Vines are climbable blocks used for decoration and crafting mossy variants of stone and cobble. If you need stacks quickly, focus on high-yield manual harvesting and simple farms that play well with how vines spread.

Core facts you’ll use

These mechanics determine how quickly and reliably you can gather vines. See the official reference for specifics and current version details at minecraft.wiki/w/Vines.

  • Only shears make vines drop as items. Axes can break vines faster but do not drop the block, even with Silk Touch.
  • Efficiency on shears speeds up breaking; with Efficiency II or higher, vines can be instant-mined. Haste also reduces break time.
  • Dispenser-activated shears cannot harvest vines, so fully automated breaking isn’t possible.
  • Vines spread slowly to adjacent blocks; they do not respond to bone meal. They don’t require light to grow.
  • Natural sources include jungles, swamps, mangrove swamps, lush caves, and some structures. Wandering traders can sell vines for one emerald.
  • If multiple vine faces occupy the same block space, breaking any of them breaks all faces there but drops only a single item.
  • Vines are climbable and cancel sprint. They negate fall damage; you can safely descend while harvesting.

Method 1 — Grow and strip 2×2 jungle trees (fast manual bulk)

This is the quickest consistent way to turn time into stacks without elaborate redstone. 2×2 jungle trees produce tall surfaces where vines spawn and spread, and you can harvest them in seconds using a top-down “clip-and-drop” technique.

Step 1: Collect four jungle saplings and a few stacks of solid blocks for scaffolding. Plant the saplings in a 2×2 to grow a mega jungle tree; use bone meal if you want the tree immediately (bone meal speeds tree growth, not vines).

Step 2: Set up multiple 2×2 plantings near each other. As trees grow, vines will generate and then continue spreading on the trunk and leaves, giving you a rotation to harvest while others continue to develop.

Step 3: Enchant a pair of shears with Efficiency II or better. This allows instant breaking on vines so you can harvest entire columns rapidly. Add Unbreaking and/or Mending if you plan long sessions.

Step 4: Start at the top of a vine column. Hold crouch (Shift on PC) to avoid sliding, shear the vine block you’re standing on, and drop to the next vine below. Repeat to clear the entire column in a few seconds.

Step 5: Replant jungle saplings to keep the cycle going and harvest the logs separately. Move to the next tree in your rotation so vines on other trunks continue spreading while you work.

Tip: To reduce “multi-face” losses, focus on clean hanging columns rather than dense corner clusters where several faces share one block space.

Method 2 — Tall vine-wall farm (simple set-and-harvest)

A vertical wall lined with vines is easy to build near your base. It grows passively and is harvested top-down in seconds. Growth is slower than tree rotations, but the setup is compact and repeatable.

Step 1: Build a 10–20 block tall wall from any full solid block (stone, cobble, etc.). Leave clear space below so hanging vines can grow downward.

Step 2: Place a row of vine blocks across the top edge of the wall. As time passes, they’ll spread downward and, under the right conditions, sideways to adjacent faces.

Step 3: Add more identical walls a few blocks apart to scale output. Keep them within loaded chunks while you play so spreading continues.

Step 4: Harvest from the top. Stand at the top edge, shear the block you’re on to drop to the next vine, and repeat to strip the wall quickly. Use Efficiency II+ shears for instant breaks.

Step 5: If you want to “freeze” farm shape in Java Edition, toggle spreading off before harvesting, then turn it back on afterward to regrow.

/gamerule doVinesSpread false

Variation: If you mine large quarries or ravines, line the rim with vines. When you need supplies, harvest from the top and ride the vine column down the wall.

Method 3 — Quick pickups and purchases (early game)

Use these when you just need a starter stack or you haven’t found jungle saplings yet.

Step 1: Shear vines in the wild. Look in jungles, swamps, mangrove swamps, and lush caves. Structures like jungle temples and woodland mansions can also generate vines on walls.

Step 2: Check wandering traders. Keep an emerald handy; they can sell vines, saving a biome search run.

Step 3: Bring several shears. Without Unbreaking, a single stack of vines will wear tools down quickly during long harvests.

Speed, safety, and reliability tips

  • Use Efficiency II+ shears for instant breaks; this dramatically cuts time per column.
  • Bring multiple shears or add Unbreaking/Mending to avoid downtime repairing mid-harvest.
  • Vines negate fall damage, but staying crouched while clipping improves control on long drops.
  • Dispenser automation won’t harvest vines, so design around manual shearing.
  • Vines don’t need light and can grow in darkness; lighting is only for player visibility and mob safety.
  • Avoid placing vines under stair blocks; certain block updates can remove bottom-attached vines.
  • Remember: bone meal has no effect on vine growth. Plan farms around passive spread and chunk loading.

What you can craft with vines

  • Mossy Cobblestone (cobblestone + vine).
  • Mossy Stone Bricks (stone bricks + vine).
  • Bordure Indented Banner Pattern (paper + vine).

For most players, rotating through a few 2×2 jungle trees and using instant-break shears is the fastest way to fill chests. Build a vine wall near your base as a passive backup so you always have a column ready to strip.