Foraging in Stardew Valley is one of the five essential skills you can level up as you progress through the game. The other four skills include (a) Farming; (b) Mining; (c) Combat; and (d) Fishing. Click through here to find a bonafide fishing guide! Each skill has a visible maximum of ten levels. Click here to find an overview of all the skills. This guide will help you reach level 10 foraging in Stardew Valley.
Have you been foraging the forests and mountains of Stardew Valley dry but aren’t leveling up as much as you want to? Have you been wanting that rain totem recipe or, have you been eyeing the Botanist profession but can’t reach level 10 Foraging fast enough? Certainly, this guide is just for you!
This guide will go over what constitutes foraging in Stardew Valley, how many experience points or XP from each foraging action do you get, and what’s the most efficient way to reach level 10 foraging in Stardew Valley.
How Do I Level Up Foraging:
What is considered foraging in Stardew Valley?
Stardew Valley is rich in resources and free riches if you know where to look!
- Picking fruits or vegetables off the ground is the easiest kind of foraging. Every season has its own set of forageables. Spring: Spring Onion, Leek, Daffodil, Dandelion, and Wild horseradish. Summer: Sweet Pea, Spice Berry, and Grapes. Fall: Hazelnut, Common Mushroom, and Wild Plum. Each season also has different forageables in the Secret Woods as well as bush berries.
- Chopping down trees is another kind of foraging, but it needs energy and an axe. Any tree, wild or fruit, qualifies as foraging when chopped down. Removing stumps also counts.
- Harvesting produces grown from Wild Seeds is one that most people forget about. As long as they’re planted on the farm and not a garden pot, then it counts as foraging.
- Fruits from the Fruit Bat Farm Cave qualify as foraging; however, Mushrooms from the Mushroom Farm Cave don’t.
- Forageables from the Mines like Red Mushrooms, Purple Mushrooms, and Fiddlehead Ferns count as foraging.
How many XP do I get from foraging?
To level up your foraging skill you need to know which foraging action gives the most amount of experience points or XP.
| FORAGING ACTION | XP |
| Removing the tree stump after chopping down a tree | 1 |
| Each Spring Onion harvested from Cindersap Forest in Spring | 3 |
| Picking up forageables from the ground | 7 |
| Harvesting items grown from Wild Seeds | 7 |
| Harvesting Truffles from the ground (from Pigs in a Barn) | 7 |
| Fruit collected from the Fruit Bat Farm Cave (if chosen) | 7 |
| Foraging in the Mines and Skull Cavern | 7 |
| Chopping down a tree with an Axe | 12 |
| Removing Large Stumps and Large Logs | 25 |
However, some actions don’t qualify as foraging and thus, don’t give you experience points. Listed below are actions that do not level up your foraging skill in Stardew Valley:
- Blackberries and Salmonberries picked from bushes during Spring and Fall.
- Bombing Trees unless weakened by the bomb and chopped down using an Axe after.
- Forageables dug from Artifact Spots like Snow Yams and Winter Roots.
- Forageables grown in Garden Pots.
- Grapes grown from Grape Starters.
- Mushrooms collected from Farm Cave. (if chosen)
- Mushrooms harvested from a Tree Tapper.
- Forageables gained from a slain Monster.
- Digging Gingers from the ground.
What do I get from Foraging?
Foraging is a necessary skill to upgrade in Stardew Valley because it can give you many things in return.
- It’s free money! In early-game especially, you need a lot of money to progress. Foraging is basically picking stuff up from the ground and selling it at no cost to your money and energy, just your time!
- Unlock Crafting Recipes! A lot of items in the game can only be obtained by crafting certain equipment or special items in the Crafting tab. Some recipes can only be unlocked by leveling up your foraging skill. So get chopping!
- Useful resources! Wood is a precious resource in the game, especially if you’re too proud or frugal to buy from Robin. You will use wood in almost every recipe or building construction in great quantities. Chopping wood is definitely a great investment for your time and energy.
How do I reach Level 10 Foraging quicker?
Now that you know which actions qualify as foraging and how many experience points you gain from performing them— let’s talk about reaching Level 10 Foraging fast!
If you’re playing Stardew Valley as efficiently as possible, then planning out your days is key. I think dedicating certain days for foraging is essential for early and late gameplay.
If there’s nothing much else to do on your farm, go to Cindersap Forest and forage! Chop down some trees and their stumps and pick up any forageable you see on the ground. If you’ve unlocked the Secret Woods, it’s also a good idea to go there and remove all the large hardwood stumps. These give you the most XP, as seen in the table above.
If there’s still space on your farm and you’ve harvested this season’s crops already, it might be a good idea to plant some Wild Seeds. You get some XP for harvesting from Wild Seeds and you can sell them after, so they’re a good investment! They’re not that hard to acquire or make either.
If you’re trying to level up your Mining and Combat skills in the Mines and Skull Cavern, you might as well level up your Foraging while you’re at it. You get XP everytime you pick up Red Mushrooms, Purple Mushrooms, and Fiddlehead Ferns down in the mines.
These are just some ways you can reach Level 10 Foraging in Stardew Valley without impacting or hindering your gameplay too much. Foraging is a very useful skill in the game and you would do well to level it up as early and as much as you c
