Stardew Valleyis a game that allows you to fish, mine, make friends with the locals, explore exotic islands, and complete a series of fun quests and challenges. But, when you peel back all the layers, at its core, it’s a farming simulator, and a farming simulator tends to start one way: by planting some crops. From your first day, you’ll be plantingParsnip Seedsand getting into the endless swing of planting, nurturing, and harvesting to turn a profit, and while it may be a chore on paper, it’s relaxing and a whole lot of fun.
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There’s something rewarding about raking in some coin for produce you grew yourself, but you may be wondering which of the various crops featured inStardew Valleyare the best, and which crops you should be making room for on your farm and in your Greenhouse. Well, allow me to help you make that decision and get those profits ticking up. This is our list of the bestStardew Valleycrops that you need to grow in bulk.
10Powdermelon
Where To Get Seeds
Digging Seed Spots & Completing Raccoon Requests
Profits Per Day
We kick things off with a crop that, on paper, probably shouldn’t feature on this list based on the potential profits players get per seed. However, the reason whyPowdermelonmake it onto the list is because these are the only crops, aside fromWinter Seedsthat actually grow in the harsh conditions of Winter. Long-time players will know that Winter usually signals a time when you can pack your Watering Can away and focus on upgrading tools, hitting the mines, and fishing for winter fish. However, thanks to the addition of Powermelons, you can keep harvesting crops year-round.
Not to mention, these crops have the potential to grow into giant crops, such asMelon,Cauliflower,Pumpkin, andQi Fruit. I will concede that after a few years, when you have your Greenhouse andother money-making methods, these crops become less helpful to players. Plus, you have to jump through quite a few hoops to get these seeds in the first place. But overall, they are a great new crop that helps you keep the cash coming in during the winter months.
9Strawberries
Purchased at the Egg Festival
This will feel like a weird inclusion, considering thatStrawberry Seedsaren’t quite as profitable as some other crops on this list, not to mention that they can only be bought at the Egg Festival, and this means you’ll get lower yields from these crops in your first year as this festival happens midway through Spring. All these are valid points, but if you prepare properly and bide your time, you’ll gain access to a great moneymaking crop.
The way to get the most out of these crops is by planting them in an area where the plant will never wilt, such as a Plant Pot or a Greenhouse. Alternatively, you can keep the seeds and use them in year two right at the start of the season.
So the best thing to do is buy a few Strawberry Seeds at the Egg Festival, grow them during spring, and then hold onto your harvest and use aSeed Makerto stock up on these seeds. Then, when you get a Greenhouse, you’re able to grow these crops, and they will constantly grow with no need to replant, or at the very least, you’ll get five yields out of these seeds in year two. Basically, buyingStrawberryseeds in year one is like an investment for the future, and if you’re patient, you’ll get excellent profits out of these crops, especially if you turn them into artisan goods.
8Red Cabbage
Purchased from Pierre from Year Two onward
Next up, we have a crop that can’t be acquired untilPierreadds new seeds to their stock in year two, but theseRed Cabbage Seedsare well worth the wait, as growing them will lead to a lot of profits in your second summer. It’s understandable to think thatMelonwould be the more profitable main summer crop, especially because they can grow in a Giant variety, but when you consider thatRed Cabbageonly sells for 10g less per crop, and you get an extra yield out of this crop per season with three compared to two with melons, you soon realize that Red Cabbage is the clear winner.
It is a shame that these aren’t sold in the first year at Pierre’s, but if you’re super keen to get these growing early, you’re able to occasionally buy these seeds from the Travelling Merchant, or you may be able to find themwithin the Skull Cavern. Whatever you choose to do, the main takeaway here is that Red Cabbage is easily the best summer vegetable to grow.
7Blueberries
Purchased fromPierreduring Summer
When comparingBlueberry SeedstoStrawberry Seeds, the profits are actually pretty similar, but there are two reasons why Blueberries come out on top. Firstly, due to the fact that players get three Blueberries per yield, which gives players more of a chance of getting high-quality crops when harvesting, and secondly, players gain access to Blueberries from the very start of the Summer season without any limitations, meaning you get the maximum amount of yields from this crop, making it a superior crop in the first year especially.
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The only downside here is that the artisan items you can make using blueberries aren’t anywhere near as good as most single-yield crops out there. But as a raw crop, it’s a very strong option and the best early-game summer crop by a distance.
6Cranberries
Purchased from Pierre during Fall
18.89g x 1.11
Of all the berries in the game,Cranberry Seedsare by far the best, which may come as a surprise, as on your first yield, you’ll actually be down money overall. However, if you plant these crops early in the season, you’ll get five yields out of one single seed, and that’s when you start to see the big profits where Cranberries are concerned. At an absolute minimum, you’ll gain 150g per harvest, which translates to a 490g profit per seed at the end of the season. However, if you’re lucky, these profits could soar much higher.
