13 Things You Can Do During Winter in Stardew Valley

[@slwrabbits]

I like to focus on animals during winter. They don't leave their buildings, so I don't have to chase them through the field to find them all for petting.

[@FaerieDust]

During the rest of the year, I try to close the coop and barn exists before I go to bed at night so I can pet them all in the morning and then let them out Though tbh once I get pigs I do prefer to keep a fenced in outdoor area, just so I won't have to search around for the truffles. That works just as well for petting purposes.

[@kloklify]

Immediately when you wake up go to their coops/barns and pet them while they are inside + you can milk cows/goats and collect egs etc.while you are there,makes it easier for me at least,then i know i can go do whatever else after :)

[@caesportsfpsproreplays82]

u could just fence it up

[@slwrabbits]

@@caesportsfpsproreplays82 I like to give them free roam so they can't eat all the grass up. And yes, I could close them in at night, but sometimes my farmer gets to bed very late.

[@Adhika.]

Or just use auto petter

[@davidci]

Ironically, my first winter was when I did the most progress on my playthrough. Finally made an organized layout for my farm and focused purely in earning as much money as possible through kegs in sheds and selling tea saplings.

[@alexisblack8921]

You could afford sheds that early?

[@Luipaard005]

Same. Winter in SDV is similar to winter irl.... a meditative time.

[@salembxxg7013]

@@alexisblack8921if you get Caroline to 2 hearts you can get the tea saplings crafted from wood fibre and wild seeds and they self for 500g each. That’s how I normally get enough to build a coop and barn in spring

[@_starlinx]

@@alexisblack8921clay farming tea saplings and others

[@Reragi]

​@@alexisblack8921easily, im on my first playthrough and hops were a violently effective way to make profit, and even better when you get kegs going

[@Linkman95]

Trees don't grow in winter, but *fruit* trees do. You can start planting them at the start of winter, and have them ready at the start of next year.

[@darknesswave100]

They do if you use tree fertilizer

[@superp2222]

This. I had an army of fruit trees at my disposal by the time spring rolled around because I pre-planted them in the winter

[@river_the_nb]

I actually really like winter. It’s a break from farming so I can focus more on my animals, mining, forage, and fishing

[@hfar_in_the_sky]

Honestly as a semi-Harvest Moon veteran, when I was playing this game and as soon as winter hit I was immediately like "Alright! Time to hit the mines!" Especially since in Magical Melody, you could ONLY access the mines during the winter. So for me I guess my brain always associates Winter with mining in these types of games

[@sleepyote]

Same for me. In Mineral Town specifically, I'd always go to the mines in winter, so I automatically did it in Stradew Valley too.

[@jstar2332]

I never played harvest moon, but my brain automatically wanted to just mine. Day in, day out, mining during winter 🥲

[@derpboy8904]

SMe

[@derpboy8904]

Same

[@CelestialCookie]

best part of winter for me hands down is the flexibility to get whatever i need done! the lack of farm chores means i can drop whatever i’m doing for a random qi quest or skull caverns day, and it’s a great time to reorganize your planting space to better accommodate things like junimo huts & pressurized sprinklers.

[@SARA-kh1kp]

Exactly it is the perfect time to get all my tools upgraded, upgrade my coops and barns, grind the mines and get my relationships with NPCs up.

[@Aboni-rw7uy]

Fiber seeds are just THE BEST. They don't need watering. Grows in about a week and gives you tons of fiber.😍

[@salmence100]

I actually didn't know that they didn't need water, that would've been good to mention in the video lol

[@noahwilson63]

No watering, but they do need scarecrows. Learned that the hard way with a massive field of them.

[@Aboni-rw7uy]

@@salmence100 lol perhaps. But since they don't die with season change, I plant them around sprinklers to hold my hoed and fertilized spots for the year after😁

[@Aboni-rw7uy]

@@noahwilson63 😂😂😂 me too. And I planted a small amount coz didn’t have enough mixed seeds. Imagine the pain lmao

[@rahxthehorror]

​@Aboni-rw7uy omg thats such a good idea. I need to remember to do that!

[@noone-wn1se]

FINALLY A GUIDE THAT PROPERLY TAKES IN THE FIRST TIMERS!!!!

[@noone-wn1se]

GIVE THIS MAN MOREE SUBSCRIBERS

[@ambersweatpants1898]

Winter is great for getting your life together both in Stardew and IRL

[@v1tr1us2]

Winter is nice break from the mad rush that is fall when it comes to how much money pumpkins print.

