There's plenty to explore and lots to do on Ginger Island, the location added back in Stardew Valley's 1.5 update. There's even a huge patch of land in the west area of the island where players can farm to their heart's content.
In the northeast corner of this island farm, once the farmhouse has been restored, players can wander into a cave that houses a mysterious creature. This giant frog seems to speak in riddles, and it talks about wishing to see certain crops grown on the island once again. He'll reward the player handsomely if they can grant his wish. As the new caretaker of the Ginger Island farm, players have to help this frog relive the glory days of his youth. However, his requests are a bit cryptic. Here's what crops to grow for Stardew Valley's Ginger Island frog.
Updated by Jeff Brooks on October 31, 2025: This guide has been updated to adhere to The Best War Games's current style and formatting guidelines. Images have been revamped, article structure has been revisited, and additional helpful in-text links have been included to provide a more optimal experience for readers.
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How to Access the Frog's Cave on Ginger Island
In order to access the Gourmand Frog's cave on Ginger Island, players will have to complete a couple of tasks first:
- Move the Giant Turtle blocking Ginger Island West
- Restore the Ginger Island farm
Move the Giant Turtle blocking Ginger Island West
When players first get to Ginger Island, large sections of the new map will be inaccessible. They can only be unlocked by collecting Golden Walnuts for the local Ginger Island parrots. To get to the area where the frog resides, the farmer must unlock Ginger Island West. Upon arrival, this area will be blocked by a giant turtle taking a snooze. To wake him up, the player must collect 10 Golden Walnuts for the nearby parrot, who will shoo him away and unblock the path.
Restore the Ginger Island Farm
There's still one more hurdle before the player can access the Gourmand Frog's cave. In order to enter the frog's home and speak with him, the player must use their Golden Walnuts to restore the farmhouse in the Island West area. This upgrade will cost 20 Golden Walnuts and will be completed immediately upon purchasing it. Fortunately, there are plenty of fixed locations around the island where walnuts are hidden.
Once the farmhouse is restored, players can head to the upper right corner of the farm (as seen in the image above), where they will find a cave that was not there before. Go inside to talk to Stardew Valley's Gourmand Frog.
Stardew Valley: Guide to Ginger Island Farming
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Fulfilling the Gourmand Frog's Requests
When the player speaks to the Gourmand Frog, he remarks on how the island used to be teeming with fresh food and describes an item he wants to see growing again. He says that he wants to see each item "in its natural state," telling players, "Do not pluck it from the ground." However, he doesn't seem to know the items' names — at least not in a language the player understands — and relies on descriptions instead to tell the player what he wants. He will have three different requests, and the player has to use his descriptions to puzzle out what they need to grow.
There are three items that the Ginger Island frog wants to see again, in the following order:
- Upon first meeting the frog, he will ask the player for a crop that is round, pink, and juicy. Players should grow at least one ripe melon to fulfill his request.
- Next time the player visits, he'll ask for something "yellow and tickling" that "waves in the wind." Golden Wheat fits this description.
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Finally, the frog wants to see "zesty ground fruit that maketh the breath stink." Pungent, underground-dwelling
Garlic
fits the bill here.
Players cannot complete all the quests at once; once they collect the reward for one, the frog will tell them what he wants to see next. They can, however, grow all crops at the same time and simply return to the frog immediately after each quest is completed to receive the next objective.
When growing the items, the frog will be equally pleased no matter the crop's quality, so there's no need to use fertilizer in the soil to complete this quest. Since all crops can grow on Ginger Island in any season, there's no need to wait until the right time. However, the player may need to wait to buy the proper seeds first, so read on for descriptions of where and how to acquire them.
Once the crops are grown, do not harvest them right away! The Gourmand Frog wishes to see them first.
Grow Melons on Ginger Island
Melon Seeds can be purchased during the summer, costing 80g at Pierre's and 100g at JojaMart. Gunther will also give nine seeds to the players after they donate 12 items to the museum.
Once planted, melons take 12 days to mature. This can be reduced to 10 days with 
Speed-Gro, nine days with 
Deluxe Speed-Gro, or eight days with 
Hyper Speed-Gro. Players can also try for a giant crop with their melons, by planting at least nine seeds in a 3x3 square. However, this is not necessary to impress the Gourmand Frog; he will be content with a regular-sized 
Melon.
Grow Wheat on Ginger Island
Wheat Seeds are available for purchase in the summer and fall. They cost 10g at Pierre's and 12g at JojaMart. Unlike most crops, these must be harvested with the scythe.
Wheat matures four days after planting. Because its growth cycle is already short, the only Speed-Gro that affects it is Hyper Speed-Gro, with which it will be ready in three days.
Grow Garlic on Ginger Island
Players can buy 
Garlic Seeds in the spring, but only from Year 2 forward. Since most players likely won't get to Ginger Island in Year 1 anyway, this is unlikely to be much of a hindrance.
These seeds cost 40g at Pierre's and are not available at JojaMart. Like Wheat, they take four days to mature and are only sped along by Hyper Speed-Gro.
All crops will also grow 10% faster with the Tiller profession. This stacks with any fertilizer the player uses, and can help players complete these quests quickly.
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Collect Rewards From the Gourmand Frog
The player's first instinct may be to pick their ripe crops and deliver them to their froggy friend, but Ginger Island's Gourmand Frog wants to see crops growing. When the appropriate crop is fully grown, do not harvest it! Instead, head back into the Gourmand Frog's cave. When he asks if the player has something to show him, respond: "Yes." A cutscene will play in which the frog and the player admire the crop, and the frog reminisces about his youth. Despite remarking on wanting to eat them, the frog will not actually harvest any of the crops, and the player is free to collect them later.
After the cutscene, the player and the frog return to his cave. Here, the Gourmand Frog will reward the farmer with five 
Golden Walnuts. Completing all three crop requests thus nets 15 Golden Walnuts in total, a significant reward for an easy task. Spend them on upgrades around the island!
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- February 26, 2016
- ESRB
- E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco)
- Developer(s)
- ConcernedApe
- Publisher(s)
- ConcernedApe
