What is the best crop in each season to make the most amount of money?

[Worblehat]

For what it's worth, my endgame setup is about maximizing gold per tile, not gold per day. I'm only using the greenhouse (120 Ancient Fruit, plus one of each of the eight types of tree), and I can make whatever machines I need to process the crops. With fixed inputs, maximizing output means whatever produces the most valuable final product, no matter how long it takes, since I can make as many machines as I need to achieve a steady state. Thus, wine, and people periodically suggesting cellar expansions over in the Suggestions forum.

The gold/day calculations are interesting though, so thanks for bringing this up!

I've also been thinking about a different metric, gold per click, as one would expect from a Lazy Farmer. I think that's why I'm so fond of the Ginger Island honey farm. Just a few fairy roses, and as many beehives as my maple syrup production rate and willingness to continue making them can support (which appears to be 58, since I'm no longer inclined to continue making them). After that, one click per beehive every four days at 952 g/click. Nice... (Thanks again for the idea, imnvs!)

 

[Squigglyruth]

Special mention to Parsnips, the worst yield but fastest iteration crop in the game, never try to use them to get money, but if you can get 5x gold-star parsnips in the first half of the season, it saves you from having to Mass Pumpkin in the fall.

I disagree: parsnips are actually a good money maker for your first spring. They are cheap to buy and actually make the best profit per day of any spring crop, assuming you have the energy to water them.

For example, 4000 GP gets you 200 parsnip seeds. They produce parsnips after 4 days. These will sell for roughly 7066 GP, meaning profit per day is 766.5 GP. (Higher if you have any farming levels, because you will get more gold and silver produce.)
For the same initial investment, you can plant 50 cauliflowers. These take 12 days to grow. They will sell for 8836.5 GP - only a little more than the parsnips, and they took three times as long to grow. Profit per day is only 403 GP.

Considerations change when you reach the limits of energy or space for planting crops, but on a pure monetary 'make quick profits' calculation, parsnips are the best investment in spring.

 

[Boo1972]

I disagree: parsnips are actually a good money maker for your first spring. They are cheap to buy and actually make the best profit per day of any spring crop, assuming you have the energy to water them.

For example, 4000 GP gets you 200 parsnip seeds. They produce parsnips after 4 days. These will sell for roughly 7066 GP, meaning profit per day is 766.5 GP. (Higher if you have any farming levels, because you will get more gold and silver produce.)
For the same initial investment, you can plant 50 cauliflowers. These take 12 days to grow. They will sell for 8836.5 GP - only a little more than the parsnips, and they took three times as long to grow. Profit per day is only 403 GP.

Considerations change when you reach the limits of energy or space for planting crops, but on a pure monetary 'make quick profits' calculation, parsnips are the best investment in spring.

I have always bought 2 green beans, 2 cauliflower and some potatoes with my first 500g. Maybe I’ll have to try spending it all on parsnips.

But really the true cost with crops is energy and time, which you point out. Early game is it more valuable to water a lot of crops if that keeps you from fishing (If you’re even good at fishing) or to farm less and make money fishing and foraging? I am beginning to lean toward the later.

Of course that’s not what the OP asked. Profitable crops seem to be berries, ancient fruit and starfruit. And parsnips.

 

[zaylynn]

spring is strawberries, summer is blueberries, and fall is cranberries

 

[Squigglyruth]

I have always bought 2 green beans, 2 cauliflower and some potatoes with my first 500g. Maybe I’ll have to try spending it all on parsnips.

My standard start for a long time was 2 green beans, up to 2 cauliflower depending what I got from mixed seeds, and then all the parsnips I could afford. It gets money and farming XP going fast. I used it successfully in a lot of min-max challenges such as early CC completion and earliest farming 10 (without the CC crops that time).

But really the true cost with crops is energy and time, which you point out. Early game is it more valuable to water a lot of crops if that keeps you from fishing (If you’re even good at fishing) or to farm less and make money fishing and foraging? I am beginning to lean toward the later.