[@Wham_BurgerLXIV]

Waking up on winter 1 while Nocturne of Ice sets in after the insanity of planting massive feilds of crops, harvesting them, and obtaining the recources to eventually process them, is just so peaceful. Having an entire season to just check up on artisan goods, decorate/organize, and grind Skull Caverns is amazing personally. Especially for the kind of weirdos like me who actually enjoy grinding the combat and mining whenever possible.

[@stormrunner4081]

I actually really like how stardew looks in winter all the snow looks like it’s that fresh crunchy snow

[@PDD555]

The timing is just perfect. I'm in winter and I don't know what to do

[@blueberrypi4196]

Hoard wild seeds and farm fibre, ez money via tea saplings

[@blueberrypi4196]

A combination of the tips really

[@lyssagadberry6993]

I’ve just been mining

[@davyjones649]

@@lyssagadberry6993 yeah that’s what I usually do

[@tigresstia325]

Same! Hit winter yesterday 😅

[@waffles3629]

A tip for the winter 28 grass- make sure you play through spring 1 or the grass will disappear when you reload the day.

[@victoriahewitt9938]

You can get winter forageables in the mines, too, which when run through a seed maker will give you winter seeds. Helpful if you need more or aren't to level 7 yet.

[@LCRich2001]

Winter is basically the only season where you should be anywhere except your farmhouse, which sucks because the Winter soundtracks are so good that I never want to leave my farm. So cozy.

[@sodagirl1092]

Honestly Winter is such an underrated season in SDV. Its the only season where you'll probably have spare time on your hands to chat with villagers and get other stuff around the valley done like fishing, focusing on your animals, spending your money on building and tool upgrades and building friendship points with villagers you haven't really interacted with. Also an absolute godsend for catching up with the Community Centre stuff as well. You're not gonna be doing much and for a game where you're basically always grinding and pursuing some project or quest, thats not a bad thing to have.

[@derpboy8904]

I mostly mine or fish in the winter

[@crusaderguy1817]

In year 2, I finished the community center in Autumn, so winter gave me an amazing opportunity to actually focus on ginger island without having to mess around with animals and crops on my main farm.

[@biggusotongus1121]

Nothing hits quite like that first year winter on your first playthrough, so cozy. I remember feeling like running a marathon during Spring-Fall (you know manually watering every crops,discovering everything for the first time, grinding fishing etc). Then winter hits and everything just seems to slow down.

[@bluelfsuma]

Just like in real life, I like winter most. The speed of the world grinds to a halt, and everything becomes so quiet and serene. It feels like people value interaction more in winter, as though the season causes strangers to be more polite. And barely anyone is out and about, so it feels like the world is safe to walk around in. Especially during snowfall in the wee hours of the morning. Completely gorgeous, and every sound is softened. I also love the mines, and it gives me time to finally organize and decorate my farm.

[@kb27787]

Trees also do not grow in the desert during winter... (learned that the hard way). The only place they will grow without tree fertilizer is Ginger Island.

[@Dmasta48ls]

for late game (like, walnut room late game) winter is a really good time to do the qi’s crops quest

[@johnbear16]

This list is very helpful! It can be very hard figuring out things to do in winter, i usually spend the time gathering wood and stone cause im always running out lol

[@bayumahendra1797]

For me winter is the best season to organize your farm cuttimg tree clear rock, relocate building make pathway or fence, plant tree seed Its a best seasom to focus at mining&fishing Also you have more time to make friend during winter

[@sylvanaswindrunner4357]

Winter is great, time for preparing everything ready for the next year especially in the first year. I love to use this time to upgrade things and make my farm the way I like it for the next year

[@Aexryus]

For my partner and I, we either relax and catch-up with villagers, grind materials in the caves/skull cavern, or decorate and plan for the next farm year! I personally feel that stardew valley has so much to offer, content wise as well as its rich lore and story of the villagers; definitely the part that keeps me coming back every time! My partner loves decorating, so I leave that to her during winter as we don't have much to do 😂

[@loraniedelremedios1547]

Glad i saw this as i just reached winter on my new save file..i always do is just go on skull caverns because before it was just 1.4 in mobile there was almost nothing to do in winter except for some normal stuff like fishing planting winter forgables and decorating.. but know ginger island is here now i can focuse there..

[@salmence100]

It definitely feels like version 1.5 was at least partly focused on making Winter more meaningful, adding the special orders right before it in fall, making another area immune to the seasons, and adding a way to buy any seed in any season

[@klutterkicker]

I used my first winter to prepare sprinklers and tools for the spring growing season and reorganized the farm. It's actually a great opportunity to get out of the habit of throwing down crops whenever you can and start structuring things, or restructure with sprinkler upgrades.

