Before Stardew Valley received its latest update, there was little to do after you passed a certain amount of time in the game. You could try to go past level 100 in the Skull Cavern to give yourself the ultimate challenge, but after that, the game could get a little repetitive.

Luckily, Ginger Island is filled with plenty of activities to partake in, without even considering the additional farmland that can boost your profits and allow you to grow pretty much whatever crop you desire, at your own leisure. Multiple factors make this farm significantly better than, virtually, any other type of farm.

8 Grow Any Crop

Once you fix the delipidated house on the western side of the island, for the small price of 20 Golden Walnuts, you unlock the ability to grow any crop you wish within the land’s plot. That’s right, the Ginger Island farm works exactly like the Greenhouse, but it’s considerably bigger.

Prioritize planting and harvesting the best crops in the game to give your wallet the edge it needs to buy the Return Scepter — it’s still hard to believe that this tool costs 2 million gold.

7 Close To Rivers, Ponds, and The Sea

While in the character creation menu at the beginning of Stardew Valley, you might be inclined to pick the River Farm if fishing is among your preferred activities. This particular farm type isn’t exactly easy to navigate, nor is it the most efficient in terms of large-scale crop production.

You don’t have to give up fishing by your farm just to plant more seeds, though. The Ginger Island home is located near almost every body of water in the game, save for lakes (found only back in the valley’s forests).

6 No Bothersome Crows

Did you know that crows don’t spawn on Ginger Island? That makes sense, considering the place is positively crawling with colorful parrots. Naturally, that means your crops are always going to be completely safe from those unwanted pests that can really ruin your day.

This means you never need to place any scarecrows in an optimal pattern to protect your seeds. However, you still might want to fence them in since weeds do indeed grow and can damage your crops.

5 Soil Keeps Fertilizer Forever

No other farm boasts this incredibly useful characteristic. As you might already know, the Ginger Island farm can grow crops all year round, like the Greenhouse. That’s because the island is not affected by the changing seasons, but rather, it exists within one continuous, never-ending, season.

Fertilizers stay in tilled soil as long as something is always growing on the tile where the fertilizer is placed. On your farm, this effect only lasts until the end of spring, summer, or fall respectively. Conversely, on Ginger Island, you can use Deluxe Retaining Soil and your crops will stay watered until you harvest them. This notably eliminates the need for sprinklers and also renders continuously growing crops even more useful.

4 Sunny Days Most Of The Time

Some prefer the benefits rain has to offer in Stardew Valley because your crops are automatically watered on rainy days. It doesn’t rain often in Ginger Island, so you should make the most of the sunny weather. Some crops are able to grow without water, like Tea Saplings and Fiber Seeds, but these are generally not the best when it comes to profitability.

Instead, you can take advantage of the ever-shining sun on the island by placing a few Solar Panels, which generate one battery after seven sunny days. Batteries are easily among the rarest resources in the game, so make sure you complete Caroline’s special quest to receive the Solar Panel crafting recipe.

3 Quick Access To Volcano Dungeon

One of the best surprises to come out of the latest update is the Volcano Dungeon. Unlike the Skull Cavern, this place has an actual end you can revisit to enchant or upgrade your weapons and tools. The dungeon itself is also filled with plenty of rare items and monsters that drop valuable loot. In fact, this is easily one of the best places to easily gather some Iridium.

It’s not ideal to travel to the Volcano Dungeon from your Stardew Valley farm. Instead, it’s much better to save time and spend the night on Ginger Island than to go to the dungeon.

2 Aesthetics Like A Breath Of Fresh Air

Unless you live on the beach farm, which also boasts some interesting characteristics, chances are that you rarely see sand or water by your home. There’s a reason why waterfront real estate is particularly profitable, and it’s because living on a flat piece of land (think Standard Farm) is rather boring.

Luckily, the Ginger Island farm is filled with palm trees, sand, and all sorts of aesthetic qualities found nowhere else. If anything, this is a nice change of pace from the regular environments we are all too familiar with back in the valley.

1 Only You Live Here

Ironically, your spouse and pet can sometimes prove to be more bothersome than helpful. Your pet doesn’t actually do anything other than keep you company, but your spouse can indeed prove to be surprisingly useful sometimes, especially when they water your entire field. Nonetheless, both of these parties can indeed block your way out or into the house, at different times of the day. Nothing is worse than not making it to bed because someone living in your place — rent-free — is already sleeping in your bed.

Whenever you want a break from the married life, go to the island, forget about your child’s future college education bills, and drink a Pina Colada (Gus actually makes them at the beach resort).

NEXT: The 7 Best Heart Events in Stardew Valley (& The 7 Worst)