Stardew Valley: 22 Ways To Maximize Winter

Highlights

• Collect walnuts on Ginger Island for rewards and unlock Qi’s room for extra perks.
• Focus on maintaining a Ginger Island farm that can yield profits all year round.
• Experiment with mods during winter to enhance gameplay and try new features in Stardew Valley.

Stardew Valley is a game in which the player controls a character who recently inherited a farm from their grandfather. The character chooses to leave behind the big city and their former life in favor of moving to the farm and taking care of it. The player grows crops, tends to animals, and develops relationships with the people living in nearby Pelican Town. The game goes through seasons that each have 28 days and each has different events, crops, and other seasonal variations.

Anyone familiar with Stardew Valley will know the fact that during the wintertime there’s not a lot to do. Crops don’t grow during the winter, so players can’t step outside and farm, and so it’s a season that a lot of people tend to struggle with as far as maximizing what they can do. Thankfully, there are a lot of things that users can do during the winter that will set their farm up for a profitable and smooth spring after the snow melts.

Updated April 16, 2024, by Ashely Claudino: Stardew Valley is an ever-growing game. Even though it’s been fully released, its creator, ConcernedApe, continues to push free updates, giving players more and more ways to entertain themselves. This list has been updated and continues even more helpful entries to help fans keep busy during the winter time in Stardew Valley.

22 Collect Walnuts On Ginger Island

Trade for Rewards

With time on their hands due to the lack of crops, players might want to focus on collecting all the walnuts on Ginger Island. Collecting walnuts allows the player to trade with the Ginger Island parrots for a number of rewards.

One hundred and sixteen total walnuts are needed to unlock every reward, though there are a hundred and thirty available, allowing for some leeway when dealing with harder walnuts. Once 100 walnuts have been reached, the player will unlock Qi’s room, which allows completionists to keep a closer tab on their save file and net even more rewards for doing so.

21 Maintain A Ginger Island Farm

Farm All Year Around

The great thing about Ginger Island is that the seasons don’t change – so there’s no winter to mess up the player’s crops. This means the crops that can be planted on the Ginger Island farm can be planted all year long!

Winter is a great time to focus on this farm, or even to build one that can yield handsome profits at any time of the year. Another perk of Ginger Island? Crows don’t appear! There’s no need to waste tile space with Scarecrows and worry that crows might sneak into the uncovered gaps.

20 Experiment With Mods

While this is a more general tip for maximizing profit in Stardew Valley, the flexibility of Winter – from not having crops to take care of – is a great time to start experimenting with mods. If something goes wrong with a time-skipping mod, for example, there’s less chance of ruining a batch of crops by speeding through another season.

Stardew Valley has a thriving modding community. If there’s something a player needs, it’s likely they’ll find it on NexusMods, a platform that hosts thousands of mods that can be downloaded for free.

19 Prepare the Farm for Spring

Think Ahead to Maximize Future Profits

One of the best ways to make use of the lack of harvesting time in the winter is to prepare the farm’s layout for spring. Over the year, players might find that their plots are in the way of other possible developments, their animals need more room, or that their farm’s overall layout and speed of travel throughout is less efficient than it could be.

Winter is the perfect time to re-plan the farm’s layout because nothing can grow anyway. Using fences to mark the corners of future plots is a great way to get a head start on spring planning, for example. A farmer’s hoed tiles won’t remain hoed as winter turns to spring, but there are lots of ways to plan a new layout without actually tilling any of the lands.

18 Complete Special Orders

Complete Side Quests

Special Orders are a more recently added feature in Stardew Valley, thanks to the release of update 1.5. They are functionally similar to the Help notices outside of Pierre’s shop but designed to take much longer to complete. The challenges in winter tend to be oriented around tasks that can be accomplished without farming, too, like killing slimes in the mine or donating wood and other supplies to Robin.

When the player completes a Special Order they are given a special reward that, more often than not, is super helpful for future farmwork. By completing Willy’s bug meat Special Order, for example, the player gets a Quality Bobber, 5,000 gold, and a special cutscene. By completing Gus’ egg Special Order, the player gets a mini-fridge and 3,000 gold.

