The back slot is for the fuel, which can be anything from coal to lava.
- The bottom slot is for the smelted items, in this case, the green dye.
Control the output with a lever on the furnace. When activated, the green dye will not be extracted. If you manually remove it, you will receive the experience points from all smelting operations! The XP is essentially stored in the furnace.
Adding a Composter
A composter works similarly to a furnace. Place the cacti in the top, and they will be processed into bone meal. Use hoppers and chests to automate the process.
Conclusion
A cactus farm is a very simple farm that doesn’t require Redstone. It utilizes the natural growth of the plant to harvest itself. In the end, the cacti are collected by water streams and then processed further. Cacti are excellent for XP farms, as a furnace stores the experience gained from smelting. You can also use the cacti for green dye, decoration, or feeding camels. Get a constant supply of cactus and more on your own server. Rent your Minecraft server and automate your farms for maximum efficiency!