[@14possumsinatrenchcoat]

something I learned during my playthroughs is that the best way to upgrade your watering can and hoe is to wait until winter and go straight from default to gold while you don't need them, because unless you're doing a minmax run you'll more than likely likely have been able to set aside 10 of each bar

[@derpboy8904]

Same I mostly mine in the wintee

[@amiralidavari4075]

Here is a summary of the video in bullet points: - The mines and skull cavern are unaffected by the season, so they're a good place to spend time in winter. - Trees can still be grown and tapped in the desert. - Trees on your farm can be grown with tree fertilizer. - Winter is a good time to work on friendships by giving villagers winter foragables like crocuses. - Winter seeds can be grown to get foragables and make money. - Special orders are good to focus on in winter. - More artifact spots appear in the snow, making completing the museum easier. - Clay farming can be replaced by more profitable winter root and snow yam farming. - Winter is a good time to decorate and organize your farm. - The greenhouse allows growing crops year-round. - Ginger Island is unaffected by seasons. - Winter can be used to prepare for the upcoming spring.

[@melawyn9096]

Winter seems to be the most busiest time of year for me. Working on max hearts of friendship with the villagers, planting tons and harvesting winter seeds, collecting lots of fibre with the fibre seeds, rearranging my farm, decorating my house, going deep in skull cavern and collecting tons of iridium, making pale ale, coffee, beer and wine with my kegs, petting my animals and growing my dinosaur coop. I've been experimenting with cooking lately, I keep all normal quality produce that I grow and sell the silver and gold, so I made over a hundred rhubarb pies, glazed yams, pink cakes and fruit salad and sell them

[@s_libraaa]

Weirdly enough, Winter is my favorite season tied with Fall. Even though theres not much to do farm-wise, you can still earn SO much money by fishing and mining without the added stress of watering/ harvesting crops.

[@yourewrong154]

Winter rocks honestly. There’s plenty to do but also not an overwhelming amount, and it really matches the peaceful sorta lull that you can enjoy during real winter

[@asterparsic3693]

Honestly I love winter in stardew--I have more time to do everything other than farming and I do get slightly tired of planting and harvesting crops so it's nice to have a break

[@loganjoh1]

You forgot the most important winter activity marrying Emily on Clint’s birthday

[@Leafx99]

I love mining during winter. And taken care of my animals. Gets me a good foot on it before the warmers seasons for crops.

[@sonofthunder6523]

This is awesome I'm on fall day 22 of my first play through! Also been watching your lets play and am on #70. From one Mainer to another absolutely love your videos bro! Keep up the good work!!

[@ravvy9329]

It's a game that let's you play at your own pace. You don't need to fear getting anything, or missing stuff. Just have fun with it. There are very few things (and most of them are just collection items that don't help you at all) that you can ACTUALLY lose out on if you progress too far. And I am pretty sure Salmence has a video for those already.👍

[@destinimurphy398]

thank you for this! I was thinking about resetting because i'm at the end of fall and havent unlocked the greenhouse, but now i have plenty of ideas to keep me busy through winter... Thanks!

[@Miracle7Seven]

I love winter! It lets me just calm down, cuz the other seasons just are so much atm, so it’s nice to chill out every time it comes around.

[@Stanzaawashere]

I always look forward to Winter! I have more time for the mines, any quests or friendships I need to catch up on, I can remodel my farm without things like crops or grass being in the way, and I can even make time to stop by the bar on Fridays and just chill with all the villagers! Its really nice and peaceful and Ive come to really appreciate the stillness and relative quiet of Winter on my save

[@yunginunicorn]

I’ve always appreciated winter in stardew. It’s a nice change of pace and allows me to focus more on other parts of the game.

[@DreameR09055]

I realize this is a video about practicality and time management, but also? Just breathe. Take a moment away from the min maxing and just relax. Take a day off, just go out to the river, mountains, ocean, or wherever you like and take a moment to breathe. Suddenly tomorrow and the many seasons to come aren't looking so daunting.

[@TheJuicyTangerine]

My winter was by far my most hectic month. I had just unlocked the greenhouse and skull cavern at the end of fall, and the big community quests kept me super busy.

[@rachelzackary8168]

It's also a good time for cooking! We already save one of everything but if we save 3., it's a good time to knock out some Perfection percentages as well as set up goals for the coming seasons - or the Night Market.

[@kennisme]

i wish this video would've come out sooner, i'm literally on my first playthrough (winter 20) and it never occurred to me to do all of this omg i'm gonna try and do this now! tysm for all the tips and tricks, your videos are always super helpful!