Yes, balance is key in any strategy. This will vary for everyone depending on their skills and aims. For me, the current best balance is this: https://forums.stardewvalley.net/th...iming-for-strawberries-in-spring-year-1.2168/
You will notice that I use parsnips at the start of the season, in carefully calcuated numbers. I don't think it would be doable with any other crop.

 

[Drullo321]

I disagree: parsnips are actually a good money maker for your first spring. They are cheap to buy and actually make the best profit per day of any spring crop, assuming you have the energy to water them.

For example, 4000 GP gets you 200 parsnip seeds. They produce parsnips after 4 days. These will sell for roughly 7066 GP, meaning profit per day is 766.5 GP. (Higher if you have any farming levels, because you will get more gold and silver produce.)
For the same initial investment, you can plant 50 cauliflowers. These take 12 days to grow. They will sell for 8836.5 GP - only a little more than the parsnips, and they took three times as long to grow. Profit per day is only 403 GP.

Considerations change when you reach the limits of energy or space for planting crops, but on a pure monetary 'make quick profits' calculation, parsnips are the best investment in spring.

You can't calculate that way because you have to water 150 more parsnip crops then cauliflowers which means:
a) It takes alot more time, especially if you only have access to basic or copper can
b) You need alot more energy, e.g. eating stuff that you could sell otherwise

So e.g. you could use the extra time of the cauliflowers to just catch some fishes, mine some ore or gather and sell the stuff and you would make alot more money.

 

[CryogenCrystals]

I think it all comes down to personal play style and priorities, which can be different for everyone. We each kinda need to calculate (for ourselves) based on that and go from there. Other's strategies may not work for us, and that is fine.

Some like the labor-intensive crops because they enjoy farming, whereas I'm a lazy farmer and I don't like the labor-intensive stuff, at least not at this point in my gameplay. To each their own... Some enjoy hard work at the beginning and enter into more relaxed play as they go, others like relaxed play all the way through, or to work hard at the end to finish everything (where some never finish the community center and just enjoy designing rooms!). That's the wonderful part of this game... we get to explore try random stuff out. For me a lot of fun is had in experimentation and goofing around.

I see lots of suggestions elsewhere for labor-intensive crops, and that isn't my thing either, but eventually I'll give it a go to see what I learn from it. I'm sure there's a benefit or some satisfaction tucked in there that I'm just not able to see yet.

 

[Boo1972]

My standard start for a long time was 2 green beans, up to 2 cauliflower depending what I got from mixed seeds, and then all the parsnips I could afford. It gets money and farming XP going fast. I used it successfully in a lot of min-max challenges such as early CC completion and earliest farming 10 (without the CC crops that time).



Yes, balance is key in any strategy. This will vary for everyone depending on their skills and aims. For me, the current best balance is this: https://forums.stardewvalley.net/th...iming-for-strawberries-in-spring-year-1.2168/
You will notice that I use parsnips at the start of the season, in carefully calcuated numbers. I don't think it would be doable with any other crop.

I’m going to give your strategy a try! I recently used

My standard start for a long time was 2 green beans, up to 2 cauliflower depending what I got from mixed seeds, and then all the parsnips I could afford. It gets money and farming XP going fast. I used it successfully in a lot of min-max challenges such as early CC completion and earliest farming 10 (without the CC crops that time).



Yes, balance is key in any strategy. This will vary for everyone depending on their skills and aims. For me, the current best balance is this: https://forums.stardewvalley.net/th...iming-for-strawberries-in-spring-year-1.2168/
You will notice that I use parsnips at the start of the season, in carefully calcuated numbers. I don't think it would be doable with any other crop.

I’m going to give your strategy a try, thanks! I tried the common fishing and mining method recently. I wanted to open SC early and get some starfruit in my first summer. It was effective as far as it goes, I had a few starfruit harvests, but my farming skill level was relatively in the toilet. Couldn’t turn the starfruit into wine. It’s become important to me to get my farming infrastructure up and running quickly so I can achieve my goal of marrying all of Pelican Town. Well, the available ones at least.

