Farms on 1.8

For a basic 1.8.8 tree farm, plant saplings with space and light, grow them with time or bone meal, chop the logs, and replant. Vanilla 1.8.8 has no observers. Vanilla 1.12.2 does have observers and supports observer-based flying machines, but a specific automatic farm still needs a design for that version.

Last reviewed: 2026-10-27. By the Eaglercraft Guide editorial team.

The farm instructions cover manual crop and tree production, not a tested automatic machine. Observers are absent from vanilla 1.8.8 but present in 1.12.2, following their Java 1.11 introduction.

• Let ordinary leaves decay or break them without shears to collect sapling drops. Shears collect leaf blocks instead, so do not use sheared leaves as your replanting supply.
• For a simple wheat plot, till dirt or grass, put water within four blocks horizontally, provide light, and plant wheat seeds. Harvest mature wheat and save seeds for replanting.
• Bone meal can speed up sapling growth. Leave enough room for the tree species; a blocked sapling is not proof that bone meal is broken.
• 1.12.2 includes observers, pistons and slime blocks for flying-machine designs. Choose a 1.12.2 design; later machines may depend on blocks or behavior that version lacks.

These are manual farming instructions, not a tested automatic wood-farm schematic. Before building automation, back up the world and check the server's redstone, piston and entity rules. A working vanilla design can still be restricted or altered by plugins.

Related: Crafting · 1.8.8