Top 10 Stardew Valley Best Winter Crops

Stardew Valley goes through the typical four seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, with each season having something different. Different seasons call for different types of events and activities, and on a farm, different crops. Now you may be wondering just what kind of crops can grow during the cold winter season in Stardew Valley, and to be honest, not much. However, that all changes with the unlocking of the Greenhouse.

The Greenhouse is the only other building that is present on the farm at the start of the game. It is in shambles, and the only way to make it functional again is to either complete the Pantry Bundles in the Community Center or by accepting the JojaMart membership and purchasing the Greenhouse repair from the Joja Community Development Form. Once repaired, the interior is much larger than it looks from the outside, with a 10x12 plot of land in the center of the building and space on the sides for decorations and trees. Any and all crops can be planted, grown, and harvested all year long as long as they are watered, so you don't have to worry about planting in the right season.

This article will go over the best crops to grow in the Greenhouse during the winter to best optimize the time, make players some money, and also keep them and their farm animals' stomachs full.

10-Fiber

Fiber, one of the two winter crops, is a raw crafting material sourced from plants that grow like weeds around the farm and valley. It can be found in all seasons except winter, with the exception of Fiber Seeds. With these seeds, players can continue to get access to useful material during the winter.

The great thing about this crop is that it does not need watering and it produces multiple fibers when it’s harvested, between 4 and 7 pieces. They do still need to be planted on tilled soil, unlike their weed counterparts. As a crop, it is still in danger of being eaten by crows, so be sure to use scarecrows.

Fiber Seeds is a crafted seed, requiring a recipe that is obtained from Linus after completing his Community Cleanup Special Order. Fiber is disliked by all villagers, which is fine because there are better uses for it as a crafting ingredient.

Why Fiber is Great For Winter:

• It is a great resource used to create a multitude of items, from fertilizers and scarecrows to totems and buildings.
• Products it creates: Many of the items created with this resource are acquired after leveling up your skills and friendship hearts.
• Fish Pond Quest: 5 Fibers may be requested by Crayfish, Periwinkle, or Snail to increase the capacity of the pond from 3 to 5.
• It is a green dye when used in the spool of the Sewing Machine with a dyeable clothing item in the feed. It can be placed in the green dye pot.
• Fiber is used in the spool of the Sewing Machine with Cloth in the feed to create a dyeable Basic Pullover.

Fiber details:

• Seed Sourced from: Weeds, Desert Trader, Wilderness Golem on the Wilderness Farm
• Growth Time: 7 days
• XP:  It doesn’t give any XP
• Sells for 1g each
• You can get 3 harvests in the season

9-Winter Seeds

The second winter crop is Winter Seeds which are a type of Crafted seed. Mature plants yield, at random, a Crocus, Crystal Fruit, Snow Yam, or Winter Root. All of these are used to craft Winter Seeds.

Winter Seeds are one of the season-specific crafted wild seeds, along with Spring Seeds, Summer Seeds, and Fall Seeds that produce crops normally found as forage. While Farming Skill normally increases the chance to grow a quality crop, Foraging Skill increases the chance to grow a quality crop from Winter Seeds.

Choosing the Botanist profession will ensure iridium-quality crops grown from Winter Seeds. Crows do not attack crops grown from Winter Seeds, so the use of Scarecrows is unnecessary. 

There are a couple of ways to source these seeds:

• Crafting it with the recipe, which produces 10 seeds at a time. Then it is by placing a Winter Root in a Seed Maker, yielding 1–3 Winter Seeds.
• Completing the Winter Foraging Bundle in the Crafts Room gives the reward of 30 Winter Seeds.
• Purchase from the Traveling Cart at the price of 100–1,000g
• Trade with the Desert Trader on Saturdays in exchange for 2 Spring seeds.
• Find them in the Treasure rooms in the Skull Cavern, around 5–20 seeds.

Selling Winter Seeds is never profitable. A craft of Winter seeds yields 10 Winter Seeds worth 300g total, but the ingredients to craft it sell for 380g at normal quality.

Why Winter Seeds is Great For Winter:

• The recipe can be acquired after reaching Foraging Level 7
• Recipes it’s used in: Tea Sapling-Source recipe from Caroline after her 2 heart event. It sells for 500g each and is a high-profit item.
• Planting and harvesting the crops grown from these seeds add to the Foraging Skills.

