Clay Farm (Mud + Dripstone)
Beginner Java + Bedrock
Produces: Clay balls (4 per clay block) for bricks, terracotta and mason trading
Quick answer: Turn dirt into mud with a water bottle, place the mud above a block that has pointed dripstone hanging underneath, and wait: the mud dries into clay in about 6.5 minutes on average. Every clay block smelts or crafts into 4 clay balls' worth of bricks - fully renewable, fully automatable.
How it works
- Using a water bottle on dirt, coarse dirt or rooted dirt turns it into mud. A dispenser loaded with water bottles automates the step and returns the empty bottle.
- If you place mud directly above a block with pointed dripstone hanging underneath, it eventually turns into clay; this does not happen in the Nether.
- Mud is renewable: use a water bottle on dirt, coarse dirt or rooted dirt.
- Each clay block yields 4 clay balls (Fortune changes nothing). Balls smelt into bricks; clay smelts into terracotta; a novice mason buys 10 clay balls for 1 emerald.
- The bottle cannot be used on the bottom face of the block, but a dispenser can.
Materials
- Pointed dripstone (from dripstone caves) - one per cell
- Glass bottles or a dispenser + water source
- Building blocks for the cell rows
- Dirt (and gravel for renewing it)
- A shovel for harvesting the clay
Build steps
- Get pointed dripstone from a dripstone cave.
- Build a cell: one solid block at mud level, pointed dripstone hanging from its underside, open space above for the mud block.
- Repeat the cell in long rows or grids - every cell converts independently, so a 20-cell row multiplies output by 20.
- Place mud on top of each cell by hand, or automate: a dispenser fires a water bottle at a dirt block (making mud) and a piston pushes the mud onto the cell.
- Wait: the mud-to-clay conversion is slow and random, so come back later.
- Mine the clay with a shovel (4 balls per block), craft bricks or terracotta, or sell the balls to mason villagers for emeralds.
Rates
Output depends on the design, the version and how much of it you build, so we do not quote an hourly figure. Build the layout below, time it for a few minutes in your own world and scale from there.
Tips
- A dispenser with water bottles automates making mud.
- Clay balls also appear in village mason chests (1-3).
- Source: minecraft.wiki Mud, Clay and Clay Ball.