Hello, fellow Stardew Valley enthusiasts! Are you wondering what to do during the cold winter months? This guide will help you answer that question. The main difference between winter and other seasons is that you cannot grow crops on your farm, but fear not! You can simply grow them on Ginger Island.
Ginger Island: A Year-Round Farming Paradise
Ginger Island boasts a perpetual spring-like climate and is free from pesky crows. With permanent fertilizer use and ample space, it’s perfect for farming. Imagine planting vast fields of Ancient Fruit on Ginger Island – isn’t it a beautiful thought? If you haven’t unlocked Ginger Island yet, hurry up and do so. All you need are 200 hardwood, five batteries, and five iridium bars. Take these materials to the back door of Willy’s house, fix the boat, and you’ll be able to visit Ginger Island the next day. But what if you don’t have hardwood?
Gathering Hardwood and Other Resources
Head to the Secret Woods daily to chop down large stumps. Each day, you can collect 12 hardwood from six large stumps. If you find a Mahogany Seed, plant it and harvest even more hardwood once it matures. Don’t have any batteries? Did you not craft lightning rods during the summer? Chop down trees to level up your foraging skill. Once you reach level 6, you’ll be able to craft lightning rods using bat wings and refined quartz.
In a pinch, you can also check the Traveling Cart for batteries or find them in the Desert Mines by defeating bats. Struggling with Desert Mines? You probably don’t have any iridium bars either, which are produced in large quantities in the Desert Mines. In that case, you’ll need a guide on how to use bombs for mining. After mastering bomb mining, you can easily obtain prismatic shards. Exchange them for a Galaxy Sword, bring some food, and defeating bats should be no problem. What’s that? You can’t enter the Desert Mines? You must not have reached level 120 in the regular mines and obtained the Skull Key. Hurry up and delve deeper into the mines, grab the key, and find some Dwarf Scrolls along the way.
Completing Bundles and Earning Money
Defeat Dust Sprites and acquire a Burglar’s Ring. Not sure how to get to the desert? Complete the Vault Bundle in the Community Center for 42,500 gold, and the bus will be repaired the next day. Take the bus to the desert at 10 AM. What’s that? You don’t have enough money to repair the Community Center? Have you not been brewing or fishing? Check out our guides on brewing and fishing to earn more gold. If your total earnings are still below 20,000 gold, start fishing immediately. Don’t like fishing? Did you know that Stardew Valley is essentially a fishing simulator? If that’s not your cup of tea, focus on farming instead.
If all else fails, live like Linus and scavenge for trash, or enlist a friend to help you as a farmhand. What’s that? You don’t even own the game yet? Hurry up and buy it while it’s not on sale. Have you all learned how to survive winter in Stardew Valley?