Picking the best crops in Starsand Island is a bit of a science, and not the agricultural kind. If you want the biggest profits, you’ll need to plant crops with comparatively inexpensive buy prices, decent growth times, and high sell prices. The biggest moneymakers are locked behind higher levels of the farming career, but you gradually get access to more useful crops once you hit the junior level.
Below, we break down the best crops for every season in Starsand Island at every farming career level. If you’re looking for ways to get money to buy those seeds, check out our guide for how to make money fast.
Bees and crops
If you’re keen on min-maxing and getting as much money from your farm as possible, you’ll want to invest in bees. Place beehives in the center of your field, then plant flowers around the perimeter beyond where your crops are. Bees will fly out to the flowers and back to their hives twice a day (around midday and then again when animals go to sleep), and when they do, they randomly pollinate some of your crops. Pollinating instantly causes a growth spurt, so you can harvest much faster than usual.
Your capacity for installing beehives and lining your fields with flowers will, of course, be limited at the start and probably for a season or two after. But just keep it in mind as you start expanding your capabilities.
Best spring crops in Starsand Island
In general, the most lucrative spring crops are:
- Honeyvine
- Star Plum
- Star Mango
- Mint
- Water Caltrop
- Strawberry
- Tomato
- Leek
Though you won’t have free access to all of those in your first year. Your options at the beginner level are limited to:
Apprentice spring crops
So you have no choice but to stick with them. Once you reach apprentice level, the best crops to add to your fields are:
Cucumbers yield less than other crops and take two days to grow, so while their higher sell price might look tempting, you’ll get more money faster from leeks than you will from cukes in the early game. They’re worth relying on later, though, when most worthwhile crops take three days or longer to mature.
Junior spring crops
At the junior level, add:
Intermediate spring crops
And then once you reach intermediate, you should introduce:
Late-game spring crops
Senior spring crops
At the senior level, you should add lemons to your crop mix. They take a long time to grow, but they’re some of the most profitable tree fruits in the game. You can also use them in recipes like lemonade to make a bit of extra cash.
Expert spring crops
At the expert level, switch to Star Plum and Honeyvine. Honeyvine is lucrative in general, and Star Plum is an ingredient in bayberry juice (as well as being profitable on its own).
By the time you can grow Honeyvine and Star Plum, those should take precedent over other crops with lower sell prices, at least as far as your moneymaking operations go. It’s still a good idea to have a few small fields devoted to crops you’ll potentially want for recipes or to use as gifts for islanders.
Best summer crops in Starsand Island
Summer’s star crops are:
- Honeyvine
- Chirpy Plum
- Mint
- Water Caltrop
- Aloe Vera
- Corn
- Blueberry
- Pepper
Beginner and apprentice summer crops
At the start, the only summer-specific crop you can plant is beetroot, so go with that. At the apprentice level, make sure to plant:
Cabbage in particular is brilliant, since it only takes one day to grow.
Junior summer crops
Drop Water Spinach once you hit the junior level and add Pepper Seeds and Tomatoes. (You can carry on with your spring tomatoes in your second year, though you start in summer during your first year.)
Intermediate summer crops
And then at the intermediate level, include:
Late-game summer crops
Senior summer crops
Senior-level summer crops of choice are:
- Mint
- Water Caltrop
- Aloe Vera
Expert summer crops
And then to make the most money, shift the majority of your focus at the expert level to:
- Fluffbean
- Chirpy Plum
- Honeyvine
Zapweed might be tempting, but it’s too expensive and takes too long to grow compared to the other three.
Best autumn crops in Starsand Island
Autumn’s most profitable plants are:
- Star Plum (again)
- Bell Pepper
- Aloe Vera
- Reishii Mushroom
- Cherry Tomato
- Corn
Beetroot is once again the only beginner-level crop you have access to, though by the time you reach your first autumn, you should have advanced far enough in the farming job to access at least the apprentice seed tier, if not junior.
Apprentice autumn crops:
Both grow quickly and sell for a comparatively high price, so let these be your main seasonal moneymakers until you can plant higher-value crops.
Junior autumn crops
The junior tier isn’t that spectacular, since both of its autumn crops take a long time to grow. If you haven’t reached intermediate yet, cabbage and leaks will still be your best source of seasonal income alongside your year-round crops.
Intermediate autumn crops
Late-game autumn crops
Senior autumn crops
- Reishii Mushroom
- Aloe Vera
Both of these sell for high prices, which makes up for their rather long grow time. If you’re lucky with the bees, though, you’ll be able to grow and sell more of them more quickly.
Expert autumn crops
Star Plums grow more quickly than Bell Peppers, but the peppers sell for more. So make sure you’re growing one or two decent-sized fields of peppers.
Best winter crops in Starsand Island
Winter might be notoriously barren in other farming games, but not in Starsand Island. You can still bring in a lot of money with:
- Fluffbean
- Jadelume
- King Water Chestnut
- Strawberry
- Carrot
If you’re farming diligently in your first year (which you should be), then by the time winter rolls around, you should be fairly advanced in that career. There are no beginner winter crops, and the apprentice-level winter crop (Winter Oilseed) is that season’s equivalent of Cabbage in autumn.
Junior winter crops
Add carrots to your Winter Oilseed and year-round crops once you unlock junior-level seeds.
Intermediate winter crops
And throw strawberries in the mix at this tier.
Late-game winter crops
The senior-level winter crops are primarily flowers, which aren’t the most profitable. However, you’ll want to keep up with flowers anyway to help encourage bees to fly about your fields and pollinate. Which, in Starsand Island terms, means they magically make your crops enter a growth spurt.
Expert winter crops
- Fluffbean
- King Water Chestnut
- Jadelume
These three have the largest return compared to how much you spend on seeds, and Jadelume is a particular highlight thanks to its shorter five-day growth cycle. Strawberries are still a solid option too, for faster-growing crops.
Best all season crops in Starsand Island
You can grow these no matter the season and should keep them on-hand as a reliable way to pad out your profits.
Beginner all season crops
Wheat is a solid choice when you’re starting out, and it’s worth continuing to grow some even after you rank up your farming career since it has uses in more complex recipes.
Apprentice all season crops
- Cucumber
- Peanut
- Mountain Rice
Junior all season crops
Sugarcane is fantastic as much for its short growing time as for how useful sugar is in recipes. Make it a point to always grow this one.
Senior all season crops
These two take a long time to grow, but since their seeds are comparatively inexpensive, it’s worth putting up with..
Expert all season crops
Most all season crops have uses outside of making money, but the best part about Stardew Fern is just how much you can sell it for. Add this to your field of permanent crops as soon as you can.
And while you’re here, make sure to keep an eye on our up-to-date Starsand Island codes list for some freebies to help pad your farmer’s pockets. Check out our Starsand Island romance guide for some relationship advice, too. If you’re just getting started, our Starsand Island beginner tips guide has some handy tricks to make your island life that much easier.