As with any game where farming is a major mechanic, Stardew Valley requires players to track the season and the date. Once you start planting crops and other vegetation, you’ll quickly learn that even the fastest ones take at least several days to mature. Considering that there are only so many days in a season, you really do need to make the most of your farm plots to maximize growth, variety, and profit.
Luckily, the game provides multiple ways to keep an eye on the date and time so that you can plan your farming activities more efficiently. It can also help you track upcoming events and prepare for certain kinds of weather. This guide will explain how to check the season, the date, the time, and everything else a simple farmer needs to get the most out of the game.
How to Check Season and Date
Even though it’s a game, Stardew Valley takes some of real life into its system. The most notable is the concept of seasons, dates, and days of the week. There are seven days (Monday to Friday) and four seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter). However, the seasons also serve as the only months you’ll experience, meaning that each one only lasts one month. They’re broken up into 28-day groups, meaning each one lasts for exactly four weeks.
You can track the passage of time from the very start of the game in your HUD. In the top right corner of the screen is your date tracker. It shows the day and date, the time of day, the weather, the current season, and the exact time. You can watch as the day progresses on the little half-dial with the arrow starting at the bottom and moving to the top.
Using the HUD is the best way to check the season in Stardew Valley. A small icon is displayed in the HUD to let you know which season you’re in. The Spring season icon is a pink flower; Summer is represented by a sailboat; Autumn by a fallen leaf; and Winter shows a small holly.
How to Get a Calendar
While the HUD tracker is very useful and effective at tracking and informing you of the date and time, there’s no harm in a little extra tracking. You can do this by getting your hands on a calendar early on.
There’s a public calendar hanging at the front of Pierre’s General Store which you can check anytime you want. If you want your own, you can buy a calendar from Robin for around 2,000 Gold. If you’ve upgraded the Farmhouse, you can buy the Furniture Catalog for 200,000 Gold and pick out the calendar from it for no price.
After you get one, you can hang it up on one of the walls in your house as Decor. You can check it by going up to it and interacting with it. It will show you the current month you’re in with the current date highlighted. It’ll also track upcoming events and even Villagers’ birthdays which is good if you’re looking to build your relationships.
Remember, Some Areas Don’t Have Seasons
Despite the changes that each season brings with it, there are certain places around the land that will be completely unaffected. It goes without saying that all dungeon areas like the Mines and Skull Caverns won’t change with the seasons. Other regions, like Ginger Island and Calico Desert, will also stay the same, being tropical and desert climates respectively. The seasons are most influential for you and your Farm since certain crops, fish, and foraged items will only appear during some seasons.
However, you can bypass the crop requirements by unlocking the Greenhouse. This is done by completing the Pantry Bundles in the Community Center or by buying it from the Joja Warehouse for 35,000 Gold. The Greenhouse lets you grow any plants at any time of year which is particularly effective for some of the more valuable and demanding crops.
Frequently Asked Questions
