Overview
Sprinklers are automated watering devices that irrigate crops without manual effort. They are one of the most important farm upgrades in Starsand Island because they free up stamina and real-time gameplay minutes that would otherwise be spent watering hundreds of tiles by hand every morning. Once your farm has full sprinkler coverage, watering drops off your daily task list entirely and you can focus on higher-value actions such as breeding, cooking, fishing, and crafting.
How Sprinklers Work
Sprinklers water surrounding crop tiles automatically at the start of each in-game day. When you place a sprinkler in Build Mode, the watered area is shown visually on the ground; tiles that will be irrigated the next morning light up inside the coverage radius. Tiles outside the radius remain dry and need either another sprinkler or manual watering.
Place sprinklers between crop tiles rather than directly on them; the sprinkler occupies its tile and waters the tiles around it.
Higher-tier sprinklers cover larger areas, reducing the total number of devices needed to cover the same plot.
Sprinklers work in all weather. Once you have full coverage you no longer need to check the weather forecast for watering purposes, though weather still affects other systems (pollen spread, certain fishing spawns, etc.).
Sprinklers do not fertilize. Fertilizer still needs to be applied manually or via specialized stations such as the Fertilizer Box. See the Fertilizers and Sprinklers and Fertilizers articles for the full automation loop.
How to Unlock
Sprinkler blueprints are unlocked through Farmer profession progression. The basic sprinkler blueprint becomes available once you reach the Intermediate Farmer certification tier; higher sprinkler tiers with larger coverage areas unlock at subsequent Farmer ranks. The profession unlock chain is:
Complete the Apprentice Farmer trial at Grain Haven to qualify for the Intermediate trial.
Complete the Intermediate Farmer trial to unlock the basic sprinkler blueprint for purchase.
Continue through Senior, Expert, and higher Farmer tiers to unlock expanded-coverage sprinkler blueprints as they become available.
Purchase each blueprint from Graminova at the Happiness Seed Shop after it unlocks.
Craft the sprinkler at your Worktable using the unlocked recipe and the listed crafting materials.
Placement Strategy
Efficient sprinkler placement is as much about overlap as coverage. Position sprinklers so their coverage circles overlap slightly to leave no dry tiles between them, and plan the grid before you plant seeds so crops line up with the irrigated pattern rather than sitting in the gaps.
Enter Build Mode and drop a sprinkler in place. The watered area will preview on the ground.
If any tile inside your intended plot is not highlighted, shift the sprinkler slightly or add another one to fill the gap.
Repeat until every crop tile is covered. Use the grid lines on the farm tile as a consistent reference for sprinkler spacing.
Leave access paths around the sprinklers so you can still walk between rows to harvest, replant, and check Giant Max (G-Max Crops) progress.
If you are running a cross-breeding flower plot, place sprinklers so they also cover the parent tiles. Flowers need irrigation just like crops.
See the Optimal Farm Layout article for worked examples of farm grids built around sprinkler coverage.
Automation Around Sprinklers
Sprinklers are only the first step in farm automation. The full automation chain around crops looks like this:
Station | What It Automates |
|---|---|
Sprinklers | Daily watering of all covered crop tiles. |
Fertilizer Box | Automatic fertilizer application to planted tiles (once loaded with fertilizer). |
Gathering Robot | Automatic harvesting of ripe crops on the tiles it patrols. |
Mining Robot and Logging Robot | Automation of ore and timber gathering away from the farm. |
Robot Terminal | Central control point for deploying, assigning, and charging robot workers. |
Tips
Place sprinklers to cover all crop tiles including any cross-breeding flower plots on the same plot.
Higher-tier sprinklers are significantly more efficient per tile. Upgrade as soon as you unlock the next blueprint; the one-time crafting cost pays for itself quickly in saved time.
Sprinklers work in all weather, so you never need to water manually again once your farm is fully set up.
Position sprinklers before planting to plan your farm layout around their coverage, rather than retrofitting irrigation into a crowded plot.
Remember to fertilize: sprinklers do not substitute for fertilizer application. Pair sprinklers with a Fertilizer Box or manual fertilizer routine for maximum yield.