Stardew Valley is jam-packed with content for players to lose themselves in, with running and maintaining one's farm only taking up a small portion of overall game time. Building relationships, mining, foraging, fishing, combat, and general exploration are also key parts of the player experience, but many of these things require money. This drives players back to the game's farming system, as it's the best, most surefire way to make money in Stardew Valley.

However, figuring out what crops will net the most profit can be a long, messy process if players are simply experimenting via trial-and-error. There are over forty total crops in Stardew Valley, along with ways to process fully-matured crops into other materials that can potentially net players even more profit. Not all of these methods will be possible during the game's first year, but knowing what to look out for will still help players maximize their earnings in the end.

10/10 Hops Can Be Turned Into Pale Ale For Big Profits

A garden full of Hops in Stardew Valley

Hops is a vegetable crop that's available to players during the Summer. On their own, a harvested Hop plant doesn't sell for much, but players can place Hops inside a Keg in order to produce Pale Ale, which has one of the highest returns in all of Stardew Valley.

Hops take a total of eleven in-game days to grow, but the regrowth rate afterward is only a single day. This makes Hop plants great for providing players with a steady income throughout all of Summer, and they're easy to get access to compared to other crops.

9/10 Corn Is A Versatile And Profitable Multi-Season Crop

A player's corn field in Stardew Valley

The first multi-season crop that players are likely to gain access to is Corn. While Corn won't net players much profit if they only use it as a single-season crop to be cut down at the end of Summer, keeping it around throughout Fall increases returns, since players can get double the harvests without having to buy and plant new seeds.

Players will need to plant their Corn on the first day of Summer in order to maximize profits, for a total of eleven harvests throughout Summer and Fall. Corn takes a total of fourteen days to grow, but is ready for re-harvest every four days after that.

8/10 Starfruit Has The Highest Value Of Any Easily Obtainable Raw Crop

A player planting a bunch of Starfruit, Stardew Valley

In terms of profitable raw crops, there's no better option for players than the Starfruit. Starfruit is only available during the Summer and only falls behind the Sweet Gem Berry in terms of raw profit, with the latter being significantly more expensive to purchase seeds of.

Starfruit takes a total of thirteen days before it's ready for harvest, and, unlike many other crops, it doesn't have a re-harvesting period. This means players will only be able to harvest their Starfruit plants twice a year, but each crop sells for so much that it's still a worthwhile investment.

7/10 Grapes Can Be Grown In Both Summer And Fall

The player holding a grape in Stardew Valley

Grapes can be grown in either Summer or Fall, but it's not a multi-season crop in the same way that Corn is. Instead, players have the option to use Summer Seeds to grow Grapes during the Summer or Grape Starters during the Fall. The former grows faster but has a two-thirds chance of either being a Spice Berry or Sweet Pea instead.

When grown from Starter seeds in the Fall, Grapes are ready for harvest after ten days and are re-harvestable every three days afterward. Grapes are one of the fruits within Stardew Valley that are also forgeable during the Summer, meaning players don't actually have to plant Grapes to make a profit off of them.

6/10 Strawberries Are A Top-Tier Choice For Players In Year One

Fields full of strawberries in Stardew Valley

The Strawberry is an excellent Spring crop for those looking to maximize their profits, especially in Stardew Valley's first year. While players won't be able to plant their Strawberries until the Egg Festival rolls around, this is still a great way to profit early on.

Strawberry plants take a total of eight days before they're ready to harvest and can be re-harvested every four days. Strawberry plants also give a two-percent chance of yielding an additional strawberry which will enable players to raise their earnings even further.

5/10 Cranberries Are A Great Way To Secure Fall Income

A player harvesting cranberries in Stardew Valley

Cranberries had their overall profit margin nerfed in Patch 1.1, but they're still one of the best overall sources of income for players during the Fall. Cranberries are ready for harvest after seven days and can be re-harvested every five days after that.

What sets Cranberries apart from other Fall crops is its double-yield, granting players two Cranberries for every harvested plant. Cranberries also have a ten-percent chance of granting one or more extra Cranberries, meaning RNG can help players earn even more.

4/10 Blueberries Are The Best Way To Earn Profits In The Summer

A field of blueberries in Stardew Valley

Summer is home to quite a few highly profitable crops, with one of the best choices being Blueberries. They take a total of thirteen days before they're ready for harvest and regrow every four days.

Blueberries are the single most-profitable crop for players going through their first year due to each plant yielding three Blueberries. This allows players to easily triple their earnings compared to how much seeds cost, and Blueberry plants also have a two-percent chance of giving even more upon harvest.

3/10 Coffee Beans Are Expensive But Well Worth The Investment

A player standing in a field of coffee beans, Stardew Valley

Coffee Beans have an advantage over many other crops in the game due to being multi-seasonal, but they're hard to obtain. Dust Sprites have an incredibly low chance of dropping Coffee Beans. They can also be purchased from the Special or Standard Stock for 2,500g or 1,000g respectively.

Though they're costly, each Coffee Bean plant yields a total of four seeds after ten days and is ready for re-harvest every two days after that. These can be re-planted in order to grow even more, and they can also be put into a Keg to make Coffee, which can then be sold for a decent price.

2/10 Sweet Gem Berries Are Well Worth Their High Price

A field of Sweet Gem Berries, Stardew Valley

Sweet Gem Berries are, by far, the most profitable crop that players can plant during the Fall. They're just not the best choice for players still going through their first year, as each seed is a costly 1,000g.

Taking a total of twenty-four days to harvest with no re-harvest time, Sweet Gem Berries can only be harvested once per season. If players are able to save enough to purchase a large number of seeds, though, they'll walk away at least 2,000g richer for every seed that they plant.

1/10 Ancient Fruit Far Surpasses Any Other Crop In Stardew Valley

A player standing in a field of Ancient Fruit, Stardew Valley

There's no crop more versatile or profitable than Stardew Valley's Ancient Fruit. It's a multi-seasonal crop that can be grown all throughout Spring, Summer, and Fall. It can also be re-harvested every seven days once its initial growth period of twenty-eight days passes.

Ancient Seeds aren't easy to come across by any means, having only a one-percent chance to show up in the Traveling Cart and an even lower chance of being created from the Seed Maker. Even so, players will be able to rake in hefty profits if they're able to get their hands on even a single seed to plant at the beginning of Springtime.

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