Stardew Valley Bundles Guide part 1: Intro and Crafts Room

So you’ve gotten through the first few days, you’ve worked out how to plant your parsnips and swing your axe, and you’ve even chatted up one or two of the locals. Then you wander into town and Mayor Lewis invites you into the dilapidated building on the north side of town. He thinks there’s a rat problem, but you’re pretty damn sure you just saw a sentient apple that waved at you. Farmers, we’re talking about the Community Centre here.

THE FRUIT IS WAVING AT ME, LEWIS!

Before I get into locations, I’ll start by mentioning that the advanced options present during the initial save file setup (the bit where you name your character and farm) allow you to choose between “Classic” and “Remixed” bundles. Classic bundles are always the same in every game, whereas Remixed offers some slightly randomised variation to spice up different save files. Before you head off into the wilderness looking for any given item, it’ll be worth checking whether you actually need it or not. Players on mobile will only have Classic bundles however, as the advanced options were introduced during the 1.5 update which is yet to release for mobile at the time of writing. 

After you kick out the Centre’s introductory quests and learn how to speak Junimo from the Wizard, you can return there at any time to deliver gifts. There are several bundles, each requiring between one and six items. To start with, only the Crafts Room has bundles available, but complete a few and soon there will be bundles ready to fill all over the building.

We’ve all been there; you look at the bundles and you think to yourself, “Where on Earth even IS this stuff?” Well, look no further, help is at hand in the form of a guy with a ferret avatar (that’s me)! After sinking several hundred hours into the world of Stardew Valley, I think it’s safe to say I have a pretty decent knowledge of Pelican Town and its surroundings.

For ease of exploration, here’s a map — expertly enhanced by my MS Paint skills — outlining the main locations available to traverse in the Valley, which I will mention throughout the various guide sections. Your own map may vary slightly around the Farm area (which is where my character’s head is at).

Behold, the power of red lines.

The Mines will be off-limits until around Spring 6 of Year 1, and the Railroad is blocked up until Summer 3 of Year 1. The Secret Woods is only accessible after you get yourself a Steel Axe or better, and the Desert can be travelled to by buying a ticket from the Bus Stop after completing the Vault bundles. Whenever I mention one of the areas on this map as a place you are able to find an item, I’ll underline it like this!

Many items needed to complete bundles can also be bought straight from the Travelling Cart. However, this requires some luck and a large wallet; the goods offered each time the Cart visits are randomised to some degree, and are often only available at extortionate prices! If you want to try your luck anyway, head to the north-west corner of Cindersap Forest on any Friday or Sunday before 8pm.

The Crafts Room (run-down)

The Crafts Room will always be the first room with bundles available, and generally represents stuff from all over the Valley that you can find with the Foraging skill.

1) Spring Foraging Bundle

Classic and Remixed — 4/4 items needed

If you’re playing Remixed, the four items needed will be chosen at random out of the following options.

• Wild Horseradish: These spicy roots can be found in a few places, being slightly more common in the Forest, but also located in the Mountain and the Backwoods. Later on they can also be found in the Secret Woods.
• Daffodil: You’ll almost certainly have found a few of these little flowers already, but in case you’re in need they can be found throughout Pelican Town (particularly the northern section), at the Bus Stop, and from Year 2 onwards also at the Railroad.
• Dandelion: This useful snacky flower can often be found in the Forest, and a reasonably decent amount of time at the Bus Stop and Railroad.
• Leek: A favourite of wheelchair-bound elders the town over, leeks tend to show up a bit less than the others so far. When they do appear, they’ll most likely be at the Mountain or Backwoods. They also show up at the Bus Stop and Railroad, albeit at a much lower rate.
• Spring Onion (Remixed bundles only): Spring onions only grow in one place, but they are also the easiest to find on any given day. Schlepp your way to the south-east corner of the Forest (where you’ll also find the Sewer gate), and you’ll be likely to find several of them all growing in bunches. If there’s none there, don’t fret, but instead try again the next day!

