How to Farm Cactus in Minecraft

Cactus can either be found or farmed in Minecraft. Here’s how to do both.

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Last Updated: April 11th, 2022

Cactus is a very useful resource in Minecraft. It’s very easy to farm and can be used for green dye, building a fortress to keep away mobs, or even to prevent house fires. Cacti grow infinitely and require very few resources for an entire farm. You cannot craft cactus using a crafting table or furnace, and you’ll have to find it from its natural biome to get started.

How to Farm Cactus in Minecraft

Before you try farming cactus, you’ll have to mine one in Survival mode. This will add one cactus to your inventory so that you can carry it wherever you choose to. In Survival mode, travel to either a Desert or Mesa biome. Cacti are found in plenty wherever there’s sand, except at the bank of a water body.

Once you’ve located a cactus, move closer to it and hit the bottom of the plant. Cacti will destroy anything it falls on top of, so hitting the top or middle of the cactus will cause it to self-destruct. Once you’ve hit the bottom of the plant, a cacti block should float nearby. Pick it up quickly before it disappears.

The cactus block is now in your inventory. You can smelt it into green dye at this stage, but for the purpose of farming, make sure to carry one block of sand. Cactus will grow from one block of sand, so you can choose to cut down multiple plants here if you wish, as long as you carry enough sand to plant it in.

Travel back home or wherever you plan to set up your cactus farm. Place cactus in one block of sand, and leave a block of space in every direction. When planting multiple cacti, make sure to leave enough space between them so they don’t destroy each other.

Here’s how you can use a cactus farm:

A cactus wall will prevent mobs from entering the territory since they deliver damage
An easy way to destroy unwanted items
Constant supply of green dye
Can be planted into a flower pot.

Note: Watch out for farm animals, since they can take damage from walking into a cactus as well.