Clay is one resource that you’re always going to need in Stardew Valley, but it isn’t exactly the easiest to hoard. If you want to stash some away for crafting or building purposes, you’ll have to put some effort in.
While it’s not used in any bundles and is inadvisable as a gift for any of the villagers (they all either dislike or hate it), Clay is still a valuable resource to gather. It’s needed to build Silos, and also a key ingredient when it comes to making Retaining Soils.
How to get Clay in Stardew Valley
“Officially”, there are a few different ways to get Clay in Stardew Valley:
- Tilling Dirt, Sand, or Artifact Spots
- Mining Clay Nodes at the Dig Site on Ginger Island
- Cracking open Geodes
- Possible gift from Jas, Leo, or Vincent at the Feast of the Winter Star
- Purchased from Vincent at the Desert Festival for 1 Calico Egg
- Gifted by a pet dog with maximum friendship
However, none of these methods is a guaranteed way to get Clay. Thankfully, though, there is a much more lucrative method for Clay gathering, but you’ll need to tweak the options before you start a new game to feel the benefit.
The secret to hoarding Clay
When creating a new game, open up the settings on he left side of the character creation screen, then scroll down to the very bottom. Here, you’ll find the option to “Use Legacy Randomization”. Ticking the checkbox here will allow you to benefit from an old hack when it comes to gathering and hoarding Clay.
With this enabled, you can dig in a very specific pattern on the beach and quickly gather up a huge number of Clay, but this is where things get a little complicated. The pattern is hard to explain, so here’s a diagram. Don’t worry if this makes no sense, I’ll explain fully:
If you consider the beach as a square grid, follow this pattern with your Hoe:
- Start at the red [1], and then move up and two to continue digging holes until there are six in a diagonal line to the right
- Move left from the [6] hole until you are four squares above the [1] hole, and do the same six holes
- Go to the blue [1] and follow the pattern laid out above
- Start the green [1] one down and one right from your original red [2], and repeat the pattern
I know this looks and sounds confusing if you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, but once you’ve followed this pattern a few times, it becomes second nature, and you’ll soon have a hefty hoard of Clay ready for all your needs. The pattern can be continued indefinitely as well, as long as you have space.
How to use Clay in Stardew Valley
Crafting
| Item | Recipe | How to get recipe |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Quality Retaining Soil | 1 Clay 3 Stone | Farming level 7 |
| Deluxe Retaining Soil | 1 Clay 5 Stone 3 Fiber | Island Trader (50 Cinder shards) |
| Fiber Seeds | 1 Clay 10 Stone 1 Refined Quartz | Evelyn after completing the Greenhouse |
| 5 Brick Floor | 2 Clay 5 Stone | Carpenter’s Shop (500 Gold) |
| Bone Mill | 3 Clay 10 Bone Fragments 20 Stone | Gunther Special Order |
| Dehydrator | 30 Wood 2 Clay 1 Fire Quartz | Pierre’s General Store (10,000 Gold) |
Buildings
Clay is used to build Silos, which can then make looking after your animals a whole lot easier. Silos can be purchased from Robin at the Carpenter’s Shop for 100 Gold, and need the following resources:
- 100 Stone
- 10 Clay
- 5 Copper Bar
Tailoring
Clay can be placed into the Spool of a Sewing Machine to get a Shirt, and also counts as an orange dye when placed into the Dye Pots at Emily and Haley’s House.