You see, for every harvest, you have a 10% chance to receive extra Cranberries per yield. Based on averages, this usually translates to 2 extra berries per 11 yields, but if the odds are in your favor and you up your Luck stat, you can end up with a massive haul beyond your expectations. By some distance, this is the best fall crop to grow, and it is one you should consider growing in your greenhouse year-round.
Drops From Soot Sprites
Coffeeis something that many people simply can’t function without, and that seems to be the case inStardew Valleytoo, because people are willing to pay big bucks for all the caffeine-filled goodness that you can produce. The annoying thing aboutCoffee Beanis that you can’t go out and buy them, and the only real way to get them is by heading to the mines and killing Soot Sprites, who drop these beans 1% of the time. But once you have a few beans, you can really up production and make big profits.
It takes a little while for these crops to grow, but once they are mature, they will produce four Coffee Beans each day, and this leaves you with a choice. You can either sell the beans for a very nice profit, or you can stockpile these beans and use them in groups of five in aKegto create coffee, which sells for 150g a pop. It’s a deceptively good crop, a multi-seasonal crop, and one that’s well worth the hassle of obtaining from those pesky Soot Sprites.
4Pineapple
Obtained From Island Trader or Via Monster Drops
Of all the new crops added to the game over the years, courtesy of Eric Barone’s endless stream of free updates, thePineappleis by far the best for making a bucketload of money. This crop is a little hard to produce in bulk as the only way to produce this one is either obtaining thesePineapple Seedsas drops from Ginger Island native monsters, or trading aMagma Capto the Island Trader. However, with your trustySeed Makerand the year-round summer climate on Ginger Island, you can turn each seed into an eternally profitable cash cow.
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These crops have a maximum of four yields per season, with each potentially earning up to 600g per harvest. Not to mention that this crop yields great profits when turned into artisan products as well. The downside is how late in the game these crops become available, which sees this crop miss out on the podium places, but if you’re looking for a way to get the most out of your Ginger Island farm, Pineapples are the answer.
3Starfruit
Bought fromSandyin Oasis
Our bronze medal crop is one that showcases you need to spend money to make money.Starfruit Seedsare one of the most pricey seed varieties in the game, costing the player a whopping 400g per seed, but the good news is that when this crop fully matures, the player will make double their investment back, making this a very profitable crop if you’re able to stomach forking out all the dough needed to get production going.
These grow in the Summer, and this means you’ll only get two yields out of these crops within that season. But if you grow these within your Greenhouse all year round and useKegandCaskto make top-quality Starfruit Wine, you’ll find that your pockets will be full of coin. Not to mention, you’ll need these crops if you want to build aSmall Junimo Hutto optimize and automate your crop production.
The only downside is that these require replanting every 13 days, which means they require more maintenance than other crops. Overall,Starfruitis easily one of the stars of the show when it comes toStardewcrops.
2Sweet Gem Berry
Purchased from the Traveling Merchant
Our runner-up is a crop that may surprise you, as many long-time players will know thatSweet Gem Berryis not a crop that can be grown in bulk because you may’t produce more seeds for this crop via aSeed Makerwithout losing a tonne of money doing so, and you can only purchase a couple ofRare Seedper week via the Traveling Cart merchant. However, even if you only manage to gather 16 seeds over the course of a year at 1,000g a pop, provided you produce Iridium grade crops, that’s still an 80,000g profit for one month’s work tending to sixteen squares.
The obvious limitation of the Sweet Gem Berry is that you can only earn this payout once a year. But considering how little effort it takes to do this, it begs the question, why wouldn’t you want 80,000g for doing next to nothing? Plus, these berries are actually required if you want to complete a secret quest in the Secret Woods to earn aStardrop, which means that, at the very least, you should grow at least one. They aren’t going to be the crop you rely on for consistent profits, but for a big bump in profits once a year, this profit is well worth investing in.
1Ancient Fruit
First Seed Given As Reward FromGunther
Did you really believe it would be anything other than theAncient Fruitoccupying this top spot? This crop is by far and away the best inStardew Valley, and that’s for several reasons. Firstly, this is a crop that you only need to plant once, and provided you are putting this crop in your greenhouse, which you really should be, you’ll never have to replant again.
Second, this crop produces insane profits. The seeds cost nothing to obtain, and you’ll be earning 550g minimum from each harvest. Then third, if you take the time to turn this crop into an artisan product, you can easily make over 5000g per crop, which is absolutely insane.
The only downside is that acquiring theAncient Seedsneeded for production takes a while as you need to acquire theAncient Seedartifact and donate it to the Museum before you are rewarded with your first pack of seeds. And then it takes time to build up your supply by using aSeed Maker. However, when your Greenhouse is full of this crop, there is simply no other crop that can compete with the Ancient Fruit, making it the crop you want to prioritize in the late game.
