Stardew Valley: How To Cultivate Honey

This Stardew Valley guide focuses on honey production, a frequently overlooked yet profitable artisan good. This guide is updated for version 1.6.

Bee House Construction:

Honey is produced by bees housed in Bee Houses. The recipe unlocks at Farming Level 3, requiring:

• 40 Wood
• 8 Coal
• 1 Iron Bar
• 1 Maple Syrup

Bee Houses can also be obtained from the Fall Crops Bundle (Community Center) or the Mayor's Prize Counter.

Place Bee Houses outdoors (farm, forest, quarry) for honey production every 3-4 days (excluding winter). Ginger Island allows year-round production. Moving a Bee House with an axe or pickaxe drops any ready honey. Bee Houses in the Greenhouse are unproductive.

Honey Types and Flower Influence:

Honey type and value depend on nearby flowers (within five tiles, including Garden Pots). No flowers yield Wild Honey (100g base, 140g with Artisan profession).

The Artisan profession (Farming Level 10) increases artisan good value by 40%.

Harvesting flowers before honey collection reverts the honey to Wild Honey. Wild Seeds don't affect honey type.

Honey Uses:

• Selling: Higher-value honeys are best sold directly.
• Mead: Place honey in a Keg to make Mead. Mead quality (and thus value) increases with aging in a Cask.
  • Normal: 200g (280g with Artisan)
  • Silver: 250g (350g)
  • Gold: 300g (420g)
  • Iridium: 400g (560g) Honey type doesn't affect Mead value; use Wild Honey for maximum profit.
• Crafting: Wild Honey, Hardwood, and Fiber craft a Warp Totem: Farm (Farming Level 8).
• Gifting: Honey is a liked gift for most villagers (except Maru and Sebastian). Mead is also popular, but avoid giving it to children, Penny, or Sebastian.

This comprehensive guide helps maximize honey production and profitability in Stardew Valley. Remember to consider flower placement for optimal honey type and value.