TIP: Slightly different timing for strawberries in Spring year 1

Squigglyruth

Planter
I just tried out a different crop schedule in Spring Year 1, and was very pleased with the results. Please note I have only tried this once, and I normally like to test things multiple times before posting them as a tip. However, I obtained significantly improved results over my normal strawberry strategy (which can be viewed at https://community.playstarbound.com/threads/starting-out-with-strawberries.159648/), and I am about to have to start teaching again so I'm unlikely to get a chance to retest it myself in the near future. I am therefore sharing it in case anyone else wants to test it out. I would welcome any thoughts: was I just lucky, or is this a good way to play?

What I planted:
Day 1: 13 parsnips (about half from mixed seeds), 1 cauli (from mixed seeds), 1 green bean (bought from Pierre).
At some point from day 5- day 8: 6 rice shoots next to water, plus 3 mixed seeds, one of which gave me a potato (the other two were parsnips).
Day 8 (rainy day): 200 parsnips.
Day 12: 200 parsnips.
Day 13: 20 strawberries on speed-gro from the community centre. Annoyingly, I missed putting down one of the speed-gro.
Day 15 (rainy day): 100 strawberries.
Day 16: 196 strawberries and 9 cauliflower (from the museum). I was left with 6 strawberry seeds that I didn't have time to plant, and two of the ones I planted were on unwatered plots.
Day 22: 24 parsnips.
(There might also have been 2 or 3 other mixed seeds at some point, and definitely 3 more rice when I harvested the first 3).

What did this achieve?
Farming 6 by day 16 in time for planting most of the strawberries. That takes 413 parsnips. It's almost as if you are meant to plant 13, then 200, then replant the 200.
11 quality sprinklers in place by the end of day 16 , because I had had time to get down to level 80 in the mines.
Average of 11 sprinklers each day for a few days from then (higher initially, then I slowed down once all my crops were covered within 4 days; I sped up again at the end of the season to have more ready for summer).
Farming 10 by the end of spring, giving Agriculturalist for summer.
67 sprinklers for the start of summer (58 already made an in place; 9 made on summer 1 without hassle.)
Tonnes of strawberries ready to sell - I cashed in about 37000g to pay for summer crops, but that left me more than 45000g just sat there in strawberries (and there was a lot of other stuff available to sell as well).
Enough cash floating around to pay for upgrading my axe and pickaxe to steel by mid-season. I didn't do any upgrades before the Egg Festival, but was able then to do them rapidly because I was still harvesting parsnips. Normally that bit of the month sees no money coming in from farming.
I only had to dig about 300 plots during spring, and the maximum I watered in a single day was about 230.
I had parsnips available to eat from day 12 onwards, just when I needed the extra energy.

Why was this good?
I think it's the efficient use of crop space: planting 200 parsnips, then replacing them with 200 parsnips, then with 200 strawberries just in time for those to get two harvests each. I always used to try to get my crops ready to be sold the day before the Egg Festival, but in retrospect I was then buying more strawberries than I needed, whilst not getting far enough down the mines. This new strategy let me get far enough down the mines to take proper advantage of the farming level 6.

What were the issues?
Getting enough coal. In retrospect, I should have made a charcoal burner earlier. I wasted a lot of mining time hunting dust sprites.

Please note, I'm not outstanding at either fishing or mining, but I guess I am competent at both. I also didn't push fishing to the max, despite having rainy days when I could have caught catfish. It didn't seem like I would be short of money, so I mined instead.
I ended the season on fishing 8, farming 10, mining 7, foraging 5 and combat 4.
 
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Squigglyruth

Planter
Im always amazed how much planning people put into this game. I do kinda make plans (in my head) but mostly I just wing it.
Yeah, I guess I am a planner :-)
To be honest, I only do that early on in any save game. Maybe to the end of spring, or maybe to the end of the first year. This game, I relaxed at the end of spring. I've done a lot of talking to villagers and gifting them this summer.
 