2) Summer Foraging Bundle

Classic and Remixed — 3/3 items needed

This bundle is always the same, over all games.

• Grape: These juicy bundles of joy show up in the same places as leeks do, albeit at a somewhat higher rate: Mountain, Backwoods, Bus Stop, and Railroad.
• Spice Berry: A fairly common fruit in the summer, it can be found almost everywhere. Check out the Forest, Mountain, and Backwoods first, and if those searches are fruitless (get it?) then try your hand at the Bus Stop and Railroad.
• Sweet Pea: Summer’s version of the daffodil, but this time actually classified as a flower! Try the grassy sections of Pelican Town, and if those are barren then look at the Forest, Bus Stop, and Railroad.

3) Fall Foraging Bundle

Classic and Remixed — 4/4 items needed

This bundle is always the same, over all games.

• Common Mushroom: Your bog-standard fungi can be found in areas with trees — the more the better. Your best bets are the Forest, Secret Woods, Mountain, and Backwoods. Alternatively, if Demetrius has visited your farm and you opted for a mushroom cave, you’ll end up with loads of these from in there!
• Wild Plum: These little purple taste pods tend to be found in smaller areas, so check out the Bus Stop, Railroad, and Backwoods first. If that fails, they also grow on the Mountain.
• Hazelnut: Squirrels all over the Valley know that the best place to find these nuts is at higher elevations, so wend your way to the Mountain and Backwoods first, with fallback options of the Bus Stop and Railroad. If you’re lucky, you may also find one in the second half of the month just by smacking any maple tree!
• Blackberry: By far the easiest thing to find from this bundle, you’ll find them in every outdoor area except the Beach from 8th–11th Fall on various bushes. If you simply can’t wait that long, then get to searching Pelican Town and the Forest, with the Railroad as a last-ditch resort.

4) Winter Foraging Bundle

Classic and Remixed — 4/4 items needed

Okay, hands up who was surprised this was coming. No-one? Good! If you’re playing Remixed bundles, the four items needed will be randomly chosen from those below.

• Crocus: We skipped over Fall (or Autumn, as we Brits call it), but the basic flower returns in time for the snow. As before, Pelican Town is your best bet, but they have a pretty good chance everywhere else too except for the Beach.
• Crystal Fruit: This mystery blue fruit shows up all over the place too, but you have the best chances searching for it at any of the Railroad, Mountain, or Forest. If you’re lucky, they can also be dropped by Dust Sprites on the cold floors of the Mines.
• Winter Root and Snow Yam: These two are lumped together, because they are found in the exact same way. Grab your hoe and get to digging, because every tile of snow you shovel will have a chance of turning one of these up. That said, focus your efforts on artifact spots — those three wriggling worm things that randomly pop up from the ground all over the place — as there is a far higher chance of digging up these roots from one. Winter roots may also occasionally drop from Blue Slimes in the Mines.
• Holly (Remixed bundles only): Despite the description, most NPCs in Stardew Valley don’t really like holly. So it stands to reason that you can find it almost everywhere! The absolute best place to search is the Secret Woods, as at least one will usually spawn on most days. If you get unlucky though, they’re also strewn across Pelican Town, the Backwoods, and the Bus Stop at a decent rate.

5a) Construction Bundle

Classic and Remixed — 4/4 items needed

This bundle is always the same if it shows up. With Remixed bundles, it may be replaced by the Sticky Bundle below.

• 99 Wood: If you’ve gotten this far into the game without finding any wood, then you deserve some kind of award! Wood is found by applying your axe to practically any kind of tree. Repeatedly.
• 99 Wood: Yup, you read that right; you need ANOTHER 99 wood. Chop-chop!
• 99 Stone: Everything I just said about wood? It’s the same, but with rocks and a pickaxe instead.
• 10 Hardwood: Alright, this one is a little different. You must have seen those large stumps and logs around the farm; once you upgrade your axe to Copper (for the stumps) or Steel (for the logs) you can get to cutting them away, and each one destroyed will drop hardwood (two pieces for a stump, eight pieces for a log).

