Table of Contents
Who this is for: Minecraft players wanting to master crop farming and create sustainable food sources in their survival worlds.
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Getting Started with Watermelon and Pumpkin Farming
Growing watermelons (melons) and pumpkins in Minecraft follows a unique mechanic where the fruit grows adjacent to the stem rather than replacing it. You’ll need melon seeds for watermelons and pumpkin seeds for pumpkins, which can be found in dungeon chests, abandoned mineshafts, or obtained by crafting melon slices into seeds.
Essential Growing Requirements
Both crops need farmland (tilled dirt) and water within four blocks of the planted seeds. The stems require light level 9 or higher to grow, so torches or natural sunlight work perfectly. Unlike wheat or carrots, these plants need empty space around them for the fruit to spawn.
Optimal Farm Layout Design
Create a checkerboard pattern with your seeds and leave empty farmland squares between them. This gives each stem multiple spots where fruit can grow. A 3×3 grid works well – plant the seed in the center and leave the surrounding eight blocks as tilled farmland for fruit spawning.
Growth Stages and Timing
The stems go through eight growth stages, taking roughly 10-30 minutes in real time depending on random tick speed. Once fully grown, the stem will produce fruit on adjacent farmland blocks. The stem stays permanent and continues producing fruit after each harvest.
Harvesting and Maximizing Yield
Break the fruit blocks (not the stems) to collect your melons or pumpkins. Each melon drops 3-7 melon slices, while pumpkins drop as whole blocks. Using Fortune enchantment on your tool increases melon slice drops significantly. Keep the stems intact for continuous production.
Advanced Farming Tips
Bone meal can speed up stem growth but won’t force fruit to appear immediately. Consider building your farm near your base since these crops don’t need constant attention once established. For large-scale operations, redstone-powered automatic harvesters using pistons can collect fruit while preserving the stems.
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TL;DR
Plant melon/pumpkin seeds on farmland with water nearby, leaving empty tilled blocks around each stem for fruit to grow. Harvest the fruit blocks while keeping stems intact for continuous production.