[@FatalMasamune]

I love winter in Stardew. Mostly because winter is my favorite season IRL, so the asthetic is always pleasing, but it is a nice change of pace from the rest of the year. I make the most of my free time doing most of what this guide suggests.

[@ChristStopper]

New challenge run idea for you! How close to perfection can you get without buying from shops (robins buildings exempt). Or just finish the community centre if you don't want a huge task.

[@mythicalskeleton1546]

Fiber seeds can also keep your fertilizer through winter and to next spring which is great since it is the only crop that can stay a full year

[@williamken9492]

5 important in winter 1. farm mines: iridium,stone,iron, etc 2. taking care your animal for petting 3. produce: wine/cheese/clothes/bars 4. gain the love villagers by give them gift 5. hunt golden walnuts at ginger island

[@4bdnWaffles]

Winters for decorating, no grass makes it so much easier to see where I wanna run paths and make my farm look cute

[@josephynewagner8929]

I like to experiment with new buildings, particularly slime hutches and fish ponds. I know neither of these are the most popular money makers in the game, but i find both super fun and satisfying.

[@slwrabbits]

Slime hutches are cool!

[@VampguyN85]

I love the winter. My favorite season. I do find it worthwhile growing forgable seeds your first winter. Forgables are good income, especially at iridium quality. Eventually I begin to stockpile forgable seeds to roll over the season and not lose the dirt. Plus keep those kegs, jars and truffle oil makers going all weekend from your other 3 seasons of goods. I redesign my farm every winter or every other winter also.

[@riirah1010]

I love Winter! I basically did all of these things on my first playthrough because I was so thankful for the break.

[@asiabasia423]

Honestly I really like winter. It gives me a second to re-plan my farm setup and allows me to worry about things other than a million crops.

[@rickool07]

nice someone actually mentioned crocus, i always plant forageables during winter so i can stockpile crocus to give to everybody come spring, saves lots of time on deciding what to give 😁

[@wildfirelabs]

Winter is my absolute favorite month both in stardew and irl

[@Mixx_]

In the winter, i redesign my farm. I'll tear the whole place down and rebuild it until i find the perfect design... I also started modding so i could explore the new stuff too!

[@mimimi5656]

Really enjoyed your stream with Seanie, I already loved your channel but now I love it more

[@adamori8207]

Honestly, winter was such a relief in my first year. I was able to survive on mayo and pale ale sales, which left me plenty of time to finally reach the last floor of the mines, plan out how I wanted my fields to look, do requests and up my friendship points, and finally upgrade my house for the first time. It was like a chance to catch my breath, to reset and think about what I wanted to do moving forward and what I needed to do to succeed once it was time to get moving again!

[@AnnaMitZuckerguss]

I always use winter to stock up seeds at the night market, eg to complete my collection goals. I usually have a random greenhouse setup then but at the beginning of spring 2 I have sold 15 of every crop except for the year 2 exclusives.

[@non_bee_knees7686]

I went ham on the mines and finishing setting up a more efficient layout for my farm, as well as more villager relationships :) it was fun to not have to focus on the plants for a bit

[@yamo_chan]

You can also put winter root in the seed maker to get wild winter seeds. That is my go to every winter. Plant winter seeds, sell everything except the winter root, throw the winter root into the seed maker and start all over! Never ending supply of money for free!

[@trequor]

It must be more efficient to craft winter seeds for further planting...

[@kalenlarsen]

Great guide lots of good tips! I particularly liked the last one about planting grass on the last day! What a great idea I never thought of that.

[@Amy-wj9ek]

I focused on fishing and got all the way to level 10 in my first winter. Plus, it gave me time to actually learn how to fish since it's super difficult when you start.

[@ajunishi]

all in all, winter time is the best time to get organized and stock up on resources!

[@LittleLondonCottages]

I take the time in the winter to go to Skull Caverns. Regardless of luck, I go, gather resources and it’s always fun to get treasure rooms. This helps out in spring because after I get my seeds planted, I make more of the processing machines and replant my wood farm. Stocking up on resources during winter really does help since there’s really nothing else to do, so you can stand idly by your furnaces smelting bars.

[@butterlord6868]

Winter is actually my favorite season since I can focus on other things other than farming.

[@meggle12]

Love this vid Sal!! Have around 400 hours in Stardew and didn’t know a couple of these tips

[@fulloflovelust9477]

It's my first time playing and winter is almost coming. Really helpful

[@rahxthehorror]

You can also fish! I absolutely hate fishing so dont tend to do alot of it, but focus on it alot during winter to get my fishing skills up

[@kenji1366]

I just started playing this game. So far I don't really know what I am doing, but it calms my mind.

