The uses for Kelp in Minecraft

Kelp is a plant in Minecraft that generates underwater in most ocean biomes, except for frozen, deep-frozen, warm, and deep warm oceans.

Players who have recently explored the oceans of Minecraft will likely have encountered kelp during their travels. The plant and its corresponding item were added into the Java Edition of Minecraft way back in Snapshot 18w07a.

Since the plant is rather decorative and often found near Ocean Ruins with exceptional goodies inside, a large portion of Minecraft players may not be paying much attention to kelp or utilizing it to it's fullest potential.

There are a handful of uses for kelp that are worth noting. Different kelp variations can be used as an alternative fuel source, consumed to restore hunger quickly, sold for emeralds, and more.

This article will show the various uses for kelp and identify where Minecraft players can get their hands on some.

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How players can use Kelp in Minecraft

Kelp can be found in the various ocean biomes of Minecraft, except for frozen, deep-frozen, warm, and deep warm ocean variants. The plant itself will also not generate around seagrass.

Once encountered, kelp can be broken instantly with any tool or with a simple punch. Breaking the bottommost portion of a kelp stalk will break all kelp blocks above it. Luckily, kelp also has a 100% chance to drop, making it pretty easy to acquire the item.

Wandering traders also have the chance to sell kelp for three emeralds a piece.

Players who may be running into difficulty locating an ocean biome in their particular Minecraft world can refer to this full guide containing tips and tricks on locating every biome in Minecraft.

Kelp doesn't require a green thumb to manage. It can be planted on various blocks and grow in complete darkness, and it's only main requirement is that it can only grow underwater.

Players already familiar with farming sugar cane will already know the basic logistics required for farming kelp. The only major difference is that kelp must be placed and grown underwater.

Once players have acquired kelp, it can be quickly converted into dried kelp using a furnace and a fuel source such as coal.

Dried kelp is the variation that can be rather useful, as it can immediately serve as a food item in a pinch. Players can eat dried kelp almost twice as fast as the other food items in Minecraft.

The item can also be used for composting, and it has a 30% chance of raising the compost level of a composter by one. Since kelp is so plentiful and easy to farm, dried kelp could be perfect for all Minecraft compositing needs.

Nine pieces of dried kelp can be combined at a crafting table to produce a single dried kelp block. This new block can serve as a fantastic alternative fuel source, as it has a burn duration that is 2.5 times greater than that of coal and charcoal.

Players even have the potential to sell their dried kelp blocks for emeralds to an expert-level butcher villager. Next time a player thinks about ignoring kelp, they should think twice. The item itself can be used to complete a variety of different tasks more effectively.