Seasons and Calendar

Starsand Island follows a four-season cycle of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each season lasts 28 in-game days, making a full year 112 days. Seasons affect nearly every system in the game: which crops you can grow, what fish are available, which flowers bloom in the wild, weather patterns, NPC festival events, and the visual appearance of the island itself. Understanding the calendar is essential for planning your farm rotations, fishing trips, and festival preparation.

Calendar Overview

The game begins on Summer Day 1, Year 1. Your first full seasonal cycle runs Summer, Autumn, Winter, then Spring of Year 2. The season, date, and time are displayed in the top-left corner of the screen at all times.

Day and Night Cycle

Each in-game day runs from 6:00 AM to 2:00 AM, giving you 20 playable hours per day. Shops generally operate from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, with exceptions:

Pass-Out Penalty

At exactly 2:00 AM, your character passes out regardless of what you are doing or where you are. The penalties are:

• Single pass-out: You wake up the next morning with only 50% of your maximum stamina.

• Three consecutive pass-outs: You sleep through the entire next day, losing it completely.

Stamina is normally restored to full at the start of each new day. Going to bed before 2:00 AM avoids the penalty entirely. Plan your evenings around this deadline, especially during long Moonlit Forest expeditions or late-night fishing trips.

Seasonal Crops

Most crops only grow during their designated season. Seeds can be purchased year-round from the Happiness Seed Shop regardless of the current season, but planting an out-of-season seed means it will not sprout until the correct season arrives. New seed types unlock as you progress through Farmer certification tiers.

All-Season Crops

These crops grow in every season and are the backbone of year-round farming income:

Wheat and Potato are the most commonly grown all-season crops in the early game due to their fast growth and use in cooking recipes. Stardew Fern is the most valuable all-season crop but has the longest growth time.

Spring Crops

Spring-exclusive crops include Leek, Green Grape, Tomato, Pineapple, Strawberry, Cherry Tomato, Orange Sapling, Water Caltrop, Mint, Red/Yellow/Blue Orchid, Reishi Mushroom, Honeyvine, Star Mango, Exotic Egg, Lemon Sapling, and Camellia Sapling. Orchids are the seasonal flowers of Spring.

Summer Crops

Summer-exclusive crops include Water Spinach, Cabbage, Cucumber, Pepper, Watermelon, Corn, Blueberry, Apple Sapling, Banana Sapling, Lychee Sapling, Snow Pear Sapling, Aloe Vera, Osmanthus Sapling, Red/Yellow/Blue Moonrise, Chirpy Plum, Zapweed, and Fluffbean. Some crops like Green Grape, Tomato, and Mint also grow in Summer (shared with Spring). Moonrise flowers are the seasonal flowers of Summer.

Autumn Crops

Autumn-exclusive crops include Beetroot, Cherry Radish, Red Grape, Pumpkin, Persimmon Sapling, River Lotus, Red/Yellow/Blue Rose, Star Plum, and King Water Chestnut. Cabbage, Leek, Winter Oilseed, Corn, Aloe Vera, Reishi Mushroom, Zapweed, and Fluffbean are shared with other seasons. Roses are the seasonal flowers of Autumn.

Winter Crops

Winter-exclusive crops include Winter Melon, Carrot, and Jadelume. Winter Oilseed, Red Grape, Orange Sapling, Lychee Sapling, Strawberry, River Lotus, Exotic Egg, King Water Chestnut, and Lemon Sapling are shared with other seasons. Red/Yellow/Blue Tulip grow exclusively in winter. Tulips are the seasonal flowers of Winter.

Gmax (Giant) Crops

Each season has one crop that can grow into a giant "Gmax" variant when planted in a 3x3 grid of the same seed:

Plant 9 seeds of the same crop in a 3x3 block and water them normally. There is a random chance that all 9 plants will merge into a single giant crop. If it does not trigger, you simply get 9 regular crops instead. Harvest Gmax crops with an Axe for a greater yield than harvesting 9 individual plants separately.

