MY CROPS WON’T GROW!!!

Capitalists hate the winter time. They hate it because they can’t make as many agricultural profits. This is because, like in real life, you are severely limited in your crop production during the Winter in Stardew Valley. The lack of profits to be earned from crops may be incredibly daunting, but Winter serves as down time. Perhaps Spring-Fall was incredibly breakneck and stressful for you in Stardew Valley? Perhaps there are a lot of things you were unable to complete or do because you were stressed by the ever-looming passage of time. I certainly was, and with this post, I will help guide you through Winter in Stardew Valley, and show you how it can be fun and productive.

Think of the Future

If crops are truly on your mind, then rearrange your farm. You should have a high enough farming level to craft a quality sprinkler. I highly recommend crafting as many of these as you can during Winter. In year 1 of Stardew Valley, there were likely many things you were unable to complete, because your schedule was so packed. You were also likely to have a farm that was a complete mess because you were pressured to make some money in the first few impoverished days in Stardew Valley. Therefore, it is imperative to make a mental map of your farm layout for Spring of Year 2.

A person with a farm like this:

didn’t get this immediately. Clearing your farm out in Year 1, and establishing a massive plot like this is nearly impossible. So don’t be discouraged if your farm isn’t as nearly as profitable as you would like to be! Winter is a time to evaluate your plot, whether you would like to grow grass for your animals, where you would place your sprinklers and your crops, and where you would like trees and decorations. Would you like a farm that’s decorative and pretty? Or would you prefer a farm that maximizes profits? You have options.

What I have done so far, is mine for the materials needed for quality sprinklers, and lay them out on my farm prematurely. This means that when Spring Day 1 rolls around, you can buy as many seeds as you need, and not have to worry about taking the entire day up watering. They will all water themselves automatically, and you can focus on other tasks like fishing, mining, or making new friends!

Save Every Last Dime

So now you know to lay your farm out for a massive Spring harvest. Only, there’s a slight problem: you need money to buy seeds and resources. There is no point to planning your farm if you cannot enact that plan. Therefore, do whatever you can to scrounge up as much Winter money as you can. Forage for Winter crops and sell those. Forage for Winter Crops and bring them to the community center to get Winter Seeds and sell those. You will need that cash to afford the seeds in Spring. Don’t be afraid to sell the not-so-fancy gems you find in the mine. Hold onto the diamonds and emeralds because those make fantastic gifts, but don’t hesitate to sell Jade, Amethyst, or Topaz.

Furthermore, if you missed out on planting trees and the Community Center is mocking you for it, then now is the time to save for them. They take a very long time to grow, so to get them ready on the first day of Spring would make a monumental difference for your profits. Do not go overboard with multiple trees, however. One of each should be fine. Perhaps you have even designated a place on your farm for trees to grow.

It is tempting to buy more animals to generate a profit off of them, but unless you are ready for a long-term investment, I would say hold off until massive profits in Spring. If you already have a few animals, then I believe you should coast on that amount for a while. Because you have to buy a heater, which takes 2000g for the Winter time, buying expensive animals could be costly for the short-term Winter saving plan. Also, I would say hold off on upgrading your Barn and Coop. While they are being upgraded, you can still access your animals, so you don’t have to wait for a specific time to do that.

Homies and Recreation

The Community Center is an integral piece of Stardew Valley that should not be ignored. Not just because completing bundles gets you awesome rewards, but because fully completing the Community Center is how you complete the game’s main quest! Obviously, you can’t complete everything in a single year if you didn’t keep track of it (or use the Wiki). That’s why Winter is a time for you to plan and assess how to fill the center up quickly. Planning will take you 20 minutes, but it will honetly be a life-saver for you. Don’t do what I did, and sell all your pumpkins in Fall, forgetting that you need to give it for the Community Center, and wait three in-game seasons for my chance again.

Also, if you planted tons of seeds in Fall, you should have a decent amount of cash. Don’t be afraid to budget your earnings for gifts. Building relationships in Winter is a great activity, and it can spruce the otherwise dead season with more lively cutscenes and stories. Building friendships and seeing people’s stories are one of the most interesting aspects of Stardew Valley, and seeing their demeanor change from cold and abrasive to warm and welcome is so rewarding. At 0 hearts, Shane says “Do I know you? Leave.” At 5 hearts, he says “I’m surprised anybody wants to talk to me, I appreciate it.”

THE OFFICIAL STARDEW VALLEY CHECKLIST FOR ACTIVITIES:

Make friends

Prepare the farm with Sprinklers and designs

Go to the community center and plan what you need from Spring-Fall

Save dat cash

Never talk to Pierre, the scumbag.