5b) Sticky Bundle

Remixed only — 1/1 item needed

This bundle is always the same if it shows up in your Remixed game. It’s also super easy!

• 500 Sap: You read that right, a whopping 500! Luckily sap is everywhere, just chop down every tree in sight and you’ll knock this one out with no difficulty. Slimes in the Mines also sometimes drop a single piece when you slay them.

6a) Exotic Foraging Bundle

Classic and Remixed — 5/9 items needed

This bundle is always the same if it shows up. With Remixed bundles, you may instead be tasked with the Wild Medicine Bundle below. This is also the first bundle for which you don’t need to find all of the items listed; merely finding enough to fill up the slots is enough!

• Coconut: Once you have access to the Desert, you can find these scattered around the dunes. If it’s a Monday, you can also buy one from Sandy at the Desert’s shop.
• Cactus Fruit: Like the coconut, these are found in the Desert. Unlike them however, cactus fruits cannot be bought straight-up; instead, Sandy sells seeds which only grow indoors, making that an alternative option for farmers who have already finished the Pantry bundles.
• Cave Carrot: As the name implies, these can only be found in a cave. The cave in question is none other than the Mines, and you’ll find these edibles either inside the smashable boxes scattered around, or by tilling up the soil found on various floors.
• Red Mushroom: No, it won’t make you bigger and invincible if you eat it; in fact it’s rather poisonous instead! These "magic" mushrooms can be found in the Mines on special floors (they show up randomly), or in the Secret Woods in Summer and Fall. Alternatively, if you have a mushroom cave, you’ll often find them there!
• Purple Mushroom: Now THIS is a royal amongst mushrooms! In exchange for its vastly superior use, it is also notably rarer. It is found in the same places as red mushrooms but at a reduced rate, with the exception that it does NOT show up in the Secret Woods.
• Morel: More mushrooms! This one is the rarest of the three, especially if you didn’t choose the mushroom cave option. Thankfully, they are reasonably common in the Secret Woods, but only during Spring, so you might have to wait until Year 2 if you went for a fruit bat cave.
• Pine Tar, Oak Resin, and Maple Syrup: These three are all obtained in the same way. Get yourself to level three Foraging, and craft a tapper; attach it to the matching tree, wait a few days, and voila! The sticky fluid is yours. I recommend attaching tappers to trees at the Bus Stop or Forest, to keep them safe during stormy weather.

I recommend aiming for the following items to finish this bundle: Cave Carrot, Red Mushroom, Oak Resin, Pine Tar, and Maple Syrup.

6b) Wild Medicine Bundle

Remixed only — 3/4 items needed

This bundle is always the same if it shows up in your Remixed game. Keep your eyes peeled, a couple of these are rare!

• 5 Purple Mushroom: The same purple mushroom as the previous bundle, check that section for locations!
• 5 Fiddlehead Fern: These herb-like greens can be found in the Secret Woods during Summer. They also make an appearance on the rare dinosaur floors of the Desert’s Skull Cavern, if you should find yourself powerful enough to explore there.
• 5 White Algae: It’s slimy plant life that grows underground and underwater! Try your hand at fishing anywhere that matches that description — the easiest option is likely level 20 of the Mines. It can also sometimes drop from bug-type monsters and Green Slimes.
• 5 Hops: Alcohol, but before the brewing process. Hops can be grown on your farm during Summer — once grown, a single crop will produce a harvest every single day.

I recommend aiming for the following items to finish this bundle: 5 Hops, 5 White Algae, and either 5 Fiddlehead Fern (if you don’t have the mushroom cave, or can access the Secret Woods early enough in the first Summer) or 5 Purple Mushroom (if you do have the mushroom cave).

The Crafts Room (repaired)

Your reward for finishing up all of the Crafts Room bundles is access to the Quarry, way up in the north-east corner of the Mountain. It contains lots of respawning rock nodes of various types, as well as access to a secret level of the Mines…

That’s it for the Crafts Room section of this guide! Was it helpful? Let me know, and be sure to check out the other sections (coming soon) if you’re in need!