Winter Seeds details:

• Seed Cost: Free to make from foragables but can be bought from the Traveling Cart for 100–1,000g.
• Growth Time: 7 days
• Sells for 30g
• You can get 3 harvests in the season

8-Wheat

Wheat, one of the most widely cultivated grains, is a vegetable crop that grows from Wheat Seeds. It is harvested only by using a Scythe or Golden Scythe and there is a 40% chance to also drop Hay when harvested. This is great because the Hay can be used to feed farm animals, and since wheat grows quickly, it may be beneficial to devote some or most of the Greenhouse to growing it.

Wheat may be placed in a Keg to produce Beer, and later it may be aged in Casks to increase its quality. In addition to Beer, players have the ability to craft Flour from Wheat by using a Mill. Once placed in the mill, one wheat will make one wheat flour. Wheat flour will appear in the box on the right side of the mill the following morning.

Why Wheat is Great For Winter:

• It is a Neutral Liked item by all of the villagers.
• Products it creates: Beer sells at a base price of 200g, and Pickles sell at a base price of 100g
• Recipes it’s used in: Wheat Flour by milling it at the Mill. Flour sells for 50g.
• Wheat is used in the spool of the Sewing Machine to create the dyeable Crop Tank Top.
• It is used in the spool of the Sewing Machine. It can be used in dyeing, serving as a yellow dye at the dye pots,

Wheat details:

• Seed Cost: 10g from Pierre’s General Store and 12g from JojaMart
• Growth Time: 4 days
• XP: 6 Farming XP
• It is not edible
• Sells for 25g
• You can get 6 harvests in the season
• 10 Wheat is used in the Fodder Bundle on the Bulletin Board. The wheat of all three qualities can be stacked into the bundle slot.

7-Hot Pepper

What appears to be a chili pepper, the Hot Pepper is a fruit crop that grows from Pepper Seeds. Contrary to what some believe, peppers are not a vegetable and are in fact a type of berry. When harvested, each Hot Pepper plant gives 1 Hot Pepper every 3 days, with a 3% chance for more Hot Peppers

Why Hot Pepper is Great For Winter:

• It’s Loved by Lewis and Shane. It is Disliked by Abigail, Haley, Jas, and Vincent.
• Products it creates: Wine sells at a base price of 120g, and Jelly sells at a base price of 130g
• Recipes it’s used in: Tropical Curry, source recipe from Gus at the Ginger Island Resort for 2,000g; Spicy Eel, source recipe from George in the mail after 7 hearts; Pepper Poppers, source recipe from Shane in the mail after 3 hearts.
• George requests a Hot Pepper by mail on the 25th of Summer in the "Knee Therapy" Quest.
• It is used in the spool of the Sewing Machine to create dyeable Shorts. It can be used as a red dye in the dye pots.

Hot Pepper details:

• Seed Cost: 40g from Pierre’s General Store and 50g from JojaMart
• Growth Time: 5 days and regrows after 3 days
• XP: 9 Farming XP
• Provides: 13+ Energy and 5+ Health
• Sells for 40g
• You can get 8 harvests in the season
• Hot Pepper is used in the Summer Crops Bundle in the Pantry and may be an option for the remixed Quality Crops Bundle in the Pantry.

6-Cactus Fruit

Cactus Fruit may be grown from Cactus Seeds and found foraging in the Calico Desert. The seeds can be bought at the Oasis on Tuesdays and randomly from the Traveling Cart. Cactus Fruit grown from Cactus Seeds benefits from the Tiller Profession bonus, while foraged Cactus Fruit adds Foraging Skill XP.

Why Cactus Fruit is Great For Winter:

• It’s Loved by Linus, Pam, and Sam. It is Liked by all the other villagers except for Abigail, Haley, Jas, and Vincent.
• Products it creates: Wine sells at a base price of  225g, and Jelly sells at a base price of 200g.
• Recipes it’s used in: Desert Obelisk–it is used to construct Desert Obelisks that can be purchased from the Wizard's Tower.
• It is used in the spool of the Sewing Machine to create a dyeable 80's Shirt and is a green dye.

