Stardew Valley Greenhouse Guide: How to Unlock, Best Crops, & Best Layouts

The Greenhouse in Stardew Valley unlocks a world of convenience for players who manage to build it. For starters, it removes the seasonal restrictions on most crops. That means you can plant seasonal crops like carrots in the fall, blueberries in the summer, and even eggplants in winter, should you choose. Here, we'll cover how to unlock the greenhouse in Stardew Valley, some of the best crops to grow in it, and how to arrange your layout depending on your needs.

How to Unlock the Greenhouse in Stardew Valley

Players can choose one of two routes to unlock the Greenhouse in Stardew Valley: complete Community Center bundles or pay for its restoration through JojaMart. Completing either task will restore the Greenhouse without additional costs. You can also ask Robin at the Carpenter’s Shop to move the Greenhouse to a new location within the farmland. This service is free and the only requirement is for the building to have a suitable location in the area.

Community Center Route

Stardew Valley players must complete the restoration of the pantry in the Community Center to unlock the Greenhouse. The bundles and their requirements to complete are the following:

• Spring Crops Bundle (Reward: 20x Speed-Gro): 1x Parsnip, 1x Green Bean, 1x Cauliflower, and 1x Potato
• Summer Crops Bundle (Reward: 1x Quality Sprinkler): 1x Tomato, 1x Hot Pepper, 1x Blueberry, and 1x Melon
• Fall Crops Bundle (Reward: 1x Bee House): 1x Corn, 1x Eggplant, 1x Pumpkin, and 1x Yam
• Quality Crops Bundle (Reward: 1x Preserves Jar): 5x Parsnip, 5x Melon, 5x Pumpkin, and 5x Corn
• Animal Bundle (Reward: 1x Cheese Press): 1x Large Milk, 1x Large Egg, 1x Large Egg, 1x Large Goat Milk, 1x Wool, and 1x Duck Egg

JojaMart Route

If you’re taking the JojaMart restoration route for your save file, you can pay 35,000 gold pieces at this supermarket to restore the Greenhouse and all its features. Remember, you must also pay 5,000 gold pieces for a JojaMart membership before you can do Stardew Valley restoration projects.

Best Crops for the Stardew Valley Greenhouse

As mentioned earlier, players can plant relatively any crop in Stardew Valley in the Greenhouse. Nonetheless, you must still deal with the finite space the Greenhouse offers. So, here are the best profitable crops to plant in the Greenhouse to maximize return on investment (ROI):

5. Fruit Trees

Vanilla Stardew Valley has eight fruit trees. Like the standard crops, fruit trees also have seasonal restrictions. Thankfully, the Greenhouse removes these limits, so you can plant them at any time and any day of the year. Additionally, each fruit tree takes 28 days to mature from a sapling and these plants don’t require watering to grow and maintain. Then, the tree grows one fruit per day and will increase in quality for each in-game year the tree remains alive. Here are the best fruit trees to plant in a Stardew Valley Greenhouse that make the most profit:

• Banana: 150 to 300 gold pieces
• Pomegranate: 140 to 280 gold pieces
• Peach: 140 to 280 gold pieces
• Mango: 130 to 260 gold pieces
• Orange: 100 to 200 gold pieces

4. Strawberries

Strawberries can sell for 120 to 240 gold pieces (depending on the rarity). The selling price also increases by 10% if the player has the Tiller profession. Additionally, players can turn a Strawberry into Wine for a 3x increase in its value. Although it’s one of the best crops for the Greenhouse in Stardew Valley, its main drawback is that its seeds are a pain to get. In particular, you can only buy Strawberry Seeds from the Egg Festival, which is an annual event that only takes place during Spring 13.

3. Star Fruit

Without the Greenhouse, the Star Fruit is a Summer-exclusive crop. However, it’s easily one of the most profitable crops in Stardew Valley since it sells for 750 to 1,500 gold pieces (depending on the rarity). Like the Strawberry, you can turn a Star Fruit into Wine to increase its base value 3x. However, you must deal with the Star Fruit’s long 13-day growth time before you can harvest it. Nonetheless, the profit gained from selling a bunch of Star Fruits will be more than worth the wait.

2. Ancient Fruit

Like the Starfruit, Ancient Fruit is one of the best crops in Stardew Valley, especially when placed in a Greenhouse. Unlike other crops, it doesn’t have a seasonal growth restriction, which means you can plant it outside during most seasons (except winter). Each Ancient Fruit plant also matures every seven days. However, it initially takes 16 days for the crop to reach a harvestable state. Still, the 550 to 1,100 gold pieces earned from selling one Ancient Fruit can make up for its long growth time.

1. Coffee Beans

The Coffee Bean is a Spring- and Summer-exclusive crop in Stardew Valley if grown outside the Greenhouse. It also takes the top spot as the best crop to plant in the Greenhouse because of its 2-day regrowth time. Although each Coffee Bean only sells for 15 to 30 gold pieces (depending on the rarity), players can earn up to 225 to 450 gold pieces per Coffee Bean plant harvest. Additionally, since the harvest is still a bean, players can choose to plant the harvested item instead of selling it, reducing farming costs.

Best Greenhouse Layouts in Stardew Valley

The Stardew Valley Greenhouse has a 10 x 12 plot of farmable land. This space isn’t a lot, but the removal of the seasonal restrictions for different crops can make up for that limitation. So, here are the best layouts for your Greenhouse to help you make the most of its available space:

Rated O for Optimization

User ShneekeyTheLost from the official Stardew Valley forums created a Greenhouse layout that prioritizes Hops, Ancient Fruits, and various fruit trees. Aside from the Ancient Fruits and the fruits from the trees, the user refines the Hops into Pale Ale, which can increase ROI by about 420 gold pieces per day. If done efficiently, it’s possible to earn 1,534,680 gold pieces per season with profits from the Greenhouse.

Sensational Symmetry

Stardew Valley farmers who wish to enhance their Greenhouses’ aesthetics, apart from these buildings being profitable powerhouses, should consider the layout made by Reddit user u/Zakolache. In this layout, the fruit trees are adjacent to the Greenhouse's walls, while different crops are at the center. Additionally, the user placed Iridium Sprinklers that provide water to nearby plants without leaving a tile dry.

No Space Wasted

Symmetry and efficiency are the themes for this Greenhouse layout made by Stardew Valley forum user Holly3353. Like the previous layout, this user placed Iridium Sprinklers in places that provide water to nearby plants without wasting a drop. Additionally, fruit trees can be found adjacent to the Greenhouse’s walls, making full use of the building’s available space.