Crop Symmetry

[Amethyst's]

Hi All,
I've recently began playing Stardew Valley and really enjoying it. There is just one thing that bugs the crap out of me so far...
I see all these photos and videos of others planting crops in 3x3 and I can't figure out how this is being done???
The spots it allows me to plant seems to be very random and it doesn't change the spots I can plant in by standing right next to the spot or standing a bit away.
Is there a special fertilizer or something that allows you to plant things in any square? Or another method that I am missing?
I am currently playing on PC on the Standard Farm.
Short Video on what I mean by not being able to plant as I would wish: https://youtube.com/shorts/InRIncEFQIg
Thanks.

 

[Bark Ruffalo]

I'm not sure why you can't. The 3x3 square is how far the farmer can reach without walking, just turning.

 

[Lew Zealand]

OK this is just a guess but:

1. you may not be Hoeing/tilling the ground first and you're only accessing previously tilled spots
2. you're playing a Farm map that has significantly restricted tillable spots, like Hilltop or Riverland, even Forest has a number of non-tillable spots

Start with the regular Farm Map and you should be able to Hoe almost all the spots on the map and then plant your crops in any shape or location that you want. Which Farm Map are you using?

 

[Amethyst's]

OK this is just a guess but:

1. you may not be Hoeing/tilling the ground first and you're only accessing previously tilled spots
2. you're playing a Farm map that has significantly restricted tillable spots, like Hilltop or Riverland, even Forest has a number of non-tillable spots

Start with the regular Farm Map and you should be able to Hoe almost all the spots on the map and then plant your crops in any shape or location that you want. Which Farm Map are you using?

Yeah I am hoeing the ground first and its still very random. I am on the basic farm map. Nothing special.

 

[Lew Zealand]

If you're Hoeing the ground successfully, you should be able to plant any typical crop in those Hoed spots as long as those seeds are in Season. So if it's Spring, you should be able to Hoe a 3x3 spot and plant 9 Parsnip or Cauliflower, etc. seeds there. But no Melon or Pumpkin seeds in Spring. Are all your seeds for the right Season?

Also, just to be clear (lol literally), are you Scything the Weeds, Pickaxeing the Rocks, and Chopping the Wood to clear out those spaces to Hoe? Sorry if I'm being simplistic here!

 

[Amethyst's]

If you're Hoeing the ground successfully, you should be able to plant any typical crop in those Hoed spots as long as those seeds are in Season. So if it's Spring, you should be able to Hoe a 3x3 spot and plant 9 Parsnip or Cauliflower, etc. seeds there. But no Melon or Pumpkin seeds in Spring. Are all your seeds for the right Season?

Also, just to be clear (lol literally), are you Scything the Weeds, Pickaxeing the Rocks, and Chopping the Wood to clear out those spaces to Hoe? Sorry if I'm being simplistic here!

Yes I'm doing all of that. The seeds are for the correct season. I'm at the end of the fall season in the first year and have been trying to figure this out for 3 seasons.
I've cleared out all the trees and stumps and rocks that I can. I still have the giant rocks and stumps because I have copper axe and mining pick and need to upgrade to be able to get rid of those. I only have a few trees left on the property which I left for tapping syrup. All weeds and everything are gone.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Wow, this sounds like a bug in your game at this time, I don't have anything else of insight as I haven't seen where you can't plant in an available spot. Sometimes when playing on Switch I have problems directing the game to plant in the exact spot where I want to plant (OK more than sometimes, a lot), but I'm always able to plant something season-appropriate in a tilled spot. I don't know what to suggest next other than to try a new save and see if you can plant those 15 first day Parsnip seeds in a nice 3x5 or 4x4 (minus 1) array to see if the problem persists on a new save.

 

[Amethyst's]

Wow, this sounds like a bug in your game at this time, I don't have anything else of insight as I haven't seen where you can't plant in an available spot. Sometimes when playing on Switch I have problems directing the game to plant in the exact spot where I want to plant (OK more than sometimes, a lot), but I'm always able to plant something season-appropriate in a tilled spot. I don't know what to suggest next other than to try a new save and see if you can plant those 15 first day Parsnip seeds in a nice 3x5 or 4x4 (minus 1) array to see if the problem persists on a new save.

Thanks for your insight. I appreciate you trying to help.

 

[Amethyst's]

I added in a short video on what I mean by not being able to plant:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com

My main farm is doing this and I made a brand new one just to be sure it isn't bugging out and its doing the same thing.

 

[Elenna101]

I added in a short video on what I mean by not being able to plant:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com

My main farm is doing this and I made a brand new one just to be sure it isn't bugging out and its doing the same thing.

You can only plant in spots next to or underneath where your farmer is standing. Try walking up to beside the spots where you want to plant.

 

[Amethyst's]

You can only plant in spots next to or underneath where your farmer is standing. Try walking up to beside the spots where you want to plant.

it doesn't matter, it does the same thing whether I'm standing on the spot or in the vicinity of the spot...

 

[astatine210]

Okay so just to be sure, when you move forward to be beside the spots without seeds, you still can't plant the seeds? i.e. in the example video, you are standing 2 tiles away from the red tile; if you, let's just say, stand on the tile you just planted seeds on, do the tilled seedless tiles turn green?

 

[Amethyst's]

Okay so just to be sure, when you move forward to be beside the spots without seeds, you still can't plant the seeds? i.e. in the example video, you are standing 2 tiles away from the red tile; if you, let's just say, stand on the tile you just planted seeds on, do the tilled seedless tiles turn green?

No they don't...I wish the solution was that simple.

 

[Elenna101]

No they don't...I wish the solution was that simple.

Interesting! Can you show a video of that, maybe? Because the behaviour in the video you showed above seems entirely normal to me.
I.e. in the video there are only three tilled spots next to you that you should be able to plant in, and you're able to plant in all three of them. Maybe show yourself moving next to the spots you can't plant in and then trying again?

 

[Jayamos]

Agreeing with @Elenna101, what the video shows is what Elenna101 suggested, it’s letting you plant in the 3 hoed tiles next to the farmer. What happens when you walk out into the plot?

 

[LRangerR]

Looks normal to me. Have you seen videos or maybe friends somewhere where they have been able to plant in larger areas than normal? Perhaps they were using mods?

 

[Lew Zealand]

Interesting! Can you show a video of that, maybe? Because the behaviour in the video you showed above seems entirely normal to me.
I.e. in the video there are only three tilled spots next to you that you should be able to plant in, and you're able to plant in all three of them. Maybe show yourself moving next to the spots you can't plant in and then trying again?

I was going to post more, but it's exactly what Elenna101 said. The behavior in your video looks normal and it would be interesting for you to stand in the middle of that tilled space and see where you get the green plantable spaces and where you get the red spaces that are too far away to plant in.

 

[Tom]

You have to walk around and plant around your farmer. The same goes for watering etc. You can't just click anywhere.

 

[FilthyGorilla]

No they don't...I wish the solution was that simple.

You do not need to use the mouse to plant, you can hold down the button and walk over the desired spot, can you try that for us?

 

[NewSpin]

Just in case this might help... there's a setting in the options menu (controller icon when you open the menu) to turn on "Always Show Tool Hit Location" and "Hide Tool Hit Location When Moving"

If you haven't looked at these options yet it might help. I do feel like the placement for seed planting is a little more "at your feet and maybe slightly in front of you" versus the hoe being very much in front of you and never at your feet (on controller at least, which is what I prefer although I'm on PC).

Aside from that, maybe there's some kind of zoom or other feature on your PC rather than in the game that is making the game think your cursor is not where you think it is.