 

[Squigglyruth]

You can't calculate that way because you have to water 150 more parsnip crops then cauliflowers which means:
a) It takes alot more time, especially if you only have access to basic or copper can
b) You need alot more energy, e.g. eating stuff that you could sell otherwise

So e.g. you could use the extra time of the cauliflowers to just catch some fishes, mine some ore or gather and sell the stuff and you would make alot more money.

But that wouldn't increase farming XP, which gets me quality sprinklers by spring 17, kegs in spring to start processing crops, and Agriculturalist in time to grow three Starfruit harvests with DSG, planted on summer 4...
If you begin to make the calcuation more complex, you need to factor in the oodles of spare time I get in late spring and early summer once all my crops are set up with sprinklers! My current, fairly relaxed play-through has about 450-500 crops growing in late spring, watered with quality sprinklers: that will be a lot of money from harvest and all that ground ready for my starfruit crop in summer, and in the mean time I am free to do what I want with my days - fish for money, mine and chop wood for kegs, or whatever!

Everything is a trade-off. So it is useful to have different ways to calculate for different goals and circumstances. My second game, I blindly believed the guides and planted cauliflower and kale all spring, then wondered why I was doing less well than the game before... So after that I thought for myself and tried things out. I would strongly recommend everyone to do the same thing - try out what works for you. I can certainly say that, for myself, parsnips have proved to be a very useful spring crop and have allowed me to do some impressive speed runs.

YMMV.

 

[Giant Octopodes]

Yep Squigglyruth has the right of it, the best thing to do is run your own numbers based on what You are dealing with, and what You are actually going to do with whatever products pop out. For example, Parsnips are more profitable than Cauliflower, for the same initial investment amount, assuming no space limitations. Conversely, Cauliflower are more profitable than Parsnips, for the same initial space investment, assuming no monetary limitations. Planting 200 Cauliflower gets you 35,000 (more but calculating worst case here) after 12 days, with an initial investment of 16,000, for a profit per day of 1,583 vs the 200 Parsnips 766. However, that same 16,000 could get you 800 Parsnips, and get you 28,000 after 4 days, for a profit per day of 3,000. If you can water and maintain all 800 of them.

The shorter turnaround time also means you can reinvest faster, of course, if you're not at a space limitation. That 28,000 could be turned into 1,400 parsnips, those could all be planted, earning 49,000, which could be turned into 2,450 Parsnips, which would then be harvested for 85,750. Considering this happens in the same time the Cauliflower are growing and is obtained at the same time the Cauliflower spits out its 35,000 you can see the power of quick returns on investment. Of course, I don't want to water 2,450 Parsnips, personally, but that's the whole point - calculate for what you are Actually going to do, with what you Actually have to work with, and you can maximize your gains much more effectively than any amount of theorycrafting can which doesn't take your particular situation into account.

For me, I use fishing for profit in Spring and Farming for XP, and the fact that it only takes 883 Kale to get to Farming 10, or around 10,600 energy, is a win. This is in comparison to the 1875 Parsnips it takes (15,000 energy) but I'll readily admit it's the lazy approach and far from the most profitable. As indicated though, everything is a trade-off.

 

[imnvs]

Year 1? I gotta work for the greenhouse, and ideally that means eliminating the need for 5 gold quality pumpkins from the fall. As a result I mass produce parsnips in year 1. This is not to say that I don't grow other things, but I'm always, always, always growing for the Community Center.

In subsequent years I'll already have farming 10, so experience is no longer a concern. At this point all I'm growing for is mono- and poly-culture as well as cooking ingredients. This is the time I'm looking forward to completion and grandpa's evaluation, and secondarily for cooking ingredients for the cooking dishes I'll actually cook in the long term. Additionally I'm setting up my jar/keg empire and setting up the things that'll be going through that pipeline.

 

[GDawney]

This tool might be helpful.

Worblehat, Did you create this tool !! It is fantastic.