[@worldsbiggestholdthegirlfan]

I love winter tbh, mining and fishing are kinda my addictions

[@jasperedwards7029]

Still doesn’t change the fact that I hate it

[@sandpiper327]

I just see winter as a vacation: I talk to the people of Pelican Town, to my family, enjoyine the atmosphere of this most beautiful time of the year

[@Gtzwickedest1]

I was just lost as to what to do now since I don’t have the green house and was just thinking about restarting. Thanks for the hope.

[@meganoreo1839]

Winter is the best season. Its so peaceful

[@pixlethevtuber]

Also, tree tapers and fruit bats still work in winter I made a lot of jam and pickles in winter

[@unappealingairbender]

A good one I like to do, if available is "Qi's Crop" due to there being empty fields ready for the seeds - and seed makers are usually about by winter with my games, so it works out if the quest pops up.

[@zazazaza5063]

i'm always on ginger island and growing winter seeds!! mining too. fun fun

[@valj137]

Winter is my favourite season in Stardew. I was so sad when Spring came and all the jarring colours came back lmao. The crops become such a chore after a while and having the greenhouse just adds to the weary tasks.

[@lequislea]

My winters are always busy since I take the extra time to farm coal in the mines, produce and process more of my crops in the jars and process my mushrooms into autumn seeds so I can make tea sprouts and sell them

[@TimeLady8]

You may not be able to buy seeds from Pierre, but you can buy them at the Winter Market. That's when I buy the seeds I need for ingredients for recipes I couldn't do early game.

[@t1bbers631]

I'm on my first year 3 days away from spring but I'll definitely comeback hahaha. Love the videos

[@tyhbvft1218]

fiber seeds are great in winter i plant them at the end of fall to keep my tilled ground secured and if i need any fiber i just cut them down and replace with more seeds. it needs a bit of a prep tho if you have a big farm to save up mixed seeds but to get a lot of fiber in the winter it works wonderfully eliminating the need to grind the mines just for fiber

[@demetertheduck]

I tend to fish a LOT during the winter season. It’s a great way to make money and I can do lots of upgrading once Spring starts

[@Shwethway98]

As an addendum to the winter foragables, you can actually make a ton of money in winter via them and the tea saplings. For 2 of those seeds, 5 finer and 5 wood you get 1 tea saplings (where you get the recipe from Caroline's two heart event), which sells for 500 gold. Each packet of winter seeds sells for 30 gold. Even if you have to buy the wood from Robin you'll be at a net profit. And hey you have a ton of open fields. Might as well make some money huh?

[@ShayBelladonna]

Going into winter soon do this is super helpful!

[@tewee3924]

I like winters, it's a break ☺️🥰

[@sweetnsoursis]

Thanks for the guide! These are always the best!

[@markm7776]

Fishing, crab pots, completing quests, building farm buildings, arcade machines to name a few additional activities.

[@DiamondEmpyrean8273]

I can still get animal products in the winter. I fish, fight monsters, go mining, and check on animals. Useful tip: On the VERY last day of winter, plant some grass starters. That will grow INSANE patches of grass on the first day of spring. I did this on my "animal yard" to keep my chickens and cows fed when they get out. (put a fence on one of the tiles with grass. That way, the grass can grow, but animals won't eat it.)

[@daddiwankenobi4456]

Very informative

[@shannonsmith924]

Being completely new to the game makes it interesting for the sake of trying to figure out everything and how to do it efficiently. I’ve planned out storing fish and things I’m unsure of if I need it. Figuring out what exactly to sell and what not to is difficult.

[@_laziest]

For me winter is the best season to upgrade tools,give birthday gifts, try to complete collections

[@daisysourcream13]

The night market is a must for first year. You can stock up on out of season crops on each night.

[@heather_bee]

I've been grinding another game currently but this makes me want to go back Stardew ❤

[@buzzelbee22]

I actually LOVE winter in Stardew. I feel like I focus on progression first rather than crops. I got nearly all the villagers up to max hearts in winter and upgraded as much as I could on the farm. My advice is to focus on upgrading coops and barns to max level so when spring comes you don't have to feed them because they do it automatically and you can focus on incubating eggs

[@scott8448]

With the grass tip a side note if you put 1 piece of grass down then put a sign or lightning rod down on the same square your animals can’t eat it so it will constantly spawn more grass all year then next spring put another in the same spot to keep animals fed 3/4 of the year for only 100 gold

[@spudrow2004]

This is usually my time for mining, upgrading my tools, and focus on fishing

[@SirenPandaSabo]

When I am in Winter Y1, I focus on tool upgrades (Watering Can and Hoe) and mining for the materials to upgrade them.