There's plenty of new content for veteran Stardew Valley players thanks to the latest game update. Known as Update 1.5, it's added tons of late-game quests, items, and areas to unlock and explore for plenty of real-life hours.
If you're someone who strives to collect every item and device possible in the game, you'll want to know about the Bone Mill, one of said new additions in Stardew Valley. It's a rather handy machine that will solve the problem of excess fossils and bones you may collect along your journey. If you only know the bare bones about this item, we'll fill you in all you need to know, including where to obtain the Bone Mill and what you can use it for.
What Is The Bone Mill?
The Bone Mill is a piece of refining equipment, like a Charcoal Kiln or Recycling Machine. Instead of producing Coal from Wood or Refined Quartz from trash, the Bone Mill will take any bone item and turn it into fertilizer.
This is incredibly useful considering how many new fossils (and new areas to find them) were introduced with Update 1.5. The full list of items that can be put into the Bone Mill is as follows:
- Amphibian Fossil
- Bone Fragments (five are needed)
- Fossilized Leg
- Fossilized Ribs
- Fossilized Skull
- Fossilized Spine
- Fossilized Tail
- Mummified Bat
- Mummified Frog
- Nautilus Fossil
- Palm Fossil
- Prehistoric Rib
- Prehistoric Scapula
- Prehistoric Skull
- Prehistoric Tibia
- Prehistoric Vertebra
- Skeletal Hand
- Skeletal Tail
- Snake Skull
- Snake Vertebrae
- Trilobite
The type of fertilizer you will receive after the Bone Mill is finished is randomly selected from four possibilities:
- Quality Fertilizer (x10)
- Deluxe Speed-Gro (x3)
- Speed-Gro (x5)
- Tree Fertilizer (x5)
There's also a 10% chance you'll receive double the amount of fertilizer.
The Special Order Board
The Bone Mill recipe can only be obtained through a specific quest from the special orders board, another recent update in the game.
All you need to unlock the board is to activate the cutscene in town, which can occur after Fall 2 of year 1, regardless of the weather. The board is installed outside of Mayor Lewis' house and will rotate different quests based on how much time is given to complete them, similar to how Qi Challenges are displayed.
Special order quests have a few different formats: some require you to place items in a location specific to the quest, while others have you ship items instead. Some quests don't require parting with your items at all; simply accomplishing the act of acquiring them is sufficient.
An interesting fact about special orders is that if you fail at the quest, any items that you donated can be retaken by checking the Lost and Found box in Mayor Lewis' house.
Completing Gunther's Quest
Gunther's quest is named "Fragments of the past" and requires you to collect 100 Bone Fragments while the quest is active. You'll have seven days to achieve this, so being able to visit Ginger Island is quite helpful, since Bone Nodes will spawn every day in the Island North area.
You can also get Bone Fragments from defeating Lava Lurks and Skeletons, destroying crates and barrels in the Skull Cavern, and random Artifact Spots.
Once you've collected 100 pieces, simply place them in the box inside the Museum and wait for Gunther's letter in the mail for the recipe. To make a Bone Mill, you'll need:
- 10 Bone Fragments
- 3 pieces of Clay
- 20 pieces of Stone
After that, you can make fertilizer to your heart's content!