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Foraging

If you're in need of money at the beginning of the game, head into the wild area to pick up the free items off the ground. The wild area can be accessed from the village exit near Emma's house, or to the north of the open-air plaza where Neil sets up shop. There are three areas of the wilderness: the River, the Mountain, and the Forest. In each of these areas you'll find items on the ground that you can pick up. You can ship the items, store them for future construction materials, cook the edible items, or give them as gifts to the villagers.

If you don't pick up an item it will remain on the ground for 3 days, after which it will disappear. In the morning when you wake up, the wild areas will populate with new items on the ground. When a season changes, the wild items from the previous season will remain on the ground until the 3 days have passed.

The maximum Star Rank of the items you pick up will increase as you move through the game's years. In year 1 the most you'll receive is a 1-Star item. Year 2 unlocks 2-Star items and year 3 are 3-Star. It slows down when you reach year 4 (3.5-Stars), year 5 (4-Star), and year 6 (4.5-Star). At year 7 you'll finally find items that have a 5-Star rank.

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Besides the items that you can find on the ground, there are several foraging tree stumps you can dig through. You can find up to five items in a tree stump each day. There is one tree stump in the River area, four in the Mountain area, and one in the Forest area:

River Area Foraging Tree Stumps

  1. Eastern cliff - You need to finish the Burbling Brook music sheet (#2) to unlock the jump mushroom that will send you up the cliff. There is a chute trunk that will take you back to ground level.

Mountain Area Foraging Tree Stumps

  1. Between the River exit and the Forest exit - At the beginning of the game there is a large boulder in your way, so you can only access this foraging tree trunk near the exit to the Forest. When you finish the Birdy Banquet music sheet (#4), the boulder will dissolve away.
  2. By the Forest Exit - North of where you'll find the wild monkeys in the Mountain area.
  3. On the other side of the river - Take the jump mushroom half-way up the path to the Goddess' Pond to leap across the river.
  4. Behind the waterfall - Complete the Great Legacy music sheet (#12) to break the waterfall boulders to the right of the Goddess' Pond.

Forest Area Foraging Tree Stumps

  1. West of the exit to the Mountain - You need to finish the Tranquil Forest music sheet (#10) to unlock the jump mushroom that sends you to the foraging tree stump.

The foraging stumps work in the same way as the mining points. If you are trying to find a specific item in a foraging tree stump, save your game before accessing the stump. If you don't find what you're looking for, reload your save game and try again. The types of items will regenerate when you load your save, but the number of items found in that stump for the day will not change.

You will need to keep some of the seasonal wild items to complete the Town Restoration Plans. You will need 15 Moondrop Flowers, 10 Chamomile, at least 5 Honeycomb (but more in groups of 5), and 10 Mint. The other wild items like Small Rocks, Branches, etc. are available all year long. A lot of players become delayed with their Plan progress because they're no longer in the season that these items can be found in, so plan ahead and pick these up before you need them.

Flowers and Herbs
NameSeasonRiverMountainForest
MintSpring, Summer, or FallOn the ground
In stump 1
On the ground
In stumps 1, 2, and 3
On the ground
ChamomileSpring or SummerOn the ground
In stump 1
On the ground
In all four stumps
Not Available
LavenderFall or WinterOn the ground
In stump 1
On the ground
In stumps 1, 2, and 4
Not Available
RosemarySpring and FallOn the ground (Year 2+)
In stump 1
On the ground
In stumps 3 and 4
(also in stump 4 during Winter)
Not Available
SageSpring or Winter
Year 2 or later
Not AvailableOn the groundNot Available
WeedAll yearOn the ground
In stump 1
On the ground
In all four stumps
On the ground
In stump 1
(N/A in Winter)
Moondrop FlowerSpring or SummerOn the ground
In stump 1
On the ground
In stumps 1, 2, and 4
Not Available
Blue Magic FlowerSpring or SummerOn the groundOn the ground
In stumps 1 and 3
Not Available
Red Magic FlowerSummer or FallOn the ground
In stump 1
On the ground
In stumps 3 and 4
Not Available
Elli LeavesWinterOn the ground
In stump 1
On the ground
In all four stumps
On the ground
Ingredients and Edibles
NameSeasonRiverMountainForest
ShiitakeSpring or SummerOn the groundIn stump 4On the ground
In stump 1
ShimejiSummer or FallNot AvailableOn the groundOn the ground
In stump 1
Trumpet MushroomFall or WinterOn the ground (Fall only)
In stump 1 (Winter only)
In stump 1 (Fall only)On the ground
In stump 1
Coral MushroomSummer or FallIn stump 1 (Fall only)In stump 4On the ground
In stump 1
Common MushroomSpring or Summer
Year 2 or later
Not AvailableOn the ground
In stump 4
On the ground
In stump 1
Poison MushroomAll yearOn the groundOn the ground
In all four stumps
On the ground
In stump 1
WalnutSpring, Summer, or WinterIn stump 1Not AvailableOn the ground
In stump 1
ChestnutFallNot AvailableOn the ground
In stumps 3 and 4
On the ground
In stump 1
BlueberryFallNot AvailableOn the ground
In stumps 3 and 4
On the ground
In stump 1
PlumSummerOn the groundIn stumps 2 and 4On the ground
In stump 1
ApricotSummerOn the groundIn stumps 1 and 3On the ground
In stump 1
Bamboo ShootSpringNot AvailableIn stumps 1 and 2On the ground
In stump 1
Construction Materials and Miscellaneous
NameSeasonRiverMountainForest
Glittering StoneSummer or WinterNot AvailableNot AvailableOn the ground
CopperAll yearNot AvailableNot AvailableOn the ground
Scrap MetalAll yearNot AvailableNot AvailableOn the ground
In stump 1
BrickAll yearIn stump 1In stump 1, 3, and 4Not Available
Glass StoneAll yearNot AvailableIn stump 4Not Available
Small RockAll yearOn the groundOn the ground
In stumps 1, 2, and 3
On the ground
RockAll year
After Summer yr 1
On the groundOn the ground
In stump 3
On the ground
In stump 1
Black RockAll year
After Fall yr 1
On the groundOn the ground
In stump 4
On the ground
In stump 1
Small BranchAll yearOn the ground
In stump 1 (Winter only)
On the ground
In stumps 1, 2, and 3
On the ground
BranchAll year
After Summer yr 1
On the ground
In stump 1
On the ground
In stump 2
On the ground
Black BranchAll year
After Fall yr 1
On the ground
In stump 1
On the ground
In stump 4
On the ground
HoneycombSpring or FallOn the ground
In stump 1 (Fall only)
On the ground
In stump 1 or 2
In stump 1 (Spring only)
SnowballWinterOn the ground
In stump 1
On the ground
In all four stumps
On the ground
In stump 1

