What can players do with bamboo in Minecraft?

Bamboo in Minecraft can be used in a variety of different ways.

This versatile Minecraft plant can only be found in rare jungle biomes. There are even bamboo jungle variants of the biome specifically created to provide players with an abundance of the item.

Bamboo can be obtained quickest using a sword or an ax. Plus, since bamboo typically generates in tall stacks, players can simply break the very bottom piece of the plant and the rest of the bamboo pieces will fall as well.

Once players have obtained a hefty amount of bamboo, they might start to wonder what to do with it. The following is a list of potential uses for bamboo in Minecraft.

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Uses of bamboo in Minecraft

Scaffolding

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Players with big build ideas will definitely want to create scaffolding to help them place blocks in difficult to reach areas. Scaffolding allows players to climb up to extreme heights during a build.

Conversely, players can also use scaffolding to get down from said height safely without taking fall damage.

Scaffolding can be crafted using six bamboo and one string. One recipe makes six scaffoldings. To use this helpful item, players should simply place one on the ground where they would like to climb and continue to place it until it's as tall as they’d like.

Pandas

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Perhaps the best and most robust use of bamboo in Minecraft is the feeding and breeding of pandas.

Like bamboo itself, these cute creatures can only be found in jungle biomes and thus require bamboo to eat and breed. What’s interesting about pandas is their specific breeding requirements.

Not only do they need to be fed bamboo to breed, they also need to be within five blocks of at least eight planted bamboos. Luckily pandas more frequently spawn in bamboo jungles, however players who find pandas in jungles without bamboo will likely want to locate a bamboo source before interacting with the mob.

When used on baby pandas, bamboo will also help the little ones grow up big and strong much quicker than usual.

Farming

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Keeping pandas as pets will surely require heaps of bamboo to keep them satisfied, so naturally, these animal-loving players will want to farm bamboo.

Bamboo can be planted on nearly every kind of block that can grow plants, including every kind of dirt block. The only farming requirement other than the block it is placed on is that there must be plenty of light for the bamboo plant to grow.

Decoration

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Bamboo is one of the many blocks that can be placed in flower pots. Players who wish to give their home base or any other build a hint of jungle fever can easily utilize bamboo pieces as a lovely decoration.

Fuel

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Similar to real life, bamboo can act comparably to wood. Just like any other wood block, bamboo can be used in place of coal to cook items in furnaces.

A single piece of bamboo does not burn too much, however, so it may be more effective to use stronger fuel options when cooking multiple items at once.