How to Plant Sugar Cane in Minecraft

Sugar cane, an early addition to Minecraft in version Alpha v1.0.11, is an important farming resource that can be used to craft multiple items like paper and sugar. There are some important requirements when planting the crop to ensure your sugar cane grows, such as planting it near a water source.

In this article, we will explain all the necessities for planting your sugar cane, allowing you to maximize your experience and craft more items in your survival mode.

How to Craft Sugar Cane

Sugar cane is a green-like reed crop, as seen in the thumbnail in the video above. You will find sugar cane in the overworld, typically near deserts but can be found in other biomes as well. Sugar cane always grows adjacent to a source of water, a requirement for planting and growing the crop. If you place a block at the water source your sugar cane crop is adjacent to, the crop will break and you will have to pick it back up in your inventory.

There are a set number of blocks sugar cane can be placed; these blocks include sand, red sand grass, podzol, and dirt. If you try planting sugar cane on a block not adjacent to water or not on one of the listed blocks, it will not place.

Sugar cane grows upwards and can grow to four blocks in height, three blocks on top of the original sugar cane block connected to the ground block. Typically, to farm your sugar cane while still keeping your root attached, you break the second block of the sugar cane's height, which will break off all pieces above it while leaving the root intact. You then collect your sugar cane in your inventory.

Another important note about growing sugar cane is that the game chunk where the crop is planted must be loaded for it to grow over time. Additionally, sugar cane grows slower in the Bedrock edition of the game.

What to Craft with Sugar Cane

Two main items are crafted with sugar cane in Minecraft. The first is sugar, which is used to craft foods like cake and pumpkin pie and is also utilized in brewing potions with a brewing stand such as potions of swiftness. To craft sugar, place a single piece of sugar cane into your inventory workbench or a crafting table - you will get one piece of sugar for each piece of sugar cane.

Another important item that is crafted with sugar cane is paper. Paper is used to make books, which can then be crafted into bookshelves to create a room for enchanting or other decoration purposes. To craft paper, you must place 3 pieces of sugar cane side by side in a row in a crafting table. With these 3 pieces of sugar cane side by side, you will receive 3 quantities of paper.

Decorating with Sugar Cane

Not only is sugar cane useful for crafting items like paper and sugar, but it can also be used as a decorative feature. You can place sugar cane on top of each other just as it does when it grows, which can be used in some creative alterations such as the example image above. You can even place blocks on top of sugar cane for additional decorative ideas.

Additional Tips for your Sugar Cane Farm

There are many opportunities using redstone and hoppers that can be made to further increase the efficiency of your sugar cane farm for those looking to improve their farm beyond the basics. For example, consider placing pistons next to the second block of a crop of sugar cane. With an attached redstone contraption, when you press a button or click a lever, the piston will go off and break the crop from the second block and up. By adding a water source that flows into a hopper connected to a chest, you have set up a semi-automatic sugar cane farm.

Overall, sugar cane is an important resource that is used to craft many necessary items in survival mode. By understanding the basics of planting the crop, you're now able to get started creating your farm. You might even be able to advance it beyond the basics with a semi-automatic redstone contraption.