Since I pulled my hair out over this game as well as enjoyed
many an hour staring at the repetitive motions I created on my TV
screen by it. I thought it might be nice to share just a few do's and
don'ts. The way you play might not coincide so well with my advice, but
as most people have many times before, you are welcome to completely
disregard all I have to say anddo extremely well despite flying in the
face of my pearls of wisdom.
        First of all... and this I find is very annoying myself...
Never use your hammer, hoe, sickle or axe right after jumping off your
horse. Apparently you have such an affinity for him that no matter how
far away he may be you will smack the be-jeezus out of him with one of
those more destructive tools. My advice is to either brush him once
with your brush after you get off or sprinkle something with your
watering can(I know, after all that ridin, I sure need to tinkle... ).
Just so poor ol' Mr. Ned won't hafta feel that axe cleavin into his 
side for no apparent reason.
        Second, You make the most money in the spring season from
planting potatoes. I know cabbage is a bigger sale, and sure you get
tons more turnips.... but trust me, when all the numbers are added
subtracted and put through the mental blender.... Dan Quayle had the
right idea. (though you should cultivate at least a 3X3 plot of turnips
and cabbage, if just to get the recipes that come of them).
        Now I have a question for you.... You ever get back from a long
hard day of scavenging just to look at the clock and find out you have
three minutes to put all of your stuff in the box? Well any loser can
just wait till morning but a truly ingenuitive person would hop into
the barn, where time effectively stops, and chuck all his mushrooms,
berries, walnuts, fruits, herbs and grass into the bin in there. You
can take your sweet time and when you leave the barn, all of your
things will be in the outgoing shipment... Which is good when you NEED
to have that money the next morning. Remember there's a bin in the
chicken coop too, just in case.
        Chop wood. Whenever you got some free time. If you don't have a
surplus of lumber you're gonna end up scrounging for it. And once they
build the spa you loose three viable trunks to hack. Play Paul Bunyan
while you can, the rainforest is depleting.
        And talkin about that axe... level up your stuff... oh its
great when you got golden tools. And I know this is what everyone is
dying to know... where'd the sprinkler go... hehehe... Its in the
watering can. When your tools upgrade you'll hear a little "I kick
butt" type of noise while your little farmer holds his tool high above
his head as though he is the master of the gardening universe, which of
course we know he is. After one upgrade your hoe, sickle and watering
can gain the ability to affect 3 instead of 1 square. The watering can
and sickle do a 3 square wide spread, while the hoe sends a shock
through the ground turning up soil in a 3 square straight row. The axe
and hammer just lessen the number of times an object needs to be hit to
be torn asunder. All you have to do is hold the B button until little
boy blue(and yellow) strains a little, then release and he waters,
whacks, chops, cuts, and tills with newfound prowess. When the tools
take on a golden hue the watering can, hoe and sickle become capable
of doing their business to a 3X3 square, and the axe and the hammer
can break a stump and a boulder, respectively, with only one blow.
        What else.... Oh yes. The greenhouse, is most excellent. I
recommend everyone gets one. You ain't got nuthin to do in the winter
anyway, so get off your butt, chop the wood and mine the ore to pay for
it. $150 a pop for strawberries, need I say more?
        Oh, and one more thing. Chickens are a pain in the butt. Boy
are they lucky I'm humane.

                                       Happy Horticulture!

   --Farmer Jonah