How to Get a Lot of Ancient Seeds in Stardew Valley
The key to getting a lot of Ancient Seeds in Stardew Valley lies in maximizing your opportunities to find them, efficiently using the Seed Maker, and strategically utilizing Ancient Fruit production. This involves monster hunting in specific areas like the Mutant Bug Lair and the Mines, tilling soil on the Forest Farm, and consistently processing Ancient Fruit into seeds via the Seed Maker. Careful planning, dedication, and a bit of luck are essential to transforming your farm into an Ancient Fruit empire.
Understanding the Ancient Seed
Before diving into the methods, it’s crucial to understand what we’re dealing with. The Ancient Seed is a rare artifact that, when donated to the Museum, unlocks the Ancient Seeds crafting recipe and provides you with a plantable Ancient Seed pack. This is the beginning of your journey. Ancient Fruit, grown from Ancient Seeds, is a highly profitable crop that produces fruit every seven days after an initial growth period. Therefore, multiplying your seed supply becomes paramount.
Methods for Finding Ancient Seeds
Securing your initial Ancient Seed requires dedication and persistence. Several avenues offer chances to discover this valuable artifact.
Monster Hunting
Certain monsters have a chance to drop Ancient Seeds upon defeat. The most effective hunting grounds include:
- The Mines (Levels 1-39): Grubs and Bugs are common enemies here, and although their drop rate is low, they are easily defeated in large numbers, increasing your overall chances.
- The Mutant Bug Lair: This location, accessible after completing a specific quest, is populated with Mutant Flies and Grubs that have a significantly higher chance of dropping Ancient Seeds compared to their counterparts in the Mines. Farm this area repeatedly.
- The Sewers: Similar to the Mutant Bug Lair, the Sewers offer a decent chance for enemies to drop the seed.
Tilling Soil
Tilling soil, especially in specific locations, can uncover Ancient Seeds.
- The Mines and Quarry: Digging in the dirt patches here can yield artifacts, including the elusive Ancient Seed.
- Forest Farm: The Forest Farm layout includes diggable patches of soil that are more likely to contain artifacts than the standard farm layouts. Focus your tilling efforts here.
Fishing Treasure Chests
While less reliable, fishing treasure chests occasionally contain artifacts, including the Ancient Seed. Improving your fishing skill and using tackle that increases treasure chest appearance will improve your odds.
Maximizing Seed Production
Once you have your initial Ancient Seeds and have grown Ancient Fruit, the real seed multiplication begins.
The Seed Maker
The Seed Maker is your primary tool for converting Ancient Fruit into more Ancient Seeds. This device, unlocked at Farming level 9, takes a crop and produces 1-3 seeds of that crop. There’s a chance of getting Mixed Seeds instead, so be aware of this. However, using the Seed Maker on Ancient Fruit is the most reliable way to increase your seed count.
- Consistent Use: Dedicate a significant portion of your Ancient Fruit harvest to seed production. The more fruit you process, the more seeds you’ll generate.
- Planning Ahead: Calculate how many seeds you need to plant the desired area and adjust your seed production accordingly.
Preserves Jars and Kegs – A Balancing Act
While Ancient Fruit wine is highly profitable, it’s crucial to prioritize seed production in the early stages. Resist the urge to process all your fruit into wine. Once you’ve reached a point where you have enough seeds to continually expand your Ancient Fruit crop, then start focusing on wine production with the surplus.
Optimizing Ancient Fruit Growth
Efficient farming practices maximize your Ancient Fruit yield, which in turn fuels seed production.
Greenhouse
The Greenhouse is the ultimate Ancient Fruit growing location. It provides year-round growing conditions, eliminating seasonal restrictions. Filling the Greenhouse with Ancient Fruit is a significant step towards an Ancient Fruit empire.
Fertilizer
Using fertilizer, especially Deluxe Speed-Gro, accelerates Ancient Fruit growth. This allows you to harvest more frequently, leading to more fruit for seed production.