17 Arrive Late to the Feast of the Winter Star

No Need to Rush Into It

The Feast of the Winter Star is a must-attend holiday in the Stardew Valley winter, as it gives the player a chance to really improve their relationship with a townsperson and also receive something in return. The item received in the gift exchange is randomized, but there are some great things one can pick up this way.

However, just like with all holidays in the game, the event will end once the player leaves the area, instantly fast-forwarding time to 10 pm. Be sure to arrive at the Feast of the Winter Star as late as possible, right before 2 pm, to maximize the time spent completing other tasks around the farm and areas of town that are accessible that day.

16 Upgrade the Hoe and Can

Most Important Upgrades During the Winter Season

Since the player can’t really do any farming during the wintertime in Stardew Valley, it’s the perfect time to take a trip to Clint, Pelican Town’s resident blacksmith, in order to get some upgrades done. Using the hoe and watering can is important during the more crop-focused seasons, but during the winter it is safe to upgrade them.

A useful Stardew Valley tip is that players should definitely save upgrading their hoe until after they’ve finished the Winter Foraging bundle, as one item for that bundle is often found underground.

15 Go Mining

Get Materials and Ore

Mining is the best way to get ore and other resources like gems, items to donate to the museum, and stones to use in upgrading and constructing buildings. During the other seasons, finding time to go to the mines can be hard. It seems like there’s always something else to do – planting, watering, and harvesting crops takes a lot of time and energy!

But, without crops to grow and care for, what to do during winter in Stardew Valley is a tougher assignment. This is the perfect time to head to the mines in order to get the precious ore that’s so annoying to collect, to can craft machines, and upgrade tools.

14 Head to Skull Cavern

Take on a Challenge

If a player has reached the bottom of the mines already and unlocked Skull Cavern, they should hit Pam up for a ride to the desert and get going! These mines can be dangerous, but they can also be home to the most incredible resources and riches in the game, so players definitely are going to want to spend some time there.

Make sure to stop by the hospital the day before going in order to get some energy and health tonics from Harvey. If they catch Pam on her way to the bus stop and stand directly in her path, players can speed her walk up and get to the desert around 10 to 20 minutes faster, giving them a little more time underground.

13 Go Fishing

Catch all Winter Fish

Players have likely already been fishing throughout the other seasons since some fish are only available in certain seasons that they need for bundles or quests. But, if they haven’t been, then they should make sure to spend the winter gathering a few of the fish that they can only find during this season.

Plus, going fishing will definitely help players practice and raise this skill before the Festival of Ice comes around. Along with going in the fishing bundles and being great for different recipes, the fish that people catch can net them some major money during the winter.

12 Finish the Craft Room

Gather Winter Foraging Bundle Items

If players chose the Community Center route over letting Joja buy out Pelican Town, then they have got some winter-exclusive items that they will need to gather in order to finish the Craft Room. While walking around Pelican Town and the nearby woods, people should make sure to keep their eyes peeled for the Winter Foraging Bundle items.

If someone decides to join Joja, they can still complete the Joja Community Development Form by selling goods to make money. This is definitely something that they will struggle with during winter since farmers can’t sell crops if they haven’t paid for the greenhouse; consequently, they will likely want to skip this and focus on other items on the list.

Check Out Every Bundle

The Craft Room contains the first bundles that players will get access to, but as they continue completing the Community Center, more bundles will become available, and quite a few can be worked on during the Winter. Here are a few Community Center bundles worth focusing on in the Winter:

• Winter Foraging bundle
• Construction bundle
• Animal bundle
• Crab Pot bundle
• Blacksmith’s bundle
• Geologist’s bundle
• Adventurer’s bundle
• Vault bundles

10 Work On Artisan Goods

Make Money Elsewhere

If a user is able to craft preserves jars and kegs, they are going to want to set aside their crops as they come in during the other seasons to turn into jam, wine, and pickles. These artisan goods are worth significantly more than their fruit and vegetable counterparts, and make excellent gifts for the townspeople!