 

[GDawney]

Meanwhile, here's the tl;dr version of what I'd personally recommend to plant as a solid money maker main crop, without going crazy with minmax strats

• Fall - pumpkin

In Fall, cranberries are technically fractionally better money than pumpkins in the first year,

Why are you not recommending Amaranth preserves for fall? I load up on my Amaranth and make buck$ during fall and winter, selling the preserves

 

[imnvs]

Worblehat, Did you create this tool !! It is fantastic.

I do not believe he did...

...but I really came here to say that this tool doesn't properly represent ancient seeds for some reason. Also, you have to make sure to have the "pay for seeds" box checked if you want a good comparison.

 

[GDawney]

I do not believe he did...

...but I really came here to say that this tool doesn't properly represent ancient seeds for some reason. Also, you have to make sure to have the "pay for seeds" box checked if you want a good comparison.

Thank you for the advice! I am very in love with that tool, I will have to send kudos to the creator through one of his media sites.

 

[One More Day]

Why are you not recommending Amaranth preserves for fall? I load up on my Amaranth and make buck$ during fall and winter, selling the preserves

That's an easy one. Amaranth simply makes less money than pumpkins. Assuming infinite processing capacity....

Jarred Amaranth sells for 490g with Artisan, and Amaranth Seeds cost 70g, for a profit of 420g. With DSG and Agriculturist, it grows in 4 days, earning 105g per growing day

Jarred Pumpkin sells for 966g, with a 100g seed cost, for a profit of 866g. It grows in 8 days, earning 108g per day. Plus it can do even better when it comes out of a Keg, selling for 1008g, a profit of 908g, or 113g per growing day


With DSG and Agriculturist, other crops can theoretically do even better than Pumpkin, like Bok Choi, which grows in 2 days, earning 122g per growing day when put in a Jar, and Wheat, also 2 days and earning 135g per day when turned into Beer. But those crops are very labour intensive, needing to be harvested and replanted every other day, plus you need to spend heaps more time unloading and refilling your Kegs or Jars, leaving little time for any other activities.

As I said in my previous post, Pumpkin is a solid money maker without getting all minmax crazy. It's a balanced choice. You only need to harvest every 8 days, and you will process your whole harvest much more rapidly, due to not needing anywhere near as many machines. It leaves you with a lot of free time to pursue other activities.

Plus, Jars are ridiculously expensive, needing 8 Coal amongst other things; it's easier to make Kegs, which makes Pumpkins even more attractive.

 

[Worblehat]

Worblehat, Did you create this tool !! It is fantastic.

No, I just highlighted a link from the Mega-thread of Resources at the top of this forum.

 

[GDawney]

That's an easy one. Amaranth simply makes less money than pumpkins. Assuming infinite processing capacity....

Well Slap me Silly!! Thank you for such a detailed response. I am now changing up my fall crop strategy and crafting kegs!

 

[One More Day]

Well Slap me Silly!! Thank you for such a detailed response. I am now changing up my fall crop strategy and crafting kegs!

Just thought it's important to add, my numbers are crunched using Agriculturist to grow crops faster, but then swapping the Farming 10 profession to Artisan before selling the processed products. Each change costs 10,000g, so you need to make sure you're selling enough to make it worth while.

For instance, with Artisan you only get an extra 80g per Wheat/Beer, so you need to sell more than 125 Beer to make it profitable to swap, or more than 250 if you're swapping back to Agriculturist again after selling. This might seem a lot, but if you're harvesting and replanting Wheat every other day through the season, you only need 20 plots. If you have dozens or hundreds of plots, swapping professions is hugely important for making big bucks. With pumpkins, the magic number is 12 plots for the season, or 24 to swap back again.

 

[Tom]

But that wouldn't increase farming XP, which gets me quality sprinklers by spring 17

But how on earth do you have gold ore by then? I am normally happy to get to The Mines Floor 80 (abundant gold ore) by Spring 23. How much Parsnip are you watering before Spring 17? 413/4=105 Parsnips on Spring 5, 9, 13, and 17. You are watering that much? Any tricks?

Edited to add: I see in your other thread that you mined all day on 5, 6, and 7, which is a nice fringe benefit of what I also see was 13 Parsnip on Spring 1, 200 on Spring 8, and 200 on Spring 13(?).