Stardew Valley Walkthrough: Year 1 Fall, the Fair, Floor 120 and Your First Barn

Part 2 of our Stardew Valley walkthrough covers Fall of Year 1, from Fall 1 to Fall 28 (version 1.6). Fall is usually your best money season, and it's the last chance to grow crops outdoors before Winter. Here's what to plant, the two festivals, the bundles to finish, how to reach the bottom of the mines and why now is the time for a Barn.

Stardew Valley walkthrough: ← Previous part  |  Next part →

The whole walkthrough

Day 1 of Fall: get ready

1. Summer crops died overnight, except corn and sunflowers, which keep growing. Clear the rest.
2. Buy Fall seeds at Pierre's on day 1. The earlier you plant, the more harvests you get.
3. Plant everything you can water. There are no outdoor crops in Winter, so Fall money has to carry you through the cold season.

Fall crops to plant

The key Fall crops at Pierre's in Year 1, with growth times for 1.6:

Pierre also sells yam, bok choy, wheat, sunflower and fairy rose seeds in Fall. You need one yam for the Fall Crops Bundle, so plant a few. Artichoke seeds only appear at Pierre's from Year 2.

A plan that works:

• Fall 1: plant cranberries if you can afford them. Planted on day 1, they give you several harvests before Fall ends.
• Same day: plant a block of pumpkins. Pumpkins planted on Fall 1 are ready on Fall 14, so you can replant and harvest again on Fall 27.
• Bundle crops: at least one eggplant, one yam, one pumpkin and your corn. If you want the Quality Crops Bundle, use Quality Fertilizer on some pumpkins and corn for gold ones.
• Keep a few wheat for the Fodder Bundle (it needs 10 wheat). Wheat grows in Summer and Fall.

Fall festivals and dates

• Fall 16: Stardew Valley Fair in Pelican Town (9am to 3pm). Set up a Grange Display with 9 different high quality items from different categories (crops, fruit, fish, artisan goods, minerals and so on). Placing well earns Star Tokens. You also earn tokens from the mini games. The big prize in the token shop is a Stardrop, which raises your max energy for good. Grab it in Year 1 if you can afford it.
• Fall 27: Spirit's Eve, at night (from 10pm). Find the haunted maze and walk through it. A Golden Pumpkin waits in a chest inside the maze.

Plan your Fair display a week ahead. Keep your best fish, a gold crop or two, a gem and an artisan good like cheese or jelly in a chest so they're ready on the day.

Community Center bundles for Fall

• Fall Crops Bundle (Pantry): corn, eggplant, pumpkin, yam.
• Fall Foraging Bundle (Crafts Room): common mushroom, wild plum, hazelnut, blackberry. Blackberry season is Fall 8 to 11, when the bushes all over the map are full.
• Quality Crops Bundle: 5 gold pumpkins or 5 gold corn can fill your remaining slots.
• Fish Tank: Fall is good for walleye (rainy nights), tiger trout in the river, and eel in the ocean on rainy nights. Check the TV for rain and plan night fishing trips.
• Bulletin Board: the Field Research Bundle needs a purple mushroom (the mines and later the Farm Cave) and a Frozen Geode (frozen floors 40 to 79).

Mine goals for Fall: reach floor 120

Fall is the season to finish the mines. Aim to reach floor 120 before Winter. At the bottom you get the Skull Key, which opens the Skull Cavern in the desert once the bus is fixed.

• Upgrade your weapon from chests and the Adventurer's Guild before the lava floors (80 to 119). Monsters hit much harder there.
• Bring lots of food. Cranberry or pumpkin dishes and foraged mushrooms help.
• Collect gold ore on the lava floors. You need a gold bar for the Blacksmith's Bundle and gold for tool upgrades.
• Look for Fire Quartz (Geologist's Bundle) and Solar or Void Essence (Adventurer's Bundle) as you go.
• Count your museum donations. At 60 donated items, Gunther gives you the Rusty Key to the sewers.

Buildings to aim for

• Barn (6,000g, 350 wood, 150 stone): cows give milk, and large milk fills the Animal Bundle. Build it early in Fall so your cow grows up before Winter.
• Big Coop: lets you buy ducks. A duck egg and a duck feather are both bundle items (Animal and Dye).
• Kegs and Preserves Jars: the Artisan Bundle rewards a Keg and the Quality Crops Bundle a Preserves Jar. Turning fruit into Wine or Jelly is how you make big money from Year 2.
• House upgrade (10,000g, 450 wood): adds a kitchen, so you can cook. Cooked food is the best healing in the mines.

Tips for this part

• Plant on Fall 1. Every day you wait costs you a harvest.
• Rain is a free day. Use it for the mines or for rainy-day fish like walleye and eel.
• Keep 3 apples, 10 wheat and 10 hay for the Fodder Bundle. Apples come from an apple tree or the Traveling Cart.
• Don't sell your last gold pumpkin or gold corn until the Quality Crops Bundle is done.
• On Fall 28, everything outside dies. Harvest it all before you sleep.

My take

Fall is when Stardew finally "clicks" for me. Cranberries pay for everything, the Fair is the best festival in the game, and reaching floor 120 feels like a real milestone. I always buy the Stardrop at the Fair in Year 1 because the extra energy pays off forever. Did you make it to the bottom of the mines in your first Fall?

FAQ

What is the best Fall crop in Stardew Valley?

Cranberries for steady money if planted on Fall 1, and pumpkins for big single harvests. Grapes are great if you plan to make Wine.

What should I put in my Grange Display?

Nine different items from different categories, all as high quality as you can. Gold crops, a good fish, a gem or mineral, an artisan good, an animal product and a foraged item is a strong mix.

How do I get to the Skull Cavern?

Reach floor 120 of the mines to get the Skull Key, then repair the bus by finishing the Vault in the Community Center (or buying it from Joja). The bus takes you to the Calico Desert, where the cavern is.

Do crops survive into Winter?

No. All outdoor Fall crops die when Winter starts. Only the Greenhouse, indoor pots and Winter Seeds work in Winter.

Stardew Valley walkthrough: ← Previous part  |  Next part →