Ginger Island
Unlocking Ginger Island allows you to cultivate Ancient Fruit outdoors year-round. This significantly expands your growing capacity, providing a massive boost to both seed production and profit generation. The use of Deluxe retaining soil can avoid having to constantly fertilize your plants.
Tips for Efficient Farming
- Skull Cavern Runs: While not directly related to finding the initial seed, Skull Cavern runs can provide valuable resources like Iridium Ore and Ancient Seeds from treasure rooms, essential for crafting sprinklers and Seed Makers.
- Automated Sprinklers: Invest in quality sprinklers (Iridium Sprinklers are ideal) to automate watering, freeing up time for other activities like monster hunting and Seed Maker management.
- Save Seeds: If you find an Ancient Seed during the first year, save it, donate it to Gunther and then plant the Ancient Seed on Spring 1 of Year 2. This will give you the greatest possible return of the Ancient Seed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the drop rate of Ancient Seeds from monsters?
The exact drop rate varies, but it’s generally considered low. Grubs and Bugs have a lower chance than Mutant Flies and Grubs in the Mutant Bug Lair, estimated to be around 0.5% – 1% for the Mines and 10% in the Mutant Bug Lair.
2. Is it possible to find Ancient Seeds in garbage cans?
No, Ancient Seeds cannot be found in garbage cans.
3. How do I unlock the Mutant Bug Lair?
You unlock the Mutant Bug Lair by completing the “Dark Talisman” quest, given to you by the Wizard. This requires retrieving a talisman from the Mutant Bug Lair located near the entrance to the sewers in Cindersap Forest.
4. Can I plant Ancient Seeds in all seasons?
Ancient Seeds can be planted in Spring, Summer, and Fall. However, they will continue to produce fruit throughout all seasons if planted in the Greenhouse or on Ginger Island.
5. What is the best fertilizer for Ancient Fruit?
Deluxe Speed-Gro is the most effective fertilizer as it reduces the growth time by 25%, leading to more harvests per year.
6. How long does it take for Ancient Fruit to grow initially?
Ancient Fruit takes 28 days to grow initially, but after that, it produces fruit every 7 days.
7. Is it better to sell Ancient Fruit or make wine?
In the early stages, prioritizing seed production is more beneficial. Once you have enough seeds, converting surplus Ancient Fruit into wine using Kegs provides a significant profit boost.
8. Can I use the Seed Maker to get more rare seeds?
Yes, the Seed Maker can be used to get more rare seeds, including Ancient Seeds. However, there is a chance you will instead receive Mixed Seeds.
9. How many Ancient Fruit plants should I have?
The ideal number depends on your goals and available space. A good starting point is filling the Greenhouse and expanding onto Ginger Island as you unlock it. Aim for enough production to continuously replant and still have surplus for wine.
10. Does my Farming level affect the Seed Maker’s output?
No, your Farming level doesn’t directly influence the number of seeds produced by the Seed Maker, but the level is necessary to unlock the recipe.
11. Is there a way to guarantee getting Ancient Seeds from the Seed Maker?
Unfortunately, there’s no way to guarantee an Ancient Seed output. It’s based on a percentage chance. Therefore, the more fruit you put in, the better your overall yield will be.
12. Can crows eat Ancient Fruit crops?
Yes, crows can eat Ancient Fruit crops if they are not protected by scarecrows. Make sure to protect your fields with scarecrows, especially early on. Deluxe scarecrows have an even wider coverage.
13. Are there any mods that can help me get more Ancient Seeds?
Yes, some mods increase the drop rate of Ancient Seeds from monsters or improve the Seed Maker’s output. However, using mods may affect the game’s balance and experience.
14. What’s the best strategy for using Ancient Seeds in the first year?
If you find an Ancient Seed in Year 1, donate it to the museum to receive the crafting recipe, save the seed provided by Gunther, and then plant the Ancient Seed pack on Spring 1 of Year 2. This will give you the greatest possible return of the Ancient Seed.
15. How do I get to Ginger Island?
You unlock Ginger Island by helping Willy repair his boat at the back of his Fish Shop. This requires completing several quests involving gathering resources.