How to Build an Automatic Sugarcane Farm: Paper and More

A sugarcane farm is a great way to automatically generate various resources. Nowadays, there are exciting Redstone blocks that make this task extremely easy for you. You just need to set up the farm, and it will work entirely on its own. Additionally, it can be expanded indefinitely, so there’s no limit to what you can achieve. But why would you need so much sugarcane in Minecraft? We’ll explore various use cases and provide you with one of the simplest guides to building your own sugarcane farm in Minecraft!

Why Do I Need Sugarcane?

Sugarcane is a green block that can naturally be found in the Minecraft world. It primarily grows along the coast and can be found on both grass and sand. The climate doesn’t matter, as it can even grow next to an ice block. However, it appears more frequently in swamps and deserts. Naturally occurring sugarcane grows up to three blocks high, and in very rare cases, it can grow up to four blocks high.

You can harvest sugarcane with a simple punch and take it with you. It can only be replanted next to a direct water source. It must be planted on a variation of dirt or sand to grow. While it has to grow naturally in the Java Edition, you can use bone meal in the Bedrock Edition.

Sugarcane has two different recipes: paper and sugar! But what can you craft from these?

Sugar:

• Books
• Banner Pattern
• Cartography Table
• Map
• Rockets

Paper:

• Cake
• Fermented Spider Eye
• Pumpkin Pie
• Brewing Potions

Building an Automatic Farm

Most of the sugarcane you’ll likely need for paper, whether for books or rockets. Waiting and harvesting manually isn’t helpful and can take a long time. This is where the automatic sugarcane farm comes into play! It’s really easy to build, and you don’t need extensive knowledge of Redstone. Once built, you can expand and customize it as you wish.

List of Building Materials

• Building material
• Glass
• Water bucket
• Some sugarcane
• Hopper
• Chest
• Mud (alternatively dirt and water bottles)
• Redstone dust
• Piston
• Observer

Step-by-Step Guide for Sugarcane Farm

1. Digging the Trench

We’ll show you a small version of the farm, but you can expand it as you see fit. First, mark your parameters. A channel with a width of two blocks and a kind of trench is the prerequisite and helps to keep the design as compact as possible. You can embed it in the ground or, like us, surround it with any building blocks. We chose a length of 8 blocks.

2. Collection Area and Mud

Next, the trench will be filled. The deeper side is for the hoppers that will later collect the sugarcane and funnel it into a chest. You might already know this mechanism from our other farms. The larger the farm, the more iron you’ll need. But don’t go overboard.

Now let’s take a closer look at the mud block, as it will be used over the hoppers. One of the most interesting functions of mud is that it isn’t a full block. When you walk over it, you’ll notice your character sinks slightly. This also happens with items lying on the mud. The sugarcane is practically pulled through the mud into the hoppers, which not only saves space but makes your farm 100% efficient! Nothing is lost, and the sugarcane can grow undisturbed on it.

But where do you get mud? Well, you can find and harvest it in the mangrove swamp biome. You can also use dirt, coarse dirt, or rooted dirt with a water bottle to create mud. A super simple technique that allows you to quickly and easily make mud without having to search for a biome.

Place the mud over the hoppers. Fill the trench next to it with water so the sugarcane can grow.

3. Redstone

Now we’ll handle the Redstone, which really isn’t difficult. First, place a row of blocks over and behind the water. Then have your pistons ready and place them on the blocks above the water source. The wooden head of the pistons must face the mud where the sugarcane will grow later.

Next, lay a row of Redstone behind the pistons. This will transmit the signal. A direct source isn’t necessary; the observer will take care of that. This cool Redstone component reacts to changes and emits a Redstone signal based on that. The piston below then reacts to this signal.

Observers are made from Redstone, cobblestone, and quartz, so you’ll need to go to the Nether. You can learn more about this in one of our articles on the subject (Surviving the Nether: Advanced Tips and Tricks) . The block has a funny face and must also point towards the mud. When placing them, it’s best to do so from behind, as observers always face away from you.

After that, you need to lay a row of blocks behind the observers to relay the signal downward. Test the setup by placing a block in front of the observer’s face. It should detect the change, and the piston should extend briefly. This is how it will work with the sugarcane later. Repeat the process for all additional fields.

4. Final Touches

The farm is essentially ready to go! You can plant your sugarcane on the mud below and let it grow. Fill in the rest of the farm with a block of your choice. Glass is always a good option as it allows you to observe if everything is working. Use full glass blocks so nothing gets stuck at the edges. Voilà, your sugarcane farm is complete!

When the sugarcane grows and reaches a height of three blocks, the observer detects it and activates the piston. This harvests the sugarcane, which falls through the mud into the hoppers below. The great thing about this design is that only the piston below the observer is activated, not the ones next to it.

Conclusion

A sugarcane farm is essential for any good Minecraft world! With the help of an observer, it can now be fully automated, so you only need to build it and then wait for your harvest. In the end, you’ll likely have more sugarcane than you can use. Use it for books, cakes, or fireworks. Produce endless sugarcane on your own server and keep control of your resources. Rent your Minecraft server and build efficiently!