How to speed up crop growth with bees in Minecraft

Much like their real-world counterparts, bees in Minecraft pollinate plant life. This mechanic can be used in the game to speed up the growth of some of the most commonly-used crops.

After collecting pollen from flowers, bees in Minecraft will fly around and drop the pollen particles. If these particles hit any growing crops, it will speed up their growth. This can be used in lieu of bone meal to speed up the growth of crops like wheat, potatoes, carrots, beetroots, melons, pumpkins, and berry bushes.

By placing their crops in a nearby space, moving a bee nest or creating a beehive close by, players can speed up their crop growth passively as the bees do their usual work.

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Minecraft: How to use bees to pollinate crops

Bees were originally implemented in Minecraft 1.15 version and have had their role expanded ever since (Image via Mojang)

To begin, Minecraft players will either need to set up some crops near a bee nest/hive or move the housing for the bees closer to their crops. Enclosing this space but still allowing for the bees to travel through the air can help with the pollination process by prohibiting bees from wandering too far.

If players don't have a Silk Touch enchanted tool to move a natural bee nest, they can build a beehive with three honeycombs and six wooden planks. However, if players make an artificial beehive, they'll need to move bees over to their new home using a lead or by placing flowers around it to entice them.

Next, Minecraft players will want to place flowers around their crop placement. Once bees have circled the flowers for a short while, the texture on their backs will change to show small specks, which signify that they are carrying pollen. Additionally, they will begin to drop pollen as they fly, which will fall to the ground or a player's placed crops on occasion. Green sparkles signify that the growth speed is increasing for the crops.

That's all there really is to it. Multiple bee nests/hives can further accelerate this process. Minecraft players can build a greenhouse-like structure in order to contain the bees from wandering too far off from the crops. Keeping the nests/hives close to the crops will allow the bees to make rotations between pollination and heading home to make honey. With adjacent placement, the bees should fly right over the crops on their way to their homes, pollinating and speeding up growth along the way.

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