by One of the most important things in Stardew Valley is knowing very well what crops we have in each of the seasons (leaving winter aside, of course) and choosing the ones that suit us best.
This is something especially relevant in Spring since it is the season where we start our game and we will quickly have to put our batteries together. The game doesn’t really force you to cultivate as such, you can dedicate yourself to other things such as Fishing, Gathering or Mining (to give examples)… but without a doubt Agriculture is one of the most profitable professions in the game and it would be a waste not to dedicate even a little to it.
Below I will list all the Spring crops in the game ordered in my opinion from the worst to the best crop . If you think that the order should be different, leave me your list in comments so that people can take more than one opinion into account and so others can get a more realistic idea.
We will leave the flowers aside since I think it is better to treat them in a separate post.
UNMILLED RICE
- Seeds: Rice Sprout (40 Coins at Pierre’s).
- Growth: 8 days.
- Sale price:
- Average: 30.
- Silver: 37.
- Gold: 45.
- Iridium: 60.
- Peculiarities:
- Harvested with the Scythe.
- 10% chance to give an extra crop when harvested.
- If it is planted a maximum of 3 squares away from a water area, you will not have to water it and it will take 6 days to grow.
It is not a crop that I highly recommend since it does not sell for much, especially given the relatively high cost of its seeds. In fact, you can already see that if you get Unmilled Rice of normal quality, you will be losing money unless you convert the Unmilled Rice into Rice (with the Mill, which is sold for 100 Coins) or make the Pickle (it costs more than the Juice), with which you would get 11o Coins or 154 with Artisan.
I wouldn’t really buy it, but if you find Rice Sprouts out there (sometimes they come out in fishing chests, for example) then it’s not a bad idea to plant them near water in Spring since you won’t even have to water it and they are profits without making nothing… plant them, wait for them to grow and harvest them. Now then you make the Pickle if you want to get the most out of it (or Rice if you have the free Mill) or if you are lazy you sell it directly and that’s it.
This is also not used for anything important.
GARLIC
- Seeds: Garlic Seeds (40 Coins at Pierre’s).
- Growth: 4 days.
- Sale price:
- Normal: 60.
- Silver: 75.
- Gold: 90.
- Iridium: 120.
- Peculiarities:
- Only available for sale from the second year.
It could be said that it is the second year parsnip due to the fact that it is a fast growing crop. Its seeds are more expensive but we will also obtain a greater benefit with Garlic, so it is quite balanced. In any case, in the second year, it is normal to do better economically and you will generally look for crops that, even though they are more expensive, are also much more profitable.
Regarding other uses, the only really relevant thing would be the Garlic Oil (recipe obtained at level 6 of combat that requires 10 garlic and a unit of Oil) since for 10 minutes it will make the minor monsters not bother us . Something that can come in handy if we want to farm in the mine or wherever without being bothered too much for 10 minutes (10 garlic and a unit of Oil for this seems a bit excessive, but anyway).
In the end, I don’t recommend it too much either.
KALE
- Seeds: Kale Seeds (70 Coins at Pierre’s).
- Growth: 6 days.
- Sale price:
- Average: 110.
- Silver: 137.
- Gold: 165.
- Iridium: 220.
The Kale is not bad as such, but the truth is that it does not stand out in any way and it is not necessary for anything relevant either. I recommend Potatoes more, they take the same time to grow and are more profitable even if it doesn’t seem like it from the start.
PARSNIP
- Seeds: Parsnip Seeds (20 Coins at Pierre’s).
- Growth: 4 days.
- Sale price:
- Average: 35.
- Silver: 43.
- Gold: 52.
- Iridium: 70.
- Peculiarities:
- Necessary for the Spring Crops Lot and the Quality Crops Lot.
Despite being less profitable than the crops mentioned above, I think the Parsnip deserves this position since the low cost of its seeds makes it easier for us to start planting at the beginning of our game . In addition, this crop takes very little to grow, which will allow us to obtain more coins to get ahead and buy better crops.
If you want to complete all the Lots in the game, I recommend that you plant many Parsnips until you get the 5 Gold quality Parsnips that the Quality Crops Lot asks for; don’t forget to also add one of normal quality to the Spring Crops Bundle.
Another relevant use for it is that Pam loves them! So it’s a very simple way to increase your friendship with her.
CAULIFLOWER
- Seeds: Cauliflower Seeds (80 Coins at Pierre’s).
- Growth: 12 days.
- Sale price:
- Average: 175.
- Silver: 218.
- Gold: 262.
- Iridium: 350.
- Peculiarities:
- Necessary for the Spring Crops Bundle.
