To progress in Minecraft you will need to progress on from the standard crop farms that were in the previous section. In this section we will be looking at redstone farms. These are semi-automatic farms that use a redstone signal that will raise and lower a set of stone blocks to allow water to flow and harvest the crops. These are more efficient than the standard crop farms in the sense that the water will harvest the crops for you. These farms will have to be built after your first mining expedition. When on your first mining expedition ensure that you collect all of the items that you can carry. In this block you will more than likely find that you nhave mined redstone dust. Redstone dust is found deep underground usually below Y-level 16 with more appearing around Y-level 59 in newer versions of Minecraft. To build these farms you will need to make levers, sticky pistons, and repeaters to make this build work.
With these farms producing vast amounts of crops, lets now look at what you can make with these crops. When we harvest wheat their are many things that can be done with wheat. The first one that the player will use wheat for is to make bread. Bread is made by using three wheat across the centre in a crafting table. Three pieces of wheat will make one loaf of bread. Wheat is also used for breeding cows, sheep, goats and mooshrooms. It can also lead these animals to a place that you wish them to be. Wheat can also be used for taming and healing horses and llamas.
The carrots that are produced using these farms can be used for many reasons. Carrots can be eaten raw and will restore 3 hunger points and 3.6 saturation. You can also make golden carrots that will require 8 gold nuggets and 1 carrot. Golden carrots restore 6 hunger points and 14.4 saturation. Carrots are used to breed pigs and rabbits and also to lead them to where you wish them to go. Carrots are a great source of food as they grow quickly and produce 2 to 5 carrots for every carrot that grows.
Lets now have a look at potatoes. Potatoes are another versatile crop in Minecraft. Potatoes can be eaten raw but only restore 1 hunger point so not a good food source for the player. The best way for the player to eat potatoes is to bake them. This is done by placing them into a furnace and then you will get baked potatoes. This way they will restore 5 hunger points and offer solid saturation. Pigs can be bred and lead by using raw potatoes. When composting potatoes offer a 65% chance of raising the composting level. Baked potatoes offer an 85% chance of raising the composting level. Making baked potatoes one of the best composting items.
The final farm deals with beetroots. Eating beetroot raw only restores 1 hunger so not very good. Beetroot is best used for crafting other recipes, to make beetroot usable as a food it is best to turn it into beetroot soup this will restore 6 hunger points and 7.2 saturation. Beetroot is also used for making red dye which is great for making banners, beds and decorative builds. Beetroot can be used for breed and lead pigs.