How did you get the time to dive mines when manually watering 200 parsnips? Just the timesink alone would have been brutal, much less the endurance cost. I typically don't even start diving seriously until the 16th so I can gather salmonberries while my pick upgrades. My usual goal is 20 Quality Sprinklers by the end of Spring so I can head into Summer in a much better position. But if you can get them much earlier, I'm all ears!
 
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Squigglyruth

Planter
How did you get the time to dive mines when manually watering 200 parsnips? Just the timesink alone would have been brutal, much less the endurance cost. I typically don't even start diving seriously until the 16th so I can gather salmonberries while my pick upgrades. My usual goal is 20 Quality Sprinklers by the end of Spring so I can head into Summer in a much better position. But if you can get them much earlier, I'm all ears!
I normally only manage about 20 sprinklers by summer, too. I think my previous best was 40-something, made just before the end of the season. I could never get the timing right of having the ore available as well as being at farming 6 early enough in the spring.

I think that's what worked well with this strategy. I had basically nothing to water on days 5, 6 and 7, so I was able to get a long way down the mines to start with. I think I was at level 50 or 55 when I planted the first 200 parsnips - not very fast diving, really. Mining in the afternoons after watering the field got me down to 80 with time to spare - it only takes until midday to water a field that size.

I was lucky to have a rainy day for planting, which kept the energy costs lower. I ate some chub and smallmouth bass early on, then switched to eating parsnips.

There were a couple of things I normally do that I dropped this time. I didn't make tappers to get extra speed gro for my strawberries, nor did I repair the beach bridge early on. I was only just on foraging 2 at the start of salmonberry season. I therefore gained a lot of time from not chopping wood. I also mined the first two salmonberry days because that gave me the ore to make sprinklers, which was a net energy gain compared to harvesting berries. By the time I put my pickaxe in for upgrading, my field was nearly completely covered by sprinklers.
 
I normally only manage about 20 sprinklers by summer, too. I think my previous best was 40-something, made just before the end of the season. I could never get the timing right of having the ore available as well as being at farming 6 early enough in the spring.
For myself, I don't sweat Farming 6 earlier in the season, so long as I hit it in the final week I'm good. After all, there's no time limit on making sprinklers, so long as you have the materials at hand. So I just pre-craft a bunch of refined quartz, smelt up the iron and gold, and wait for the farming to tick over.

I think that's what worked well with this strategy. I had basically nothing to water on days 5, 6 and 7, so I was able to get a long way down the mines to start with. I think I was at level 50 or 55 when I planted the first 200 parsnips - not very fast diving, really. Mining in the afternoons after watering the field got me down to 80 with time to spare - it only takes until midday to water a field that size.

I was lucky to have a rainy day for planting, which kept the energy costs lower. I ate some chub and smallmouth bass early on, then switched to eating parsnips.
Hmm... I don't know that I'd be able to get 50 levels in three days without more substantial food to back me up, but that's probably because I'm not particularly good at diving in general. Of course, once you get the piles and piles of parsnips to eat, pushing deeper shouldn't be much of a problem.

There were a couple of things I normally do that I dropped this time. I didn't make tappers to get extra speed gro for my strawberries, nor did I repair the beach bridge early on. I was only just on foraging 2 at the start of salmonberry season. I therefore gained a lot of time from not chopping wood. I also mined the first two salmonberry days because that gave me the ore to make sprinklers, which was a net energy gain compared to harvesting berries. By the time I put my pickaxe in for upgrading, my field was nearly completely covered by sprinklers.
Ahh, that's another difference. I make tappers for oak resin so I can start kegging as soon as I can in Summer. Once the Hops come up, I want to keep them brewing as much as possible. And I also push very strongly for Foraging because I want Foraging 6 for lightning rods before the first thunderstorm of Summer. Not just for battery packs, but also to prevent crop destruction. As such, I almost invariably go with the Forest Farm and chop those stumps, getting a copper axe before the end of the first week, to push for Foraging 4 by Salmonberry Season since I'm already pushing Foraging so hard. This lets me plant Potatoes and Kale for better profits and XP per crop plot returns.