Everlasting Seeds

Everlasting Seeds (also called Immortal Seeds) produce crops that ignore season restrictions entirely and never need replanting after harvest. They keep producing indefinitely across all seasons. If you dig up an immortal crop, the Everlasting Seed is returned to your inventory.

How to obtain Everlasting Seeds:

• Eternal Blessing perk. The Senior Farmer Workpedia perk gives a passive chance of dropping an Everlasting Seed on each harvest.

• Mirthshroom Soup buff. Eating Mirthshroom Soup provides a temporary buff that increases the chance of receiving Everlasting Seeds.

• Islandpedia entries. Completing plant entries in the Islandpedia can reward Everlasting Seeds.

Everlasting Seeds are among the most valuable items in the game. Once you have one for a profitable crop, you never need to buy or plant that seed again.

Weather

The game has three weather conditions: Sunny, Rainy, and Snowy (Winter only). Weather affects multiple systems:

Rain is especially impactful on farming. While it saves you the effort of watering, the increased weed spawns combined with your animals refusing to work means rainy days require extra manual pest management.

Seasonal Fishing

Fish availability depends on season, weather, time of day, location, and bait type. Here are representative examples of season-specific catches:

Year-round fish like Clownfish, Brown Tiger Prawn, and Greasyback Shrimp are available in all seasons. For a complete fish list, see the Fishing and Fish article.

Seasonal Foraging

Forageable items spawn based on the current season. Each season has characteristic flowers that appear in the wild:

The Moonlit Forest operates on its own internal rules and is less affected by surface seasons. Items like Moondew Shroom and Mirthshroom spawn year-round inside the forest.

Festivals

Beach Festival (Summer 25-27)

The Beach Festival is the game's largest seasonal event, held at Half-Moon Bay at the end of Summer:

Preparation materials for Summer 25 include Coal x10, Iron Ingot x3, Bronze Ingot x3, Glass Pane x4, and Hardwood Plank x4. Summer 26 requires Fine Salt x3, Hardwood Plank x4, Iron Sheet x2, and Coal x8. Stock up on these materials beforehand to complete the preparation efficiently.

Spring Festival (End of Winter)

A Spring Festival (also referred to as Chinese New Year) is celebrated near the end of Winter. It features food-focused preparation tasks and themed activities. A separate Chinese New Year Furniture and Fashion DLC is available with outfits and furniture inspired by ink-wash landscapes and traditional Chinese New Year symbols.

Tips

• Plan crop rotations by season. Buy seeds for the upcoming season before the current one ends. Seeds are available year-round at the Happiness Seed Shop, so stock up early.

• Prioritize all-season crops for steady income. Wheat, Potato, and Rice grow year-round and provide consistent returns while you experiment with seasonal varieties.

• Watch the clock at night. Passing out at 2:00 AM costs you half your stamina the next day. Three consecutive pass-outs lose an entire day. Go to bed before midnight to stay safe.

• Save valuable items for the Merchant Ship. The Merchant Ship buys at 200% value every Monday. Hold your best crops and cooked dishes for that weekly sale.

• Fish in the right weather. Check the weather forecast and plan fishing trips around rain (summer ocean catches) or snow (winter lake catches) for season-exclusive species.

• Pursue Everlasting Seeds. Once you reach Senior Farmer, the Eternal Blessing perk provides a passive chance at seeds that produce forever across all seasons. These are game-changing for long-term income.

• Try for Gmax crops each season. Plant Pineapple (Spring), Watermelon (Summer), Pumpkin (Autumn), or Winter Melon (Winter) in 3x3 blocks for a chance at giant crops with bonus yields.

• Prepare for the Beach Festival. Gather Coal, Iron Ingots, Bronze Ingots, Glass Panes, and Hardwood Planks before Summer 25. The festival rewards include Starsand Points and exclusive Beach Coin items.