Spring Crops Guide: The Most Profitable Seeds in Year 1
A complete breakdown of every Spring crop in Stardew Valley, including profit per day, so you know exactly what to plant in your first season.
Spring is where every farm starts, and the seeds you choose in those first 28 days set the tone for your entire first year. This guide breaks down every Spring crop by profit so you can spend your starting gold wisely.
The golden rule: profit per day
When comparing crops, never look at the sale price alone. A crop that sells for a lot but takes forever to grow might earn you less per day than a cheap, fast crop you can replant over and over.
The formula is simple:
profit per day = (sell price - seed cost) / days to growUse this to compare everything below.
Best Spring crops ranked
| Crop | Seed cost | Sell price | Days | Profit/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Strawberries |
100g | 120g | 8 (regrows) | ~8.8g (2 harvests) |
 Potatoes |
50g | 80g | 6 | 5g |
 Cauliflower |
80g | 175g | 12 | 7.9g |
 Kale |
70g | 110g | 6 | 6.7g |
 Green Beans |
60g | 40g | 10 (regrows) | — |
What to plant in Year 1
Week 1: Parsnips and Potatoes
Your first 15 parsnip seeds come free. Plant them immediately. Once you have some gold, Potatoes are your best early bet because they grow fast and have a chance to yield extra potatoes per harvest.
Mid-spring: Kale
Kale is the sleeper pick of Spring. It’s cheap, grows in just 6 days, and earns a solid profit per day. Many min-max players fill their farm with Kale after the first Potato harvest.
The Strawberry rush
On the 13th of Spring, the Egg Festival sells Strawberry seeds — the only time you can buy them. If you can afford them, buy as many as possible. Plant them immediately and they’ll keep producing fruit every 4 days until the end of the season.
Save some gold before the Egg Festival. Strawberry seeds cost 100g each, and they’re worth every coin.
Tips to maximize Spring income
- Water every day. Crops don’t grow on days you skip watering.
- Upgrade your watering can when you can afford it, or focus on crops with fast cycles.
- Watch the calendar. Every crop dies when the season changes, so don’t plant anything with a grow time longer than the days remaining.
- Reinvest early. The more seeds you can buy now, the more you harvest later.
The bottom line
For pure profit per day in Year 1 Spring, Kale and Potatoes are your workhorses, while Strawberries are your big payoff if you plan ahead for the Egg Festival. Start with Parsnips, roll into Potatoes and Kale, and save up for the Strawberry rush.