Do you want to have the spikiest foraging item in your inventory? Cactus Fruit (C.F.) is one of many exotic goods you can find in the wild. We’ll help track and harvest it and teach you what it can do for you in this guide!
Calico Desert is the most inhabitable place for common crops in Stardew Valley. You’ll only spot Cacti, Palm Trees, a Sand Dragon wanting his final meal, mysterious pillars, the Skull Cavern, and Sandy’s Shop (the Oasis). However, there’s a decent foraged good you’ll get – one of them is Cactus Fruit.
Ever wondered why it’s edible? We’ll answer everything in this guide about its origins, ways to multiply them, and their uses.
What is a Cactus Fruit?
This exotic good is a combination of both fruit and foraged item. Despite being a prickly pear cactus, it’s sweet, and you won’t get any debuff upon consumption. Here are its healing effects
| Quality | Energy | Health |
| Normal | +75 | +33 |
| Silver | +105 | +47 |
| Gold | +135 | +60 |
| Iridium | +195 | +87 |
How to Find a Cactus Fruit?
In early-game, you can only get this item from the Calico Desert. It’s available upon first access and will respawn eventually. It’s best to have the Tracker profession to find them easily. However, there are three more methods of obtaining the prickly fruit:
- Sandy’s Oasis Shop – Costs 150g and is available daily.
- Traveling Cart – Sold for 225g-1000g.
- Cactus Seeds – Grow its seeds indoors using Garden Pots from Evelyn. You’ll need to wait 12 days for maturity and initial harvest and three days afterward. Also applicable to the Greenhouse and Ginger Island Farm (although not ideal)
Since cultivation is the best way (especially in the late game), consider speeding things up. Here’s a comparison using all Speed-Gro fertilizers, Agriculturist, and both
| Fertilizer | Growth Percentage (%) | No. of Days | Growth Percentage with Agriculturist (%) | No. Of Days with Agriculturist |
| Speed-Gro | 10% | 11 | 20% | 10 |
| Deluxe Speed-Gro | 25% | 10 | 35% | 8 |
| Hyper Speed-Gro | 33% | 9 | 43% | 7 |
Note that the profession and growth fertilizers won’t affect its yield rate after its first maturity and harvest. An ideal place to have the setup is Shed, where you can place Sprinklers to automate the process.
Selling Prices
While its rarity gradually decreases as soon as you have its seeds, the price stays the same. It sells decently in its raw version, but it’s the opposite for its Artisan Goods. You can place the fruit in Preserves Jars and Kegs to turn them into Wine or Jelly.
| Quality | Selling Prices | With Tiller | Wine | Wine with Artisan | Jelly | Jelly with Artisan |
| Normal | 75g | 82g | 225g | 315g | 200g | 280g |
| Silver | 93g | 102g | 281g | 393g | ||
| Gold | 112g | 123g | 337g | 471g | ||
| Iridium | 150g | 165g | 450g | 630g |
Building
The foraged fruit is an ingredient to build a tower that warps you to the Calico Desert. Here’s the recipe:
| Building | Farmland Tiles Occupied | Cost |
| Desert Obelisk | 3×2 | • Cactus Fruit (1) • Coconut (10) • Iridium Bar (20) • 1,000,000g |
Tailoring
Placing a piece of cloth and C.F. at the spool of the Sewing Machine will result in a dyeable 80’s Shirt. Moreover, you can use the material as a green dye at Dye Pots.
Gifting
This is the best item for increasing affinity with Linus, Pam, and Sam.
Quests
You can use the prickly fruit to complete two quests:
- Help Wanted at Pierre’s General Store. Available after completing the Vault Bundle (which unlocks the Bus Stop and Calico Desert access in Stardew Valley). Giving a piece to any villager who made the request will reward you 225g and 150 Friendship points.
- Fish Pond Quest. C.F. (3) will be requested by Sandfish or Scorpion Carp to increase the pond’s capacity from three to five.
Bundles
Completing the Exotic Foraging bundle at the Crafts Room requires this item. However, it’s optional for the Bulletin Board when finishing the remixed Dye Bundle (both at the Community Center).
