5 best crops to farm in a new Minecraft world

Crops in Minecraft aren't created equal, and some are more valuable to players than others, at least on average. When creating a new in-game world, there's certainly no lack of different crops that players can begin farming early on, but which are the best options for the early game? The answer does depend on the player somewhat, but some crops are simply superior to others.

While Minecraft fans are free to farm any crops they prefer when starting a new world, it doesn't hurt to take a look at some of the best options to consider when new horizons are sprawling out before them.

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Five of the best crops for Minecraft's early-game in a new world

1) Potatoes

Potatoes make for an excellent early food source in Minecraft when baked (Image via Mojang)

They can be easily farmed in most environments, they're a great quick food source, and they're easily harvested and stockpiled. All told, if players aren't going to farm animals in Minecraft, then potatoes in Minecraft can be a fantastic early-game food source. While potatoes only restore one hunger point on their own, they restore five points when baked, which is easily done with a furnace.

Moreover, since potatoes don't require seeds to plant, a player's first crop of potatoes can be used to grow more, no matter how small.

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2) Kelp

Kelp isn't great as a food source, but it's magnificent for early experience points (Image via Mojang)

Like potatoes, kelp in Minecraft is easy to access, grows incredibly well, and can be used as a food source (though kelp must be dried in a furnace/smoker before being eaten). The difference is that dried kelp isn't a particularly good food source, but it has another application that makes it much more appealing. Specifically, kelp is one of the best resources for creating early-game XP farms by producing dried kelp.

Kelp XP farms are cheap to build and will regularly continue creating dried kelp as long as the furnaces/smokers are fueled, and levers can be applied to the furnaces/smokers to hold the dried kelp. Then, players can flip the levers to deposit the dried kelp and collect the sizable amounts of XP that the Minecraft farm stores in the furnaces and smokers.

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3) Bamboo

Bamboo is perfect for building and as an early fuel source in Minecraft (Image via Mojang)

Bamboo might not be edible for players, and it can take a little time if Minecraft players don't spawn near a jungle biome, but the journey to collect it and farm it is well worth it. Not only does bamboo grow rapidly and effectively in multiple environments, but it has applications for both builders and those who need their furnace and smoker blocks fueled for the foreseeable future.

For builders, bamboo can be crafted into scaffolding to help them scale tall heights safely. Moreover, bamboo can be crafted into rafts for aquatic travel, and it is an incredibly cheap resource to produce en masse to keep furnaces and smokers fueled so players can smelt everything they need.

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4) Pumpkins

Pumpkins in Minecraft are pretty versatile, all things considered (Image via Mojang)

Pumpkins are a bit tougher to farm because of the space required for both the pumpkins themselves as well as their stems. However, they can serve multiple uses in Minecraft once grown effectively. This includes baking pumpkins with sugar and eggs to create pumpkin pies, but the utility of pumpkin farming doesn't stop there.

Carving pumpkins with shears and combining a torch with them can provide jack-o-lanterns, which can be a great early-game light source. Even better, if players carve a pumpkin and wear it as a helmet, they won't upset endermen when they lock eyes with them.

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5) Sugar Cane

Sugar cane may be the easiest crop to grow in Minecraft, and it has plenty of uses (Image via Mojang)

Easily farmable once Minecraft players have access to a source of water, sugar cane grows with almost no player input at all and has multiple uses worth mentioning. In addition to being crafted into sugar for both cooking and potion-brewing purposes, sugar cane can also be crafted into paper, which is useful for crafting books, banner patterns, maps, firework rockets, and cartography tables.

Paper is a very useful trading resource with cartographer villagers, making it a solid way to both collect some extra emeralds and level up the villagers' profession levels.