Without any tools to work with, the things that players can do in Minecraft are limited. Whether it’s for farming or gathering wood, players need tools to do their daily tasks efficiently. Basic tools such as wooden axes and wooden pickaxes are available at the start of the game, making it easier for players to quickly gather materials during the first day. The tool’s durability depends on the item used to craft the tool; therefore, players need to farm for items to craft better tools. And one of the tools that players need is a hoe.
Like in real life, hoes are mainly used for tilling soil, but in Minecraft, hoes aren’t simply limited to one purpose. There are various ways to use a hoe, and this Minecraft guide will show you everything you can do with a hoe in the game.
What is a Hoe in Minecraft?
A hoe is a tool that is mainly used to till grass and dirt blocks into farmland blocks, but it also has other uses. Like all the other tools in the game, there are six tiers of hoes, namely: wooden, stone, iron, gold, diamond, and netherite. The durability of each of these tiers varies depending on the strength of the crafting material. For example, a diamond hoe is clearly sturdier than a wooden hoe due to diamonds being stronger than wood.
How to Craft a Hoe in Minecraft?
Crafting your first hoe is easy. You need the right materials and a crafting table, and you’re good to go. The recipe for each tier of the hoe is the same except for the material used. When crafting hoes of different tiers, you can use the same crafting pattern and replace the current material with another one.
To craft a [wooden] hoe, you will need two sticks and two crafting blocks (in this case, two planks). The pattern when crafting a hoe is as follows as should be followed in the exact order; otherwise, the crafting recipe will not work:
- Open the crafting table menu and look for the 3×3 crafting grid.
- First, place one plank on the top-left slot and the top-center slot for a total of two planks.
- Next, place one stick on the centermost slot.
- And finally, place one stick on the bottom-center slot.
- Once the image of the wooden hoe appears in the results slot, click and drag it into your inventory to complete the crafting process.
How to Use a Hoe in Minecraft?
1. Hoe used to till dirt blocks
Hoes can be used to turn dirt blocks, grass blocks, and dirt path blocks into farmland blocks. Farmland blocks are vital blocks in growing crops such as carrots, potatoes, and wheat. To do this, you must hold the hoe in your hand and press the USE button or the right-click mouse button while facing a dirt or grass block to turn it into a farmland block. However, note that a farmland block will turn back into a dirt block if it isn’t watered or a seed isn’t planted on it, so make sure to place water sources near the farmland block or plant a seed as soon as you till the ground.
2. Hoe used to harvest plant blocks
Harvesting plants is one of the vital points to progressing in Minecraft. Players can always harvest plant-based blocks using their bare hands; however, using a hoe is more efficient and faster. Like with a sickle or scythe, a hoe’s purpose when harvesting is the same. A list of all the plant-based blocks that a hoe can harvest is as follows:
- Dried kelp block
- Hay bale
- Leaves
- Moss block
- Nether wart block
- Warped wart block
- Sculk
- Sculk catalyst
- Sculk sensor
- Sculk shrieker
- Sculk vein
- Shroomlight
- Sponge
- Wet sponge
- Target block
3. Hoe used as a weapon
Like with other tools in the game, hoes may be used to defend yourself by acting as your weapon. Although hoes only deal 1 damage in Minecraft Java Edition, for Bedrock Edition, it is a different matter as they can deal the same amount of damage as a pickaxe—which is already a considerable amount of damage in itself. Hoes may not be the best weapon to equip when defending yourself from mobs, but when you are in a pinch and a hoe is the only weapon available, do not hesitate to use it to your advantage.
4. Hoe used as a fuel source
Wooden hoes can be used as a substitute for coal in a furnace by acting as the fuel source for smelting materials. However, like all the other tools in Minecraft, this only works for wooden hoes. Any other tool tier such as diamond, golden, and iron is not flammable and thus cannot be used as fuel in a furnace. For every wooden hoe used, you can smelt up to one item only. Therefore, you will need multiple wooden hoes to smelt more items.
5. Hoe used as a distraction
Piglins are well-known to be hostile to players on sight, especially when the player is not wearing any gold armor. They will not stop attacking the player, not unless he or she wears something of gold tier. However, you can use their love of gold to your advantage. By dropping a golden hoe on the ground while they are attacking you, they will become distracted for a few seconds by picking the golden hoe up before placing it in their inventory. Only then will they resume attacking you. Luckily, a few seconds is all you’ll need to successfully slip away while they have their eyes on the golden hoe prize.
6. Hoe used as a smelting ingredient
Iron and golden hoes can be used in a furnace, not as a fuel source but as an ingredient for smelting. You can obtain an iron nugget or a gold nugget by smelting an iron hoe or a golden hoe. This might not be the best way to use a hoe with stronger durability than wood, but you can use this method once the durability of your iron or golden hoe is low and about to break. So instead of losing a tool through breaking, you can smelt them in your furnace to obtain valuable resources such as iron and gold nuggets.