My general strategy is to plant the 13 parsnips, 1 cauli, 1 bean sprout on Day 1, then when the 13 parsnips come up, I drop 40 Potatoes, 40 Kale, and the Cauli from the quest reward from Gunther for the mineral/artifact turn-ins, and never touch another parsnip again. This gives me 1,240 farming xp by the 11th, just from the potatoes and kale. Plant another batch of 40 Potatoes, then plant my Strawberries on the 13th, and I get my Farming 6 on or around the 18th-20th. Still plenty of time to do my sprinkler crafting before Summer rolls around.

My goal is 20 sprinklers, because of how I plant. I have a single Scarecrow, with 20 plots of 3x3 (with a spot for a sprinkler in the middle) in a roughly circular radius around the center plot that is where the Scarecrow (and later, the Junimo Hut) is. The end result is a 'fat plus' design with each 'line' being 9x15 (or 3 plots by 5 plots). This gives me 160 crop plots to go into Summer with. If I can get enough sprinklers, I'll double down and get two such plots down for a total of 320 crop plots available, but that starts to push it.

Your strategy is an interesting one, I may have to try it out. If nothing else, it lets me get my Quality Crops Bundle sooner (using Parsnips, Corn, and Melons to finish in Summer instead of waiting for Pumpkins to come up) which would let me take advantage of a lucky Pumpkin purchase from Cart vendor to complete the Kitchen Bundles sooner.
 

Squigglyruth

Planter
For myself, I don't sweat Farming 6 earlier in the season, so long as I hit it in the final week I'm good. After all, there's no time limit on making sprinklers, so long as you have the materials at hand. So I just pre-craft a bunch of refined quartz, smelt up the iron and gold, and wait for the farming to tick over.
I think this is a key difference. I tend to aim for farming 10 in spring, and farming 6 as early as I can. Sometimes I have doubted why I bother with getting L10 in spring, and I am open to other strategies. But it is so nice to get all your crops growing faster in summer because you have Agriculturist when you plant them. I always felt there was a way to get farming 6 and make quality sprinklers early in spring. This was just the first time I properly managed it

Hmm... I don't know that I'd be able to get 50 levels in three days without more substantial food to back me up, but that's probably because I'm not particularly good at diving in general. Of course, once you get the piles and piles of parsnips to eat, pushing deeper shouldn't be much of a problem.
I used a mixture of chub (eaten at the top of the mines) and green algae carried in with me for emergencies. It seemed to work ok. I don't think I'm particularly good at diving either, though definitely better than I was when I started. The bit where I normally get held up is when the ghosts come out in levels 50-80. This time I had a forest sword by then, which was definitely lucky.

Ahh, that's another difference. I make tappers for oak resin so I can start kegging as soon as I can in Summer. Once the Hops come up, I want to keep them brewing as much as possible. And I also push very strongly for Foraging because I want Foraging 6 for lightning rods before the first thunderstorm of Summer. Not just for battery packs, but also to prevent crop destruction. As such, I almost invariably go with the Forest Farm and chop those stumps, getting a copper axe before the end of the first week, to push for Foraging 4 by Salmonberry Season since I'm already pushing Foraging so hard. This lets me plant Potatoes and Kale for better profits and XP per crop plot returns.
I normally push foraging early for the same reasons, so it was a conscious effort to change my strategy and I was unsure about trying it. In fact though, I was able to build it up fast once my sprinklers were down - I had the money to upgrade my axe and the time to chop hardwood whenever I wanted. I had my tappers going on oak trees and my lightning rods ready to schedule, which was a relief.

My general strategy is to plant the 13 parsnips, 1 cauli, 1 bean sprout on Day 1, then when the 13 parsnips come up, I drop 40 Potatoes, 40 Kale, and the Cauli from the quest reward from Gunther for the mineral/artifact turn-ins, and never touch another parsnip again. This gives me 1,240 farming xp by the 11th, just from the potatoes and kale. Plant another batch of 40 Potatoes, then plant my Strawberries on the 13th, and I get my Farming 6 on or around the 18th-20th. Still plenty of time to do my sprinkler crafting before Summer rolls around.

