Weeds (SPOILERS)

[jstu9]

I'll put the question in a spoiler in case I should.

I started up a new world a few days ago, and I just planted some hemp by my base (which is in the spawn chunk to the best of my knowledge). I went exploring a ravine in search of iron for about 3 days. I come back and 2/3 of my planted hemp is destroyed by weeds.

Anyways...

Weeds: How do you avoid them? I'm assuming there is a BTW way to do so. Maybe planters? Though I am nowhere near that. I guess I could try to find the spawn chunk boundary and plant them outside of it. Otherwise I can't leave the immediate area of my base.

[FlowerChild]

I'll just add a spoiler tag to the thread title. Otherwise answers are also going to be in spoilers, and it'll be a big deal for nothing ;)

[EpicAaron]

I would suggest planting outside of spawn chunks until you have some anti-weed measures in place, but I assume you already have your ovens inside spawn? Planters are very useful in this regard, but you have a long way to go.

If you have some hours to kill, it could be worth it to hang around base and just let the plants grow, especially if you haven't made a windmill yet. Build some nice stuff and try not to eat too much food.

[jstu9]

I guess that means I will have to move my base. I do have 2 desert villages nearby (1 NW, 1 SSE) so I can move to one of them permanently.

Is that the intent of weeds, to not build at spawn?

The problem of course is the need to explore. Food, iron, knowledge.

[Ramzax]

On weeds, I've built probably 1500-2000 blocks from spawn and I still have weeds.
Currently I just have to pay attention to the weeds.
I'm unsure if weeds grow in unloaded chunks.
I assume they don't.
I'll update if I can find a way to deal with them outside manual labor before pots.

[CrimsonStorm]

On weeds, I've built probably 1500-2000 blocks from spawn and I still have weeds.

Yeah, I think you misinterpreted the "build farms outside of spawn chunks" tip. The problem with spawn chunks is that they're never unloaded, so weeds there will continue to grow even when you're away.

[LannyRipple]

Weeds grow at night so, like collecting egg, feeding chickens, looking for mob drops, can just be part of your morning routine. I usually follow the earlier given advice of growing enough hemp for a windmill plus a bit more and then pulling up my planted hemp so I can range for more than a few days. By that time you should a good number of hemp seeds and can replant a whole field when desired.

Weeds go through stages to grow so if you weed one morning and then leave for 2-3 days you should be back in time to re-weed without any dead plants. Easily enough time to go hunting and if you already have a cave picked out for exploration usually more than enough time to explore the first-strata parts. It's that 4th day (I think; I wouldn't be surprised if a weed might randomly grow twice in a single day) when the weeds will be fully grown and your plants are gone.

[FlowerChild]

Weeds go through stages to grow so if you weed one morning and then leave for 2-3 days you should be back in time to re-weed without any dead plants.

Yup, that's exactly right, the one caveat being that crops will not continue to grow while they have weeds present, so weeding each morning does increase efficiency. Obviously this isn't that important once you have a sizeable farm going, but when you're first starting out, daily weeding will help you get your farm rolling more rapidly.