For most of Stardew Valley, your typical source of income would come from crops. However, during Winter, all crops can’t be planted, with the exception of wild seeds (Wi) and fiber seeds. However, while farming isn’t profitable during Winter, there is still plenty to do. Here is a list of what to do in Winter in Stardew Valley.
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Fishing and mining
These are two activities you can do outside of Winter. But because you no longer have to spend so much time tending to crops, you can spend more time fishing and mining.
Certain fish are also only available during the Winter, so you should make a note of catching them before the season ends.
Mining can also help your gather the necessary resources to upgrade your tools. Since you have a lot of free time now, you can delve deeper into the mines for precious ore.
If you have Skull Cave unlocked, you can even plan a deep trek for the rarest endgame ores.
Upgrade your watering can and hoe.
With more free time to spend in the mines, it’s also a good idea to upgrade your farming tools. Since it takes 2 days to upgrade a tool, you usually have to time the upgrades properly so you don’t miss out on too much farming.
However, since you don’t need to farm during Winter, you can safely upgrade your watering can and hoe at any time. This can significantly make the upcoming spring easier than last year’s.
Upgrade buildings
You can expand your house or your barns and coops. While this isn’t something you can only do during winter, you’ll have more time to gather the necessary supplies for the upgrades.
Furthermore, raising livestock is a good way to keep making money during the winter. Just be sure to install a heater in each barn and coop and keep them well fed.
Not having a heater installed will result in the animals’ mood decreasing every day during Winter.
Plan your farm layout for next year
What you can also do during Winter in Stardew Valley is begin planning the layout of your farming crops before Spring arrives. Since Winter pretty much clears out all of your crops, it’s a good idea to update your farm layouts.
Depending on your playstyle, you likely meshed in your sprinklers and new crops with your existing farm. Winter is a good opportunity to start from scratch and organize and optimize your crops for the new year.
Improve relationships
Once again, since you have more time now that you’re not farming, you can dedicate more time to improving relationships with the villagers.
This extra time will allow you to track down villagers more often and give them gifts. Even if you don’t give them gifts, just talking to them will give you a small increase in friendship.
Complete the Crafts Room in the Community Center
As with the other seasons, you can only find certain foraging items during the Winter. It would be a good idea to complete the Winter Foraging Bundle while you still can during the Winter.
Greenhouse farming
If you have unlocked the Greenhouse on your farm, you can continue farming some crops as normal. While the space is limited compared to the rest of the farm, it’s a good way to continue making money from farming.
Purchase special buildings from the Wizard’s Tower
The Wizard’s Tower offers a wide selection of useful endgame structures. These are Earth, Water, Desert, and Island Obelisks, Junimo Hunts, and Gold Clock.
The Obelisks are useful, as they give you free unlimited teleports to the mountains, beach, desert, and Ginger Island, respectively.
The Junimo Hut sends out Junimos to automatically harvest crops around the hut. The Gold Clock prevents debris from appearing on your farm. It also prevents your fences from decaying.
If you can’t purchase these buildings yet, you can still save up for them through the other activities during Winter.
