User:AwesomeMan31415926/Farming tips

Spawning-based
Greater spawning area means more mobs, meaning more drops, meaning more ultimate awesomeness! Also, nothing spawns within 24 blocks of your character unless from a monster spawner, so make sure you are always at least 24 blocks from your farm. Water currents that a dispenser places and removes quickly can allow spawning while still washing all of your mobs into the grinder.

General food farms
Most food grows faster if the farmland is hydrated.

Melons and Pumpkins
Melons and pumpkins, if the stem is fully grown, will regenerate the melon/pumpkin. Beware, melons and pumpkins need free space at taxicab distance 1 to produce. This means that it is efficient to have melons/pumpkins interspersed with empty space, then when the melons/pumpkins grow, take the produced melon/pumpkin but don't cut down the stem.