Spring Seeds

Spring Seeds are a crafted seed item that produces forage crops associated with spring. Although the crafting recipe is labeled Wild Seeds (Sp), the item produced is Spring Seeds. When planted, each seed grows into one of four possible crops at random: Wild Horseradish, Daffodil, Leek, or Dandelion.

Like the other season-specific wild seed crafts, Spring Seeds turn forage into a renewable crop source, and they are tied to the normal spring growing season. They mature in 7 days total, with 3 days in the first stage and 4 days in the second stage. Each planted seed has an equal chance of producing any of the four spring forage crops, and the resulting harvest is not a fixed crop type.

Spring Seeds interact differently with skills than most crops. Farming Skill normally affects crop quality, but for Spring Seeds it is Foraging Skill that increases the chance of harvesting higher-quality crops. The Botanist profession is especially strong here, since it makes every crop grown from Spring Seeds iridium quality. Because these crops are forage rather than standard farm crops, crows do not attack them, so Scarecrows are unnecessary.

Spring Seeds can be obtained from several sources:

• Crafting, with each recipe producing 10 Spring Seeds
• Placing a Wild Horseradish in a Seed Maker, which yields 1–3 Spring Seeds
• Traveling Cart
• Desert Trader on Saturdays in exchange for 2 Summer Seeds
• Treasure rooms in the Skull Cavern, 5–20 at a time

They are also a profitable craft even without Botanist. The average value of the forage crops produced is 45g per harvested crop, and in the long run this can be turned into a substantial profit because a craft yields 10 seeds at once. At base values, the seeds themselves are worth more than the forage ingredients used to craft them, and the crop quality bonus from Foraging or Botanist further improves the return. However, their profitability depends on the seed price and the quality of the ingredients used to craft them.

A few practical notes make Spring Seeds easy to use effectively:

• They are useful for turning extra spring forage into more forage or selling value.
• Since crows ignore them, they are convenient for early farm layouts and compact planting.
• Their growth can resemble dead crops during stage 2, so they may look temporarily unusual while maturing.
• On Ginger Island, mature Spring Seeds may destroy tilled soil and fertilizer, leaving untilled soil after harvest.