5 underrated farming tips in Stardew Valley

While Stardew Valley does a great job teaching about basic farming, there are a lot of hidden mechanics and optimizations to make the best use of the various tools the game offers. Little things like changing in-game settings, selecting farm layouts, and noting TV broadcasts can add to the success of your farm, transforming it from a barren land to a thriving and profitable business.

Keeping that in mind, this article includes five lesser-known farming tips in Stardew Valley that you can adopt to streamline your farming and optimize your workflow.

NOTE: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinion.

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Five useful farming tips in Stardew Valley that deserve more attention

1) Selecting farm layout

Standard Farm layout in Stardew Valley (Image via ConcernedApe)

There are a total of eight farm layouts in Stardew Valley that lay the foundation of your entire gameplay experience. Therefore, it is essential to take your time and learn about the various layouts to understand the unique advantages and disadvantages of each offer.

Here’s a list of all farm layouts in Stardew Valley and what are they designed for:

• Standard Farm: Farming
• Forest Farm: Foraging
• Hill-top Farm: Mining
• Wilderness Farm: Combat (Only farm where enemies spawn at night)
• Riverland Farm: Fishing
• Beach Farm: Foraging and fishing
• Four Corner Farm: Multiplayer playthrough
• Meadow Farm: Animal husbandry

While the Standard Farm offers a balanced experience that is suitable for beginners, you are free to choose from different layouts if you’re looking for a specific experience. For example, The Forest Farm is focused on foraging, while the Riverland Farm is designed to provide fishing-focused gameplay.

Choosing one according to your goals ensures that your farm complements your gameplay and makes the experience more enjoyable.

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2) Build a Silo

Building a Silo in Stardew Valley will convert all chopped grass into Hay. (Image via ConcernedApe)

When you first take ownership of your farm, it is in a terrible state. However, before you chop down all the trees and grass to clear your field, it is recommended to craft a Silo with 100g, 100 stones, 10 clay and five copper bars.

Once you have a Silo, any grass you cut will get stored as Hay and since you can’t grow fresh grass in winter, building a Silo will ensure that all the cut grass from your farm will get stored as Hay, serving as food for your animals in winter.

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3) Upgrading Watering Can

Upgrading Watering Can to a Steel Watering Can can significantly boost your efficiency. (Image via ConcernedApe)

As a Stardew Valley farmer, it is your dream to have a farm overflowing with crops and produce. However, the early game heavily relies on using your tiny Watering Can with limited capacity.

Upgrading this essential tool can make a huge difference in your first few seasons. It is recommended that you prioritize the first two upgrades for your Watering Can before you move on to upgrading any other tool.

An upgraded Watering Can in the early game will allow you to manage a larger field more efficiently by saving you a lot of energy for other important tasks like planting, harvesting, and exploring Stardew Valley.

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4) Checking TV

Checking TV gives you information about in-game events. (Image via ConcernedApe)

While the TV shows may seem like useless dialogue at first, carefully watching some particular shows can add a lot of value to your Stardew Valley playthrough.

The weather report can be used to plan your day strategically. You can use the sunny days to perform farming activities while rainy forecasts can be used to fish for some particular species.

Another important show is The Fortune Teller where Teller’s words will directly influence the quality of items and ore you will receive that day. Harvesting on Lucky Days increases your likelihood of fetching higher-quality items for higher profits. Queen of Sauce teaches you new cooking recipes each week to help you discover new food to treat your fatigue and health during exploration and mining.

Overall, keeping an eye on TV is a great way to discover new things and unlock new bonuses.

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5) Building a Greenhouse

Greenhouse lets you grow crops all year round. (Image via ConcernedApe)

If you’re new to the game, it is possible that you spent your first Spring roaming around trying to understand everything. However, you could miss out on big earning opportunities if you do not build a Greenhouse before winter.

During winter, most fruits and vegetables cannot be grown. However, if you have a Greenhouse, you can grow some of the best crops to make money in Stardew Valley regardless of the season. It can help you maintain a constant supply of gold during cold weather when many crops simply won’t grow out in the open.

Plants like blueberries, tomatoes, and cranberries bear fruit without the need to be replanted. You can grow these crops in your Greenhouse to get a continuous supply of gold without worrying about planting, harvesting, and replanting.

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With these underrated farming tips in Stardew Valley, you can get a head start on your farming adventures.

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