Tutorials/Carrot farming

This is a tutorial page that will help with farming the new crop, carrots.

Carrots have the same prerequisites as wheat, as well as the same growth speed. While it appears they have only 4 stages, they actually pass through 8 stages like wheat, as do potatoes, merely having the same texture across multiple stages. Carrots drop up to triple the amount of crop harvest drops compared to wheat; this is good since each carrot yields 4 hunger points and so makes a better food source than wheat (bread). While breedable carrots may very rarely drop from zombies, it would be much more efficent to get your initial carrots from a village. Villages generated in 12w34a or later often have a few plots of carrots. Break some of the carrot crops with your hands.

Like wheat, bonemeal can be used to grow carrots to their fully-grown state instantly. Water will also increase rate of growth like it does with wheat. You must also use a hoe to prepare the ground for planting. When fully grown, harvesting will yield 1-4 carrots, although using the Fortune Enchantment can increase the amount of carrots harvested, unlike potatoes which are not affected by the Fortune Enchantment. Carrots can be planted in the nether (on tilled dirt), but will grow slowly because you can not place water to increase the rate of growth.

To replant carrots, plant the carrots on the tilled dirt as if you were planting seeds. Hitting the unripe plant will return you a carrot.

It is smart to place fences around your carrot crops to prevent any mobs from destroying your crops. If you are harvesting your carrots do not jump on them or the crop will be destroyed and the dirt will return to normal. Carrots can also be crafted with a fishing rod to produce a carrot on a stick (used to control saddled pigs) and is used to breed pigs. Just like wheat, carrot crops can be found in NPC Villages.

Carrot crops will only grow under the following conditions:

-It is directly above a block of farmland. If the farmland is removed or reverts to dirt, the carrot crop will be broken.

-The light level above it is at least 9 (doesn't have to be sunlight)

-There is at least one block of empty space above it (transparent blocks count as empty)

-The player (any player in SMP) is within 7 chunks (~120 blocks)

(These traits are also shared with wheat)

Automatic wheat farm designs can also be used for farming carrots, as they both have almost have identical growth mechanics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awn0ZSScfiE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l47-sYPCFZs

Growth Rate
Carrots share the same growth mechanics as potatoes and wheat.

Carrot growth is prompted by random update ticks (the same random events that, for example, create smoke particles above torches and play cave noises). For a given block a random update occurs an average of once every 82 seconds. However the delay can vary widely, and it is even possible (albeit very unlikely) for a crop to be updated multiple times in the same frame. During every update a carrot crop gets a chance to grow to the next stage. Any farmland in the 9 blocks below the carrot add to its chances to grow. {Further Explaination Needed} If any carrots are growing in the eight surrounding blocks the growth probability is cut in half, unless the carrot is arranged in rows. {Further Explaination Needed}

For the fastest growth, a solid layer of hydrated farmland with crops in rows is ideal. {Further Explaination Needed} Under these conditions, the probability of growth during each update is approximately 30%, and most (4/5) planted carrots will reach maturity within 19 minutes (about 1-1.5 minecraft days)

Placing a row of non-farmland blocks next to a row of carrot crops reduces the growth probability to about 24%. {Further Explaination Needed} This is best possible arrangement when using sticky pistons for automatic harvesting. Most planted carrots in this case will reach maturity within 25 minutes (about 1.25 minecraft days)

Replacing all unplanted farmland with other blocks reduces the growth probability to about 17%. {Further Explaination Needed} This is also the approximate probability if carrots are planted outside of rows (but on pure hydrated farmland). {Further Explaination Needed} In either case, most planted carrots will reach maturity within 31 minutes (about 1.5 minecraft days)

The absolute worst-case conditions for growing are two carrot crops placed diagonally on dry farmland. In this case the growth probability is approximately 4%, and it will take about 2 hours for most of the carrots to reach maturity (about 6 minecraft days)

Compact design
The best way to save space is to make a vertical farm. The farm can be either over or under the ground (or both), and there must be at least two blocks of height between floors, in order for the player - who must manually replant the crops - to fit. One water block will irrigate an area of 9 by 9 blocks, and there must be one solid block under the water block to keep the water in place. Therefore, an efficient design is a "tower" with a 9 by 9 blocks area (11 by 11 including its walls), with a central column of water and solid blocks, to prevent water from spilling.

Keeping that compact design in mind, the following farm design uses two central columns instead of one to irrigate (water blocks), light (Jack O Lantern blocks) and automatically retrieve the crops (dispensers charged with water buckets). With just one central column and a 9 by 9 blocks farm the water dispenser won't be able to reach all the crops.

Two ways to trigger the water dispensers are shown in the video: with buttons and tripwires (need more space than buttons). Using redstone circuitry will take much more space.