Last update:
Minecraft pumpkins have more uses than you might think. Of course, you can use them for food, but there are also other, more decorative uses. And even an important survival app.
To grow pumpkins in Minecraft, you must first find a pumpkin or pumpkin seeds in your Minecraft world. Pumpkins are often found in the Windswept Hills, Windswept Gravel Hills, and Plains biomes, or in villages. You can also find Pumpkin Seeds in loot chests in villages, dungeons, woodland mansions, and mineshafts.
If you’re working from a pumpkin, however, once you find one, it’s time to dig it up. Just press the pumpkin with the use button, like breaking a tree or another block. Although you can smash a pumpkin with your hand, the quickest method is to use an axe.
How to Get Pumpkin Seeds in Minecraft
As mentioned above, you can find pumpkin seeds in your Minecraft world without having to locate pumpkins in the wild. Pumpkin Seeds can appear in Loot Chests in Dungeons, Villages, Mine Shafts, and Woodland Mansions. In Bedrock Edition, if you start your game with a Bonus Chest, you can even start with Pumpkin Seeds in your arsenal.
While going through these chests, you can also find Beet Seeds and Melon Seeds. Beet Seeds can be found in all of the aforementioned locations, as well as End City chests, while Melon Seeds can be found in Dungeon, Mineshaft, or Woodland Mansion chests.
If you find a pumpkin in the wild before you find its seeds, don’t rush to turn it into pumpkin pie. Be sure to get those seeds out and grow them – for endless pumpkin pies!
To craft pumpkin seeds, you can either use a crafting table or your own personal crafting block. Simply open your inventory and place a pumpkin in one of the spaces in the crafting grid. You will then be able to remove four Pumpkin Seeds from the right side of the crafting UI.
In fact, the best way to get pumpkin seeds involves the best of both worlds! By carving a pumpkin – not just for Halloween – you will collect pumpkin seeds, while keeping a beautiful carved pumpkin decorative object. As you will see below, this in itself has its own uses.
How to grow Minecraft pumpkins from seeds
Pumpkin seeds are for planting in the open field only. They establish a stem where they are planted and eventually create a pumpkin on any adjacent dirt block, grass block, farmland, podzol, moss block, or coarse dirt block.
If a pumpkin has already grown on a nearby block, the stem will remain dormant until the pumpkin is removed, as each stem can only grow one pumpkin at a time. However, each stalk has an infinite capacity to produce pumpkins. So, unlike other arable crops, you don’t have to resow the seeds every time you get a pumpkin.
To grow, pumpkin seeds – and subsequent stems – need a minimum light intensity of 10 in the block above the stem to grow and produce pumpkins.
Although bone meal affects the development of pumpkin seeds in a stalk, it does not affect pumpkin production. The stem twists after a pumpkin grows from it. A single fully grown stem can connect to a pumpkin in any adjacent square, giving the stem a total of five distinct appearances. When the pumpkin is removed, the stem returns to its original straight shape.
Pumpkin stems are technically blocks. They are not available as things in Java Edition, but can be changed in inventory or added to Bedrock Edition through add-ons.
Uses of Pumpkins in Minecraft
carved pumpkin
A carved pumpkin is created by cutting a pumpkin using shears. The pumpkin itself can either be placed first or carved directly onto the stem before being picked. A carved pumpkin, despite its lack of protection, can serve as a helmet. When worn, the player’s perspective is limited to a mask pattern resembling the carved face of the pumpkin.
The pattern is not visible from a third person perspective or when the F1 key is pressed.
As mentioned, it doesn’t offer much protection and obstructs your vision, so it’s not best to use it instead of a helmet, except in a specific situation… Around Endermen! If you wear a Carved Pumpkin on your head near any Endermen anywhere, they will no longer be aggravated when you look at them, meaning you are much less likely to be attacked. This is especially useful in the warped forests of the Nether and in The End.
Plus, carved pumpkins can just be used as a great decorative block, especially in October!…
Jack O’Lanterns
Speaking of which, you can also craft a carved pumpkin into a Jack o’Lantern, a solid block of light formed by placing a carved pumpkin above a torch in a crafting grid.
When submerged in water, Jack o’Lanterns always emit light and have a luminosity of 15. They are able to melt snow and ice, just like the majority of other light sources.
Try mixing carved pumpkins with Jack o’Lanterns around your base next Halloween!
Golems
A later use of carved pumpkins and Jack o’Lanterns themselves is in the creation of Golems. Snow and iron golems can be forged using a carved pumpkin or a jack-o’-lantern (though the latter would be a waste of a perfectly good torch, as it makes no difference to the final appearance of the golem).
To create your own iron golem, you will need the carved pumpkin and four iron blocks. Place the four iron blocks in a T-shape, finally placing the pumpkin on top, which immediately brings the formation to life!
To create a Snow Golem, on the other hand, you’ll only need two blocks of snow, placed one on top of the other. Finally, place the carved pumpkin on top and your cool new friend will appear!
You can go even further by using shears on a snow golem, which will remove the pumpkin, and your golem will look more like a classic snowman…
As you can see from the images, a Snow Golem is useful for creating a trail of snow that you can then scoop up with the right tool!
Pumpkin pie
By placing a pumpkin in a crafting grid with a sugar and an egg, you can make yourself a delicious pumpkin pie! Eating one restores 8 hunger and 4.8 saturation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why aren’t my pumpkins growing in Minecraft?
Make sure your pumpkin has at least one free space next to the stem. Also, the block right next to the pumpkin stem must be made of dirt, gravel, grass, or farmland. All other blocks will be pumpkin free.
How often do pumpkins grow in Minecraft?
Each pumpkin stalk takes about ten to thirty minutes to grow. That’s roughly equivalent to a day and a half to a day and a half Minecraft. Ensuring that the four neighboring blocks remain open reduces the duration to less than ten minutes.
What’s the best way to grow pumpkins in Minecraft?
By placing water up to three blocks from your farmland, you can hydrate nearby farmland, giving dirt blocks a darker brown color. Crops planted on hydrated soils will grow at a faster rate. Remember, unlike wheat, melons and pumpkins do not grow on the same block where they were sown.
More Minecraft Farming Guides
And head over to our Minecraft hub for even more news, guides, and tips!