Pelican Town
Guides for every part of life in Pelican Town, from your first parsnips to the bottom of the Skull Cavern. Start with Year 1, one season at a time, then move on to the best crops, the Community Center bundles, fishing, mining, money and marriage. Every guide is written for version 1.6.
Last updated: October 2026 · Written for version 1.6
Use the sections below to find the right Stardew Valley guide. New farmers should start with Getting started and Year 1 seasons. Already a few years in? Jump to Ginger Island or Mining and Skull Cavern.
Your first year sets up everything that comes after it. Learn the basics, pick the farm map that suits you, then follow our plan for each season of Year 1.
Parsnips, strawberries and the Egg Festival
Blueberries, melons and the Luau
Cranberries, pumpkins and the Fair
The Night Market, the Mines and Winter Star
Most of your gold will come from the soil. These guides compare the crops for each season, then cover what makes a big farm possible: sprinklers, fertilizer and the greenhouse.
Kegs and preserves jars turn a harvest into far more gold, and happy animals give better products. Here is how to run both.
Fixing up the old Community Center is the big goal of the early game. Track every bundle, or compare it with the Joja route before you choose.
Fishing is one of the quickest ways to earn gold early on, once the minigame clicks. Learn the basics, pick the right rod, then go after the legendary fish.
The Mines have 120 floors of ore, gems and monsters. Reach the bottom to get the Skull Key, which opens the Skull Cavern in the desert, the best place to farm iridium.
Repair Willy’s boat and a tropical island opens up, with Golden Walnuts to find, a volcano to climb and Mr. Qi’s challenges waiting for you.
Earn more gold, choose the right professions and find out who to marry. Our gift guide shows the presents that almost everyone in town loves.
New guides show up here as soon as they go live.
Stardew Valley is a farming and life game made by ConcernedApe. It came out on PC in February 2016. You take over your grandfather’s old farm near Pelican Town, then grow crops, raise animals, fish, explore the mines and make friends with the people in town. New to the game? Start with our beginner’s guide.
The current version is 1.6. It arrived on PC in March 2024 and added the Meadowlands Farm, new festivals, new items and a lot of new dialogue. All of our Stardew Valley guides are written for version 1.6.
Plant the 15 parsnip seeds you start with, water them every morning and clear only the land you need. Check the TV for the weather, fish when you run low on gold, and start on the Community Center bundles in spring. At the Egg Festival on Spring 13, buy strawberry seeds and plant them the next morning. Our Spring Year 1 guide has the full plan.
Each season lasts 28 days, so one in-game year is 112 days. Most crops die when the season changes, so check how many days a crop needs to grow before you plant it late in the month.
Both routes fix up the valley, including the minecarts, the bus to the desert and the greenhouse. The Community Center asks for items in bundles and gives you a reward for each one. Joja asks for gold instead: a 5,000g membership, then a fee for each project. Our Community Center vs Joja guide compares the two.