If they have a massive stockpile of fruits and vegetables from the past seasons, they should spend the winter making sure their preserves jars and kegs are always running. It takes several days for some of them to finish, but players should keep an eye on them to make sure that they pull the finished artisan goods out and either sell them or put them away so they can refill them.

9 Expand The House

Work on Completing Your House

Expanding the house is smart during any season, but during the winter it’s a particularly good idea. Without crops to water and take care of, farmers have extra time to go chop down trees and collect wood that they can take to Robin to expand their house.

The basement is one of the best expansions to get during or before the Stardew Valley winter. It adds a whole room of casks where players can put wine and cheese in order to age it, drastically increasing the quality and therefore the selling price. Save some of the iridium-quality wine and cheese that ages to take to the Stardew Valley Fair next fall and players are sure to nab the first-place prize!

8 Save Up For Special Structures

Plan Out What You Want to Craft

Late in the game players will find that the tedious nature of traveling can become a deterrent to playing, especially in winter when there are no crops to farm. For those who have the income, investing in the Wizard’s Obelisk structures is absolutely worth it. There are three obelisks: Mountain, Ocean, and Desert, and they each warp the player to that location just with a press of a button.

If someone is spending a lot more time in the mines or fishing because of winter, they will definitely find all three Obelisks helpful for their instant transportation powers. The Desert Obelisk is perhaps the most useful, as players won’t have to rely on the bus’ schedule to get there.

7 Raise More Animals

Buy More Animals From Marnie

Those who are still in their first year of the game may find themselves relying on animal products for income, as they are quite dependent and reliable. Besides pigs, animal products will continue to be made during the winter, which helps lessen the dent left by the absence of outdoor crops.

Turning sheep’s wool into cloth is a great source of income, as well as fueling a whole new wardrobe of handmade clothes using Emily’s sewing machine. Cheese and milk are also great for income and recipes, so having as many cows as possible is one of the best things to do in winter that Stardew Valley offers.

6 Slay Monsters

Work On the Adventurer Guild’s Challenges

Since many players choose to spend time in the mines during the winter, completing as many Monster Eradication goals as possible is a great way to earn rare battle items and fashion accessories from the Adventurer Guild’s Gil. Defeating 1000 wild Slimes will earn the player a Slime Charmer Ring, which prevents all damage from Slimes. This is extremely useful in the mines and in the Slime Hutch.

Other great items include the Arcane Hat (identical to the Wizard’s) and the Napalm Ring, which makes defeated enemies explode. At any rate, the monster drops alone are worth completing the goals.

5 Grow Trees With Fertilizer

Craft Tree Fertilizer

Normally, trees don’t grow at all during winter, which makes collecting wood very difficult. After all, many of the major recipes and structures require wood to build, and buying it from Robin’s Carpenter Shop can be rather pricey, especially since the price goes up from 10 gold to 50 gold per piece after Year 2.

Luckily, there’s Tree Fertilizer, a recipe that can be obtained by reaching Foraging level 7. Tree Fertilizer will not only make trees grow during the winter, but it will speed up the growth of a tree significantly, making it grow one stage every night until the final stage, which takes two nights. Not only is this great for harvesting wood, but tapping the trees will provide a steady source of pine tar, oak resin, and maple syrup.

4 Save Money

Strawberry Season Comes Next

Strawberries are one of the best crops in Stardew Valley, but they’re not as easy to get compared to other Spring crops. Although this isn’t the only reason why players should horde the money they make in the Winter, it’s a great tip.

Once Spring starts, players should mark the 13th on their calendars, as it’s the day of the Egg Festival, the only location to buy Strawberries. Each seed packet costs 100g, but they’re one of the most profitable early game crops. On top of this, after the first harvest, the Strawberry bush will continue to produce berries every four days.

3 Build Relationships

Give Gifts and Nurture Friendships

Even though much of Stardew Valley is focused on running the farm and making money, there’s also a heavy focus on building relationships with the people in town. Players can even get married to one of the single NPCs if they build a really good relationship with them. Players are then rewarded with special cut scenes for different milestones that they reach with them.

During the winter, farmers will have plenty of time on their hands. This means that they will have extra time to track down the villagers they haven’t been trying to marry to give them gifts and get to know them a little better.