Stardew Valley – What Are the Best Summer Crops?

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Summer in Stardew Valley is the first season when you actually know what you are doing and can start planting incredibly profitable crops. You’ve helped Pelican Town enough during the Spring, and it is finally time to make some money.

However, there are quite a few seeds that Pierre and JojaMart sell during the Summer, and it would take a long time to figure out which ones are the most profitable without some help.

Recommended Read: Best Crops for Spring in Stardew Valley

Since there is no way to tell the price of a grown crop without actually growing it first, you would have to spend days figuring out which crops are the best for the Summer.

The best Summer crops in Stardew Valley are the Starfruit and Blueberry. However, if you want to also plant other crops, Hops, Melons, and Red Cabbages are also really good choices.


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The Best Summer Crops in Stardew Valley

The “best” crops in Stardew Valley are usually the ones that make you the highest amount of money without costing too much to plant. Though the Starfruit in Stardew Valley can be a bit expensive to farm, it is the most profitable Summer crop in the game, making it the best one.

Starfruit – The Best Summer Crop After Year 1

Starfruit Seeds can only be obtained from the Oasis, for 400 g, or from the Traveling Cart. Since the prices at the Traveling Cart aren’t that good for someone that wants to grow crops, the Oasis is the only viable option.

Since the Oasis can only be accessed after fixing the Bus, which costs around 40k g at the Community Center or JojaMart, it will be almost impossible for most players to buy and plant Stairfruit crops during the first Summer.

Just considering the high price of the seeds, combined with the need to unlock the Bus, means that you will have to leave the Starfruit for the second year if you are not a speedrunner.

Unfortunately, Starfruit is not a regrowable crop, which means you will have to plant it two times during the Summer to get the full potential out of it. Luckily, the base sell price of Starfruit is 750 g.

Due to this really good sell price, the Starfruit is actually the best-selling crop in Stardew Valley that can be purchased from a vendor. It has the best profit ratio in the game, as the selling price of the raw crop is almost double the purchase price.

So, if you’ve reached the Desert and the Oasis, make sure to get as many Starfruit Seeds as possible and plant them to become rich in 13 days.

Blueberry – Best Regrowable Summer Crop

If you like the idea of planting a seed and getting constant items from it, then the Blueberry might be your best Summer crop in Stardew Valley.

Blueberries grow in 13 days and then regrow after harvest every 4 days. This means that you can get 4 harvests before Summer ends and the crop dies.

Players can buy Blueberry Seeds from Pierre’s Shop any time during the Summer, and they only cost 80 g. For each harvest you will get 3 blueberries, which sell for 50 g a piece. This means that you make at least 150 g per harvest.

Since Blueberry Seeds are very cheap and you can easily get them from Pierre, they are probably the best Summer crop in the first year. If you just plant a lot of Blueberries, you should be set for the season.

Hops – Best Possible Investment

Though Hops themselves aren’t the most profitable crops in the game, they can be used to produce Pale Ale. This artisan good only requires one Hop and a few days in the Keg to appear. Hops take 11 days to grow and will then produce crops for harvest each day.

Hops Starters cost 60 g at Pierre’s Shop and can be turned into Pale Ale, which sells for at least 300 g. This is by far the best investment you can make in Stardew Valley, as you make at least 17 Hops from a single Hops Starter crop, which can then be turned into 17 Pale Ales.

This means that your initial investment of 60 g can turn into 5k g. This is why Hops are also an incredible Summer crop in Stardew Valley that can make you a millionaire if you have enough patience to make at least a dozen Kegs.

Even if you are lazy, you can still make around 400 g just by selling raw Hops since one of them sells for at least 25 g. However, these returns can only be seen if you plant your Hops on the first day of Summer. Each day you miss means one missed harvest.

Melon – The Simple, Efficient Summer Crop

Though other Summer crops might have interesting mechanics that make them special, Melons are simple. You plant them, water them for 12 days, and then harvest and sell them. You can also place them in a Keg to make Wine, but that will take another 7 days.

You can get Melon Seeds from Pierre for 80 g and sell the grown Melons for at least 250 g a piece. Since most crops in Stardew Valley almost get close to doubling their initial investment, the Melons triple it.

Melons are also one of the only crops in Stardew Valley that can grow into a Giant Crop, allowing you to harvest between 15 to 21 crops instead of the normal 9 you would get from a 3×3 space.

And, as a bonus, Penny also loves Melons. So, if you want to impress her, you have the perfect crop that you can get every Summer.

So, if you don’t want to think too much about it, and maybe even make a Pink Cake or two, grow some Melons in the Summer in Stardew Valley and get some good returns.

Red Cabbage – Would Have Been Good In Year 1

The Red Cabbage would be the third-best Summer crop in Stardew Valley if it were available in year 1. However, you can only start buying this crop’s seeds from the second year onward. The seeds cost 100 g, and Red Cabbage can be sold for at least 260 g.

The crop also grows in 9 days, which will allow you to plant and harvest it three times. This would be amazing if we didn’t already have the Starfruit as a better farming option.

Still, Red Cabbage can be used for the very useful Red Plate dish, which will increase your Energy by 50 for around 3 minutes. You will also need this crop for the Dye Bundle at the Community Center.


Best Summer Crops Stats

Now that we know which crops are the best for the Summer in Stardew Valley let’s also directly compare them.

Here are all the stats you will need to know about the best Summer crops in Stardew Valley, including their minimum profits and expenses:

CropLast Day to Plant for Maximum ProfitTotal HarvestsMinimum ProfitsMinimum Expenses
BlueberryDay 34600 g80 g
HopsDay 117425 g60 g
MelonDay 42500 g160 g
Red CabbageDay 23780 g300 g
StarfruitDay 321500 g800 g

That’s everything you need to know about the best Summer crops in Stardew Valley!

Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.

Adrian Oprea

Based in London, United Kingdom, Adrian Oprea is a Guides Writer. As a professional single-player RPG player, Adrian has often been stigmatized. He has decided to pour his frustration into writing guides!

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