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Stardew Valley: What Are the Best Crops?

Stardew Valley is one of those games that can be a bit divisive. Some people pick it up, play a few minutes, and then leave out of boredom. Other players will lose 200 hours playing this game and have no idea where the time went.

The gameplay and versatility are surprisingly deep with this title. There is really no “wrong” way to play Stardew Valley. However, there is one constant for every gamer: cash is what makes the virtual world go round.

You’ll need money to expand your house and get the most out of this game. One of the best ways to earn that money is through farming. However, just like farming in real life, some crops are more valuable than others.

So, what are Stardew Valley’s best crops? Keep reading to discover more in our comprehensive guide.

A Crop for (Almost) Every Season

To everything, turn, turn, turn...

Stardew Valley mimics real-world farming in that you must contend with different seasons. Some crops are more valuable than others depending on what the season is. To save time and make a lot of digital money, you must know what to focus on from season to season.

That’s why our guide below makes different crop recommendations for each season. Our goal is to help you get as much money from farming as you can in a relatively short period of time.

Now, one thing you should know: our guide assumes nothing more than a farming level of about 4. If you want to get even more per crop, though, there are a few steps you can take before you focus on farming.

Ways to Increase Crop Value

Harvest low, sell high

Would you like to get even more out of each crop that you grow and sell? In that case, you may want to take a few extra steps.

First, you should grab the “Tiller” profession at Farming level 5 as soon as you can. With that, you can get an extra 10% on every crop sale. Over time, this can help to seriously line your pockets!

Second, if you don’t mind a bit of gambling, you can always use fertilizer on your crops. There is a chance it will increase the value of the eventual crop. Then again, there is a chance that it will remain the same.

Finally, our guide is assuming that you wish to directly sell the crop. You may be able to make higher profits by experimenting with processing your crops. As always, we recommend trial and error until you find what works for you.

With all that out of the way, let’s dive into the best crops by season in Stardew Valley.

Best Spring Crops

No spring break from your harvest duties

Strawberries are by far your most profitable crop during the spring. Unfortunately, you can only get strawberries during the Egg Festival (Spring 13th). If you can plant them quickly enough after the festival ends, you can get a couple of harvests before summer hits.

Now, keep in mind that nothing keeps you from getting more seeds than you actually need. Anything that you don’t use during this spring, you can use during the next one.

A more constant (and constantly profitable) spring crop is green beans. They represent a way to unlock other crop bundles while also helping you master the ways of Trellis planning. Planting these is like playing a tutorial that helps to line your virtual pockets.

So long as you’re not a Year 1 player, rhubarb is consistently profitable. Just buy it from the Oasis shop, sell it, and watch those profits come in.

Cauliflower takes more time to harvest than other crops, but it brings in a nice return each time. As with the green beans, this also helps to unlock your Spring Crops bundle, so it’s good to focus on this.

Finally, potatoes are the “slow and steady wins the race” spring crop. Their individual value is lower than the crops we’ve covered. However, you can usually get four potato harvests before summer hits. On top of that, potatoes have a decent chance (25%, to be exact) of spawning another potato, further increasing your profits.

Best Summer Crops

Warm days, hot profit

With summer crops, we’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that Year 1 players cannot access most of the valuable crops. The good news is that one of the best crops is available for Year 1 players to enjoy.

Blueberries are kind of like a better version of potatoes. Their individual sale price is low, but every blueberry bush you plant will generate a couple of additional berries. This leads to major multi-harvest profits, which is why blueberries are one of summer’s best crops.

Starfruit is another very simple crop. You buy it from the Oasis shop and sell it for a tidy profit. While Year 1 players cannot access this yet, it will be a reliable source of profit later on.

If you think of crops as investments, hops are about as safe as it gets. First of all, the “one a day” regrowth rate means new hops are constantly coming. That means more profit is steadily streaming in.

While our guide is focused on directly selling the crops, you should know that you can ferment those hops in a keg and create some Pale Ale. You may not want to introduce beer snobbery to the Valley, but that Pale Ale is more profitable than any other crop you can grow or create.

Hot peppers are great summer crops for players that want lots of profit for very little effort. You can grow them without a trellis, and the steady regrowth rate (three days) means that you can keep the money coming in.

Melons are another pleasantly simple crop. They yield a decent profit and help unlock your Spring Crops bundle, meaning they are definitely worth your time.

Finally, red cabbage is another crop only available through the Oasis store (sorry, Year 1 players). Buy low, sell high, and enjoy your killer profits.

Best Fall Crops

Fall gets us closer to the spoopy season

Harvesting in fall? One of the most profitable crops is also the most expensive. It takes 1,000 gold to buy a sweet gem berry, so you may need to scrounge and save to get the money. Once you have it, though, you can buy a crop that is worth nearly three times what you paid for it!

Aside from the expensive sweet gem berries, your best fall crop is the humble cranberry. They are worth quite a bit on their own, and cranberries always drop multiple crops during harvest time.

The only downside to cranberries is that their seeds are relatively expensive. If you’re short on cash, be sure to focus on grapes. Their seeds are far cheaper and provide a great way for early players to line their pockets.

Finally, pumpkins aren’t just for spooky decoration (or for giving to Carolyn). You can turn each pumpkin into a decent profit. Be sure to hum some Nightmare Before Christmas songs while you do it!

Multiseasonal Crops

A crop for all seasons?

So far, we’ve divided our guide by the seasons. That’s because certain crops are going to work better for you depending on the season. In a few cases, though, there are crops that you can grow across multiple seasons to generate some serious profit.

The best example of this is the Ancient Fruit. If you plant the fruit early in Spring, you can enjoy a weekly crop of ancient fruits across multiple seasons. This translates to some major cash to fuel your adventures.

Corn is another great example of this. Just buy it from Pierre and plant it early in the summer. Tend that crop through fall and your wallet will grow as swiftly as your harvest.

Those are our best bets for multiseasonal crops. You can try to turn a profit with coffee beans, but that involves a lot of micromanagement and processing before you get decent money.

You can also focus on wheat as needed. It doesn’t yield any replantable seeds, but you always buy more seeds every four days or so. You can grow wheat through most of the year and sell it for a decent profit, so it’s a good way to turn empty space into profit while you play.

Stardew Valley Best Crops: What’s Next?

What are Stardew Valley’s best crops? The honest answer is it depends on the season. Limits in what you can grow and what it is worth means that the answers are going to change as the virtual years go by.

However, our guide can help new players hit the ground running and start maximizing their profits right away and can also help veteran players discover new ways to play and appreciate their favorite game.

What if you get tired of Stardew Valley, though? It can happen after a few hundred hours of gameplay. In that case, we recommend you check out our favorite games like the Sims so that you can scratch that Stardew Valley itch long after you put the game down.

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Written By

Chris Snellgrove is a professional nerd turned nerdy professional. After completing a PhD in English, he started teaching by day and writing by night. Despite the manic schedule, he finds plenty of time for books, comics, movies, and video games. Ultimately, he lives his life by the philosophy of the Rocky Horror Picture Show: "don't dream it...be it!"

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