does farming ever get easier? (I'm new)

[sunnycasket]

I'm new to Stardew valley (u probably have seen me around asking for tips lol) and it's only been a week since I played this game..

I saw a lot of people have like a really big, organized, and beautiful farm.. and now I'm wondering (again) do you still have to water the plants manually one by one.. ? or does it gets easier later on? bcs I'm kinda overwhelmed by the amount of crops that I need to water and sometimes I don't plant anything at all, so the only income that I'm currently doing is fishing..

 

[Terdin]

If you've seen the farms in the valley showcase, you may have noticed that in the middle of each neat square, there's something different. Sprinklers. They make watering being a lot easier to handle.
The first sprinkler, recipe gained at farming level 2, only waters 4 squares, so it's difficult to plan around. I don't bother with it.
The second, quality sprinkler, at farming level 6 waters the 8 squares around it, allowing you to plant in neat squares around them. It can be a good idea to plant your crops in preparation for quality sprinklers ahead of time. I also find that manual watering is slightly faster by moving to the empty space, watering the crops around it, then moving to the next empty space and repeat.
At farming level 9 you unlock the recipe for iridium sprinklers, watering the 24 squares around it (5x5 areas). Towards the end game, you can get pressure nozzles that increases the reach of a sprinkler by one square, allowing iridium sprinklers to water 48 squares around it (7x7 areas)

If you upgrade your watering can, you can also charge it to water more squares in one go (in addition to holding more water). Copper watering can in streaks of 1x3 squares, steel watering can in 1x5 streaks, and past that it waters areas, gold waters 3x3 areas at maximum charge. I tend to upgrade my watering can only once I've got sprinklers, because I don't want my crops to go without water.

 

[sunnycasket]

If you've seen the farms in the valley showcase, you may have noticed that in the middle of each neat square, there's something different. Sprinklers. They make watering being a lot easier to handle.
The first sprinkler, recipe gained at farming level 2, only waters 4 squares, so it's difficult to plan around. I don't bother with it.
The second, quality sprinkler, at farming level 6 waters the 8 squares around it, allowing you to plant in neat squares around them. It can be a good idea to plant your crops in preparation for quality sprinklers ahead of time. I also find that manual watering is slightly faster by moving to the empty space, watering the crops around it, then moving to the next empty space and repeat.
At farming level 9 you unlock the recipe for iridium sprinklers, watering the 24 squares around it (5x5 areas). Towards the end game, you can get pressure nozzles that increases the reach of a sprinkler by one square, allowing iridium sprinklers to water 48 squares around it (7x7 areas)

If you upgrade your watering can, you can also charge it to water more squares in one go (in addition to holding more water). Copper watering can in streaks of 1x3 squares, steel watering can in 1x5 streaks, and past that it waters areas, gold waters 3x3 areas at maximum charge. I tend to upgrade my watering can only once I've got sprinklers, because I don't want my crops to go without water.

aaaah okay okay! thank you so much for helping me!! I really appreciate it!!

btw I have another question, if that's okay with you obv.. if I got a new artifact or mineral, is it better to keep for myself or immediately donate to Gunther?? also with fish and resources. which one should I keep and which one to sell immediately?

 

[Draconifors]

if I got a new artifact or mineral, is it better to keep for myself or immediately donate to Gunther?

I would say it depends on the item. Personally, I always donate minerals when I first find them, unless I happen to have a quest that requires them or the mineral in question is a

Spoiler: item name

Prismatic Shard

.
Artifacts I also donate when found, with the exception of

Spoiler: item name

Dinosaur Egg

.

also with fish and resources. which one should I keep and which one to sell immediately?

Resources are always worth keeping early on.

As for fish, what I personally do is only keep ones I need for the Community Center (if you haven't unlocked it yet, you will soon) and sometimes ones that I want to use later for cooking or/and fish ponds. Everything except the Legendary fish can be caught multiple times, so if you sell a fish you later need, you can always get another one (though it might require waiting for a different season).
Early on, fishing is a great money maker, so selling everything absolutely is a valid option.

 

[Gamer1234556]

I'm new to Stardew valley (u probably have seen me around asking for tips lol) and it's only been a week since I played this game..

I saw a lot of people have like a really big, organized, and beautiful farm.. and now I'm wondering (again) do you still have to water the plants manually one by one.. ? or does it gets easier later on? bcs I'm kinda overwhelmed by the amount of crops that I need to water and sometimes I don't plant anything at all, so the only income that I'm currently doing is fishing..

You get Sprinkers by Level 2 Farming, most skip them, but they can help cut manual watering by a ton. Only issue is that you likely are using Copper and Iron Bars for other things, like upgrading your tools, or building other resources like lightning rods, tappers, etc.

Quality Sprinkers come at Level 6 Farming, and honestly... if you keep farming and managed to get enough Iron then they end up doing most of the watering for you. I reach them around Fall (but you might be able to get them earlier than me) and it frees up so much time for other stuff, like fishing or early Skull Cavern runs.

Finally, there are Iridium Sprinklers at Level 9 Farming, which have the widest range, and by that point, the only real thing that takes up your time is just checking up on your plants if they are grown.

In other words, farming does feel tedious and cuts into your energy early on, but the labor is heavily frontloaded. Once you get Quality Sprinklers, it not longer becomes a problem.

 

[Terdin]

if I got a new artifact or mineral, is it better to keep for myself or immediately donate to Gunther?? also with fish and resources. which one should I keep and which one to sell immediately?

With most of them, it's better to donate to Gunther. The only exceptions are

Spoiler: items and what to do with them

Dinosaur Egg, and Prismatic Shard. You are unlikely to find the latter any time soon, but once you reach the bottom of the mines, any monster have a small chance of dropping one. Prismatic Shards can also be found in meteors and mystic stones.
Hatch the egg and give Gunther one of the eggs your dino lays. They are usually kinda rare, and you'll need to ship dino mayonnaise to complete the shipping list.
The first prismatic shard is better brought to a place in the Calico desert to get a good weapon. If you for some reason find two shards before completing the Vault room, donate the second.