Cactus Fruit details:

• Seed Cost: 150g from Sandy’s Oasis Store and at the Traveling Cart for 225–1,000g
• Growth Time: 12 days and regrows after 3 days
• XP: Foraging: 7 Foraging XP
• Cactus Seeds: 14 Farming XP
• Provides: +75 Energy and +33 Health
• Sells for 75g
• You can get 6 harvests in the season
• Cactus Fruit is one of the options for the Exotic Foraging Bundle in the Crafts Room.
• It may be an option for the remixed Dye Bundle on the Bulletin Board.

5-Blueberry

A popular berry reported having many health benefits, with blue skin having the highest nutrient concentration. The Blueberry is a fruit crop that grows from Blueberry Seeds. It is a multi-harvest crop, as it continues to produce after maturity. Each harvest yields 3 Blueberries, with a 2% chance of more blueberries.

Why Blueberry is Great For Winter:

• Liked by: Demetrius, Elliott, Harvey, Jodi, Kent, Leah, Lewis, Linus, Pam, Robin, Sandy, and Shane.
• Products it creates: Wine- sell base price of 150g and Jelly- sell base price of 150g
• Recipes it’s used in: Blueberry Tart, source recipe from Pierre in the mail after 3 Hearts.Fruit Salad, source recipe from The Queen of Sauce cooking channel in 7 Fall, Year 2. 
• Blueberry can be used in the spool of the Sewing Machine to create the dyeable Shorts and serves as a blue dye at the dye pots.

Blueberry details:

• Seed Cost: 80g from Pierre’s General Store
• Growth Time: 13 days and regrows after 4 days
• Base Selling Price: 50g
• XP: 10 Farming XP per harvest
• Provides: +25 Energy and +11 Health
• Sells for 50g
• You can get 4 harvests in the season
• It is required for the Summer Crops Bundle in the Pantry. It may be an option for the remixed Quality Crops Bundle in the Pantry, as well as an option for the remixed Dye Bundle on the Bulletin Board.

4-Strawberry

Fruit crops like strawberries are cultivated from strawberry seeds. Being a crop with many harvests, it continues to produce after reaching maturity. Each strawberry plant yields one strawberry when it is harvested, with a slight possibility at random for more strawberries.

The greatest season to cultivate this crop is winter because you won't need to worry about fertilizing tilled dirt continuously because it won't disappear in the greenhouse, you won't need to worry about not getting enough harvests in, and the crops won't perish.

Why Strawberry is Great For Winter:

• It is Loved by Demetrius and Maru and is a Liked and Neutral Liked item by the rest of the villagers.
• Products it creates: Jelly sells at a base price of 290g, and Wine sells at a base price of 360g.
• Strawberries can be used in the spool of the Sewing Machine to create dyeable Farmer Pants. It can also be used as a red dye in the dye pots.

Strawberry details:

• Seed Cost: 100g from Pierre’s General Store Stall during the Egg Festival
• Growth Time:     8 days and regrows after 4 days
• Base Selling Price: 120g
• XP: 18 Farming XP
• Provides: +50 Energy and +22 Health
• You can get 5 harvests in the season

3-Cranberries

Cranberries are a fruit crop that grows from the tart red cranberry seed. It is a crop with many harvests that typically yields two berries at harvest, with a slight chance at random for more. Only the first berry from each harvest is impacted by Basic and Quality Fertilizers, while Speed-Gro Fertilizers do not shorten the interval between harvests.

This is a fantastic crop for the winter since the culinary resources it produces are ideal for mining in the Cave Mines and Skull Cavern and for making goods with Kegs and Preserve Jars.

Since it only takes 20 in-game minutes to manufacture Cranberry Seeds as opposed to the time it takes to craft Wine and Jelly, selling Cranberry Seeds made by the Seed Maker may be more profitable than selling the cranberries themselves. Additionally, crafting cranberries using the Seed Maker may produce Ancient Seeds.

Why Cranberries Are Great For Winter:

• Liked by all of the villagers except Abigail, Haley, Jas, and Vincent.
• Products it creates: Wine sells at a base price of 225g, and Jelly sells at a base price of 200g.
• Recipes it’s used in: Cranberry Candy, source from The Queen of Sauce Cooking Channel during 28 Winter of Year 1; Cranberry Sauce, source recipe from Gus after 7 hearts; Stuffing, source recipe from Pam after 7 hearts; and Super Meal, source recipe from Kent after 7 hearts.
• The cooking items it creates gives players great buffs for Mining, Defence, as well as Speed and an energy boost.
• Cranberries can be used in the spool of the Sewing Machine to create dyeable Farmer Pants. It can be also used as a red dye color in dye pots.