- If you plant them in a 3×3 you can create a Giant Crop. If you are that lucky you will get a lot of profitability.
A crop that takes a long time to grow but with which we will obtain good profits and if a Giant Cauliflower appears on top of that , I won’t even tell you.
In addition, it will be necessary for the Spring Crops Bundle and we can also give them to Maru if we are interested in raising her friendship since she loves them (if you get a Giant Crop you will have plenty, so…).
GREEN BEAN
- Seeds: Bean Kit (60 Coins at Pierre’s).
- Growth: 10 days.
- Sale price:
- Average: 40.
- Silver: 50.
- Gold: 60.
- Iridium: 80.
- Peculiarities:
- Necessary for the Spring Crops Bundle.
- Once it has grown it can be harvested every 3 days.
Green Bean will be less profitable than some crops above, but it is the ideal crop for lazy people who would rather save as much time as possible from Farming to do other things like Fishing or whatever. Time is money in Stardew Valley .
I love it because you plant a few and you will only have to dedicate yourself to watering them and as soon as it grows you can collect the beans and without having to replant them they will continue to produce every 3 days (you only water and ale), so you save going to the store Pierre every time you harvest. It spreads a lot if you plant the first days.
POTATO
- Seeds: Potato Sprout (50 Coins at Pierre’s).
- Growth: 6 days.
- Sale price:
- Normal: 80.
- Silver: 100.
- Gold: 120.
- Iridium: 160.
- Peculiarities:
- Necessary for the Spring Crops Bundle.
- Roughly 25% chance to harvest an additional Potato.
Potatoes are bought with few coins, they grow quite fast and also sell quite well; but what greatly increases its profitability is that there is more or less a 25% chance of obtaining an extra Potato when harvesting . 100% recommended.
RHUBARB
- Seeds: Rhubarb Sprout (100 Coins at Sandy’s Oasis).
- Growth: 13 days.
- Sale price:
- Average: 220.
- Silver: 275.
- Gold: 330.
- Iridium: 440.
- Peculiarities:
- It is bought in the desert.
We start with the heavyweights of the season!
You won’t have this available until you repair the bus that takes you to the desert (you have to complete the Lots in the Safe), but as soon as you do, I recommend that you buy Rhubarb because it sells very well. Also, you will be able to make Wine with it for huge profits (from 660 to 1848 Coins for each bottle).
COFFEE BEAN
- Seeds: Coffee Bean (Drop rare or in the Traveling Cart for a lot of money).
- Growth: 10 days.
- Sale price:
- Average: 15.
- Silver: 18.
- Gold: 22.
- Iridium: 30.
- Peculiarities:
- The Coffee Bean is the seed and the harvest simultaneously.
- Once it has grown it can be harvested every 2 days.
- Each harvest is 4 Coffee Beans.
- It can be planted in Spring and Summer. If you plant it in Spring in Summer it will remain intact.
The first Coffee Bean will cost you a lot to get it , I recommend you keep an eye on the Traveling Cart, you can usually find it at 2500 Coins but with good luck you can get it for much less. Once you have it, it is an extremely profitable crop since the crop itself will give you the seeds (Coffee Bean) and you can quickly increase your production.
You will create the coffee with 5 Coffee Beans in a barrel and it does not sell badly, especially considering that you can create quite a few and since you can grow it in Spring and Summer, you will get many benefits. Of course, make sure you always save a few Coffee Beans since these are the seeds to be able to continue planting them without resorting to the Traveling Cart.
STRAWBERRY
- Seeds: Strawberry Seeds ( Egg Festival for 100 Coins).
- Growth: 8 days.
- Sale price:
- Regular: 120.
- Silver: 150.
- Gold: 180.
- Iridium: 240.
- Peculiarities:
- Only for sale at the Egg Festival.
- Once it has grown it can be harvested every 4 days.
And we come to the Strawberries (click for a deeper analysis of these), the absolute queen among the Spring Crops of Stardew Valley. The only problem they have is that they can only be bought at the Egg Festival (remember that it is on the 13th of Spring) so to get the most out of them it would be that you buy as many as you can to plant them in the second year .
That Spring of the second year will be very lucrative as you will be able to plant the Strawberries on day 1 and harvest them multiple times throughout the season. Also, you’re more likely to have everything you need (the barrels and such) to create the Strawberry Wine in the second year (which sells for a lot and you’ll get a lot of Strawberries).
In fact, my recommendation is always that, you buy them one year to plant them the next in order to obtain the maximum profitability from them. Trust me, you’ll be glad you waited when you feel the power of this crop planted on day 1.