The four special places you can visit via the Travel Agency also have their own wild items you can pick up. The wild items at the remote locations are not season-specific, since the locations themselves are not seasonal. If you're looking for a specific wild item at the vacation spots, save your game before paying Charles the cost to travel. If you don't find what you're looking for when you arrive, reload your save game and try again another day.

The unique items available in the vacation locations are:

You'll need to use 10 Pearls from the Southern Island to complete the Lavish Fountain for Town Restoration Plan #5. You can also find Pearls when fish trapping.

The Elder Trees

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These two large tree trunks are located in the Forest area. On Summer 2 or later, walk into the Forest area from the Village and you'll trigger a cut scene with the Harvest Goddess and her sprites. They will explain that you can hit the bare spot on the base of the elder tree trunks to have items appear. You can hit each of the two trees once per day.

Hitting the elder trees is one way to find colored downs that you can turn into colored cloth for Yuri's Tailor Shop outfits. This may be the easiest way to collect colored down until you can visit the Ancient Ruins or trade items for down at Sandra's Item Exchange.

When you hit an elder tree, the ground will shake and the items the tree drops will appear on the ground. Just like the other wild items, you have 3 days to pick them up before they'll disappear. The items that drop will vary based on the season you're in, which one of the trees you hit (left or right), the type of hammer you use, and the day's weather.

The stronger the hammer, the greater the chance of getting better items. Generally, you will want to use an Ultra Hammer when you're searching for colored down. A normal Hammer will only produce Red Down and Green Down, and using the Iron Hammer can drop Red, Green, and Blue Down. Only the Ultra Hammer can make Yellow Down come from the elder trees as well as the other three colors.

NameHammerSeasonWeatherTree
Left or Right
Blue Magic FlowerAnySpring or SummerAnyLeft-only on stormy days
Both on other days
Red Magic FlowerIron or UltraSummer or FallNot StormyLeft-only in Summer
Both in Fall
Elli LeavesIron or UltraWinterAnyBoth
Trumpet MushroomIron or UltraFallAnyLeft
Coral MushroomAnySummer or FallNot StormyLeft
Common MushroomUltraSpring or SummerNot StormyLeft
WalnutNormal or IronSpring, Summer, or WinterAnyRight-only on stormy days
Both on other days
ChestnutAnyFallAnyBoth
BlueberryAnyFallAnyRight-only if using Iron or Ultra
Both if using normal
PlumAnySummerAnyRight-only if using Ultra
Both if using normal or Iron
ApricotAnySummerAnyLeft-only if using normal
Both if using Iron
Right-only if using Ultra
Bamboo ShootIron or UltraSpringAnyLeft
Glittering StoneUltraAll YearRainy or StormyBoth
BrickAnyAll YearAnyLeft-only on sunny days
Both on other days
Glass StoneAnyAll YearAnyLeft-only on sunny days
Both on other days
NameHammerSeasonWeatherTree
Left or Right
Small RockAnyAll YearAnyRight
RockAnyAll YearAnyLeft-only on sunny non-Spring days
Both on other days
Black RockIron or UltraAll YearAnyLeft
Small BranchAnyAll YearAnyRight
BranchAnyAll YearAnyRight-only on stormy days
Both on other days
Black BranchIron or UltraAll YearNot StormyLeft
HoneycombAnySpring or FallAnyRight-only on non-rainy Spring
Both on sunny Fall
Left-only on rainy Fall
SnowballAnyWinterAnyBoth
Old CoinIronSummer or WinterStormyLeft
Shiny CoinUltraSummer or WinterStormyLeft
Red DownAnyAll YearAnyLeft-only on sunny days
Both on rainy days
Right-only on stormy days
Green DownAnyAll YearAnyLeft-only on sunny Spring or Fall
Right-only on stormy days
Both on other days
Blue DownIron or UltraAll YearAnyBoth on rainy or stormy
Left-only on sunny Winter
Yellow DownUltraAll YearRainy or StormyLeft
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