How to Get Ancient Fruit in Stardew Valley

The Ancient Fruit is one of the rarest items in Stardew Valley. While not particularly difficult (not a lot in Stardew Valley is), you need to have a lot of patience, as it's not possible to rush this. Listed below are the best ways to get the Ancient Fruit!

How to Get Ancient Fruit in Stardew Valley

Currently there are two ways to get Ancient Fruit in Stardew Valley, and both of them can be rather time consuming:

1. Get the seeds from Gunther when you turn in the Ancient Seed Artifact
2. Purchase the seeds from the Travelling Merchant in Cindersap Forest

Before we begin, it's important to mention that neither of these paths are better. One is easier, but the other is probably faster and might require more effort. Getting the Ancient Fruit is easy, but prepare for a long wait!

Step One: Get the Seed Packet

Option A: The Museum

Getting the seeds from Gunther requires more effort than simply purchasing them from The Travelling Merchant, but if you are looking to fill your museum with artifacts, or if you don't want to wait for the Merchant to show up on her days in game (Friday and Sunday), then you'd be better off picking up your Hoe tool and going for a walk around the map.

Shown above is the location of the Museum on the map. However, before you go there you'll need to dig at some Artifact Spots in Cindersap Forest or the Mountain. Artifact Spots are somewhat difficult to spot, but you're undoubtedly familiar with them. They look like worms sticking up out of the ground. Check out below to see where you'll find Cindersap Forest and the Mountain.

Once you get the Ancient Seed artifact (which only has a 0.7 percent drop rate), you will take it to Gunther in the Museum. He will take it, put it on display, and in turn give you a packet of  Ancient Fruit seeds that you can plant!

Option B: The Travelling Merchant

This option is often simpler than getting a packet from the Museum, but it if you want to complete your Museum, you'll have to go back and do it the other way. Taking this path also means that you'll have to wait until Friday or Sunday (in game), as those are the only two days she shows up. She doesn't always have Ancient Seeds in her inventory, though! So you might actually end up having to wait a few weeks to get them from her.

Shown above is where you will find The Travelling Merchant on her designated days. Once you finally find the Ancient Seeds in her stock, you'll have to pay anywhere from 100 to 1,000 gold for a single packet.

Step Two: Plant the Seeds

Now that you've got the seeds, the rest is easy! Take your seeds to your favorite planting spot on your farm, plant them, and then you're ready for the awesome action packed adventure below.

Step Three: Wait

Wait for it. Wait, wait, and wait some more. Water it every day, and wait. The Ancient Fruit takes 28 days to fully grow and harvest. It's worth a lot of gold, but you'll finish an entire in-game season before you're able to sell it or use it to make any Artisan Goods. Shown above is the entire growth process for this rare fruit, if you need to know when to harvest.

A Few Notes

The most important thing to note is you should not plant the Ancient Fruit in Autumn unless you plant it in your Greenhouse. It takes so long to grow and does NOT grow in the winter, so you'll lose all progress and the plant itself if it is outside. Another thing to consider is to use the Ancient Fruit in some Artisan Goods. If you improved your Artisan profession and craft a purple star Ancient Fruit into Wine, you'll net a nice purse of 4,620 gold!

Related: How to make wine in Stardew Valley - Pro Game Guides