Cranberries details:

• Seed Cost: 240g from Pierre’s General Store and 300g from JojaMart
• Growth Time: 7 days and regrows after 5 days
• XP: 14 Farming XP per harvest
• Provides: +38 Energy and +17 Health
• Sells for: 75g
• You can get 5 harvests in the season

2-Ancient Fruit

The Ancient Fruit is a fruit crop that grows from Ancient Seeds. Several sources, including the Traveling Cart and making a recipe from an Ancient Seed item, can be used to gather seeds. This recipe can be obtained after donating an Ancient Seed artifact to the museum. The seed artifact can be discovered via excavating an item Spot, located in Artifact Troves or Fishing Treasure Chests, dropped by monster bugs, or discovered by hacking through vegetation in Prehistoric Floors or the Volcano Dungeon.

Building an Ancient Fruit crop farm is ideal during the winter because you can begin with a limited number of seeds. More seeds can be produced using the Seed Maker with each harvest as the crops develop and regenerate. Making wine and jelly from this crop is also fantastic.

Why Ancient Fruit is Great For Winter:

• It’s liked by all the villagers except for Abigail, Haley, Jas, and Vincent.
• It is a high-profit crop.
• Products it creates: Wine sells at a base price of 1,650g, and Jelly sells at a base price of 1,150g.
• It is used in the spool of the Sewing Machine to create the dyeable Genie Pants. It can also be used as a blue dye at dye pots.

Ancient Fruit details:

• Seed Cost: 100–1,000g from the Traveling Cart
• Growth Time: 28 days and regrows after 7 days
• XP: 38 Farming XP
• It is not edible
• Sells for 550g
• You can get 4 harvests in the season
• It is an option for the Missing Bundle in the abandoned JojaMart, needing 5 gold quality fruit.
• Ancient Fruit is one of the options for the Rare Crops Bundle in the Remixed Pantry.

1-Sweet Gem Berry

The Sweet Gem Berry is a crop that develops from a Rare Seed and is considered to be the sweetest thing you have ever smelled. It is one of the crops with the highest yield per berry and one of the longest growth times. This crop cannot be used in a Keg or Preserves Jar and does not qualify for the Tiller profession because it is not regarded as a fruit or vegetable.

In the Spring and Summer, Rare Seeds can be acquired from the Traveling Cart, though the cost may change in the Fall and Winter. It is advised to check the cart every week to see if the seed is being sold because only one seed can be purchased at a time. Harvest a Sweet Gem Berry, then

In the Spring and Summer, Rare Seeds can be acquired from the Traveling Cart, though the cost may change in the Fall and Winter. It is advised to check the cart every week to see if the seed is being sold because only one seed can be purchased at a time. Use a Seed Maker to convert a harvested Sweet Gem Berry into rare seeds, yielding 1-3 seeds. This can help you have a significant harvest during the winter, and by the conclusion of the season, you will have made a lot of money for the spring.

Why Sweet Gem Berry is Great For Winter:

• It has a high value per berry with each selling for 3,000 gold.
• It’s only a Neutral Liked item by all the villagers despite having a high value, so save them to sell for profit instead of gifting.
• Giving a Sweet Gem Berry to the Old Master Cannoli statue in the Secret Woods gives players a Stardrop, which is extremely helpful and is needed for reaching perfection.
• It is used in the spool of the Sewing Machine to create the White Turban. It also can be used as a red dye.

Sweet Gem Berry details:

• Seed Cost: 1000g from the Traveling Cart in Spring and Summer
• Growth Time:     24 days
• XP: 64 Farming XP
• It is not edible
• Sells for 3,000g
• You can get 1 harvest in the season
• It is one of the options for the Rare Crops Bundle in the Remixed Pantry.

You may also be interested in:

• [Top 10] Stardew Valley Best Spring Crops (Ranked)
• [Top 10] Stardew Valley Best Summer Crops (Ranked)
• [Top 10] Stardew Valley Best Autumn Crops (Ranked)