The greenhouse in Stardew Valley is one of the most distinctive and beneficial buildings for growing crops year-round, but since players only get just one with limited space inside, it's vital that they strategize their layouts to make the most of the greenhouse. Though players will come to own many different buildings such as barns, coops, and stables, the greenhouse is an outlier as right from the start of Stardew Valley, it already sits dilapidated on the farm shrouded in overgrowth. With that simple allure alone, players will have their own impressive greenhouse by improving it, providing them with an invaluable albeit small indoor farming space.
The biggest advantage of the greenhouse is that it allows players to grow any kind of crop regardless of the in-game season, hence why Stardew Valley limits the player to just one greenhouse with only so much space. As a result, the greenhouse is a masterclass in helping players embrace Stardew Valley's strategic mindset since players will need to take a step back and consider how they will best use this area. But beyond just deciding on which choice of seeds to plant and sprinklers to use, there are certain tricks to the greenhouse that mean its best layout requires patience and planning.
Planting Trees First Is A Must
Though it doesn't seem like it should be possible, Stardew Valley allows fruit trees to be planted in the surrounding edges of the greenhouse regardless of there only being a ten-by-twelve grid of earth. Thanks to this little quirk and when taking into consideration that saplings need empty adjacent spaces in order to grow, it is possible to plant up to eighteen fruit trees inside the greenhouse around its border. Since crops grown in the greenhouse aren't hindered by the seasons, players have the freedom to plant whichever tree they like, meaning those bearing higher value fruit would be the ideal choice.
However, it's essential that Stardew Valley players plant fruit trees first and as soon as possible, as not only do they take time to grow with each year improving their yields but because the full ten-by-twelve grid won't be accessible until the trees are fully grown. Again, this ties back to the fact that saplings need the area around them empty, so with trees taking twenty-eight days to finish growing it's the obligatory first step all players will need to do before anything else. Fortunately though, once these four weeks of Stardew Valley's in-game time are done, they can safely move on to optimizing the rest of their greenhouse layout.
Crop And Sprinkler Choices Are Equally Important
Since time and energy are invaluable during gameplay, players will invariably embrace Stardew Valley's sprinklers as a convenient time-saver. So while the greenhouse offers the benefits of growing crops year-round with protection from crows and lightning strikes, they will still need to be watered. As Stardew Valley's highest-quality option, the iridium sprinkler is the go-to choice for the best greenhouse layout. Depending on their placement and if players choose the pressure nozzle attachment, the greenhouse could accommodate more than one hundred crops with ease. Deluxe retaining soil could be used as an alternative, though this doesn't share the long-term efficiency of sprinklers.
But alongside the preference and placement of sprinklers, players will also need to factor in their crop choice when planting inside the greenhouse. Primarily, this will concern whether players are intending to plant trellis crops since unlike other crops these cannot be walked through. This choice will ultimately have an effect on optimal sprinkler placement, but the impact any required changes would have on crop yields is luckily negligible. Though since trellises aren't always the most profitable of crops, so the best crops for making money fortuitously line up with the best greenhouse layout.
Stardew Valley is available now on Android, iOS, PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.