My goal is 20 sprinklers, because of how I plant. I have a single Scarecrow, with 20 plots of 3x3 (with a spot for a sprinkler in the middle) in a roughly circular radius around the center plot that is where the Scarecrow (and later, the Junimo Hut) is. The end result is a 'fat plus' design with each 'line' being 9x15 (or 3 plots by 5 plots). This gives me 160 crop plots to go into Summer with. If I can get enough sprinklers, I'll double down and get two such plots down for a total of 320 crop plots available, but that starts to push it.
That's an interesting strategy. It does a similar thing on timing the farming 6 for mid-late season. I'm not so organised on how I plant my fields - I just do rectangles to fill the space and make more scarecrows if I need them. Something I should probably think about!

Your strategy is an interesting one, I may have to try it out. If nothing else, it lets me get my Quality Crops Bundle sooner (using Parsnips, Corn, and Melons to finish in Summer instead of waiting for Pumpkins to come up) which would let me take advantage of a lucky Pumpkin purchase from Cart vendor to complete the Kitchen Bundles sooner.
I would be very interested to hear if it works for you. As I say, I have only tested it the once so I can't rule out just being particularly lucky. It *felt* like I would be able to replicate it, and I am sure I will try it again in the future, but I'm going to take this game on a while first.
 

Tom

Rancher
I am astounded that you watered 200 crops. But I have to admit I have been hankering to try a heavier watering burden in the thought that maybe I was excessively traumatized my my newbie gung ho parsnip snowball. I need to unlock Kegs (Farming 8) a wee bit earlier than I have been doing. I'd like to do that by Summer 11. I've never calculated it out, and I have wound up a bit late by keeping my fields overly small.

Yeah, I bet the Forest Sword and the rainy day were nice. Life in The Mines stinks when you don't get the Forest Sword.

I am intrigued by your dedicated mining days on 5, 6, and 7. Rice shoots is a nice fringe benefit of that. Did you ignore Lewis's birthday?

Did you upgrade your Watering Can and backpack? If so, when?

Was it a mistake when you mentioned usually buying more strawberries than you needed? Or have you often bought more than 200?

My only concern about the whole thing is the lack of 30-kegs-and-growing in mid-Summer. Do you have a suitable replacement for Pale Ale income at 420 per Keg? To me, the first batches of Pale Ale feel like I just hit the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
 

Squigglyruth

Planter
I am intrigued by your dedicated mining days on 5, 6, and 7. Rice shoots is a nice fringe benefit of that. Did you ignore Lewis's birthday?
I did miss Lewis's birthday. I try to do birthdays from early on, but I often miss that one as it is just so very soon. I didn't get a huge number of rice shoots though - too fast through the relevant levels, I think.
Did you upgrade your Watering Can and backpack? If so, when?
Not the watering can, because I wasn't aiming to use it from mid-spring onwards. I upgraded the backpack some time in week 3, I think, though it may have been week 2. Relatively late, but I hadn't been throwing things away - I use chests quite efficiently.
Was it a mistake when you mentioned usually buying more strawberries than you needed? Or have you often bought more than 200?
I have often bought more than 200. They give a good profit for first spring.
My only concern about the whole thing is the lack of 30-kegs-and-growing in mid-Summer. Do you have a suitable replacement for Pale Ale income at 420 per Keg? To me, the first batches of Pale Ale feel like I just hit the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
I had plenty of kegs by mid-summer. I had planted oak seeds in the backwoods in early spring, and there was plenty of time to make tappers in mid-late spring once my crops were watered by sprinklers. I agree pale ale is the way to go in summer year 1. I was very reluctant to sell my pale ale right away though, having picked agriculturalist over artisan. I might pick other way next time.
 
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