Farmland

Farmland is a block on which seeds can be planted and grown. To make farmland, you can use a hoe on dirt or grass. If you destroy a farmland block, which can be destroyed without a tool, it will drop dirt. After using a hoe on a block of dirt, the top of the dirt's appearance changes, becoming ridged and bumpy like tilled soil and the top layer is removed. A block of farmland becomes darker to replicate the appearance of wet soil when it is hydrated by a nearby block of water. If left alone for a period of time, unhydrated farmland will "decay" and become dirt. Grass and Mycelium do not spread onto farmland.

Natural occurrence
Farmland occurs naturally in NPC Villages where wheat, potatoes and carrots are grown on them. Patches of farmland are surrounded by logs or sandstone. However, sometimes these farmland blocks are trampled by mobs causing them to become dirt blocks instead.

Farming
Farmland is required to grow five of the game's types of crops - wheat, pumpkin, potato, carrot and melon. Melon and pumpkin blocks don't need farmland to spawn onto, as they can grow on normal dirt or grass blocks, but their seeds still need to be planted on farmland. To begin farming you need to craft a hoe. The hoe can be used to till dirt or grass into farmland by right-clicking.

A farmland block will be created dry. If it is near water, the farmland block will become hydrated. Seeds can be planted in any farmland block where they will eventually grow. By placing torches close to sown farmland, crops can be grown at night or even underground. This will also prevent aggressive Mobs from spawning near them.

Pumpkin and melon blocks are not affected by being walked or jumped on, but the parent plant may be. When blocks are placed on farmland, it reverts to dirt. This includes naturally generated blocks, such as when a melon or pumpkin is produced. Different types of seeds grow differently on dry farmland and also differently on hydrated farmland.

Plants such as saplings, ferns, tall grass and flowers may be planted on farmland, but they can also be planted on normal dirt anyway. Mushrooms, sugarcane and cactus cannot be planted on farmland. Jumping on farmland causes it to revert to plain dirt, and 'harvests' seeds planted in it, but other plant types are not uprooted.

As of 1.4 snapshot update 12w34a, you can also plant carrots and potatoes.

Hydrated farmland tiles
A hydrated farmland block is the preferred block for farming. Hydrated farmland will yield a fully developed wheat crop in a little over a single day/night cycle.

Conditions for hydrating farmland
For a farmland block to become hydrated, the following conditions must be met:


 * 1) Water up to four blocks away horizontally, including diagonals.
 * 2) The water must be on the same level or 1 block above farmland block level.

The blocks between the farmland block and the water make no difference. For example: in a 9 x 9 grid of Farmland blocks, replacing the center block with water will hydrate all of the surrounding farmland.

Farmland can also be hydrated by rain. After the rain stops or nearby water is removed, it takes a few minutes for farmland to become dry again.

Farmland block decay
Under certain conditions, a farmland block will "decay" becoming a dirt block, regardless of what it was initially. This will happen if any of the following occur:


 * If the farmland block is dehydrated and nothing is planted on it for too long.
 * If the player or any mob jumps on the block too many times. (Prior to Minecraft 1.1, anything walking on the farmland too often would trample it unless they were Sneaking).
 * If a piston arm is extended over a farmland block such as when harvesting fully-grown Wheat.
 * If a piston pushes a farmland block down.
 * If a solid block covers the top surface of the farmland block such as when Pumpkin or Melon blocks appear.
 * If an Enderman teleports directly on top of a farmland block.

Effective technique


The most effective way to farm, that will produce the most vegetation in a smaller space, is in knowing that farmland will become hydrated when it is within four blocks straight and four blocks diagonally of one block of water. People will usually make a farm with one line of farmland next to one line of water, which is an okay strategy, but if you wish to bring the greatest outcome of vegetation in a smaller amount of space this is the way to do it. You can place a block of water in a corner and put farmland in a four-by-four space, which can make just as much or even more than one line of eight farmland blocks next to one line of water. If you configure a farmland in an eighteen-by-eighteen square, you can make the same amount or even more than the eight farmland block configuration repeated 30 or so times.

Trivia

 * Dirt that is underwater can still be tilled into farmland, although this is pointless as one cannot plant seeds on it.
 * Mycelium cannot be tilled to create Farmland, it must be mined first, then placed as dirt, then tilled.
 * Farmland, unlike dirt, will not pass a redstone current. Prior to 1.1.0 one could make a walk sensor with it and redstone repeaters. After 1.1.0 one can make a fall sensor (counts as a jump).