Though it's not used in many recipes, clay is an essential resource in Stardew Valley. It's easy to obtain, but finding it may not be that obvious and can be somewhat of a headscratcher, especially for newer Stardew Valley players.

Stardew Valley added sandboxing to the farming simulator genre. Likewise, there's a lot of crafting that is done by the player, allowing them to design their farms however they'd like, especially with the help of Stardew Valley mods. This also leaves a lot of room to do player-driven challenges, such as a fish pond farm or only growing flowers as a source of income. But to craft materials in Stardew Valley, players will first need to gather the necessary resources. One of them is clay, which can be found in a number of ways, though it is somewhat of a rarer find compared to other crafting materials.

RELATED: 10 Stardew Valley Mods That Make The Game Even Better

The main way of finding clay in Stardew Valley is by tilling the ground, which is obvious to veteran players, but those newer to the game might not pick up on this right away. Players might notice some clay pop out of the ground when they till their farmland, clearing it out to plant crops in Stardew Valley. But while this might be the default way many will collect clay initially, it might not be enough to craft items later on.

Instead of mindlessly tilling the ground around the farm or town, players can find little worms sticking out of the ground. These are known as Artifact Spots in Stardew Valley, and they can yield several valuable items such as lost books, which will expand the library, and resources like gold ore and stone depending on the precise location. These are also a great way of collecting clay, especially during the Winter in Stardew Valley.

Sometimes clay can be procured from the mines as well, a method that veteran players use often. Bombs can effectively blow up several rocks and ore veins at once, making them an excellent way to collect basic materials from the mines, including clay. Luckily, the first 30 levels of the mines are the best place to mine for clay, which can also be found inside geodes occasionally.

Clay isn't used in many crafting recipes in Stardew Valley. The most important one is the silo, which calls for 10 clay as well as some stone, copper bars, and gold. Otherwise, players might use clay when crafting the fertilizers Quality Retaining Soil and Deluxe Retaining Soil, which each only requires 1 clay to craft.

Stardew Valley is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

MORE: Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town Highlights the Problem Stardew Valley Created