Is it possible to earn money during the Winter season? What are the best ways to profit a huge sum? Read this FULL guide covering everything you need to make your farm thrive even if it’s cold!
It’s Fall 28 in Stardew Valley, and tomorrow is another season where everything that grows wilt. There are no farming chores left or other stockpiling opportunities for profit. Yet, there are several things you’ll have to maintain if you want to make a productive and lively winter.
For many beginners, losing the capability to plant and harvest is a nightmare. Three seasons aren’t enough since they continuously reinvest their profit into more seeds. What to do now with the endless cycle while waiting for another 28 days?
Thankfully, we’re covering ten of the easiest and most efficient ways to earn money in Winter. You can do everything regardless if it’s fishing, mining, ranching, and even farming! If it’s a problem with money-making, this guide will help you.
Making Money During Winter: Is it Possible?
In Stardew Valley, gold makes traders go round – you give value, you’ll get something. Your farm tools are some of grandpa’s gifts that might cost you a lot, especially in Year 1 if they’re unavailable. However, you can make them better for a more efficient profit, but that’s another story.
Aside from the free equipment, you have 500g and some Parsnip Seeds for a starter. And in the midyear, you might be automating with Sprinklers and Fertilizers for money until it’s Winter.
There are different ways to rack up cash while waiting for the blooming season again. Some are difficult to set up but make more in the long run, while others provide something weekly. Regardless, here are ten innovative things you can make earn with:
Greenhouse
Completing the original Community Center Bundles will take a year if you have an items list. You might even restore and acquire the old Greenhouse after quickly completing the Pantry Bundle or paying 35000g to JojaCo.
If you have spare seeds, plant them inside, but use Iridium Sprinkler for automation. That way, you could save time from watering and proceed to do other things. A perfect layout should look something like this where space for trees is also available. Consider placing kegs as well since it could be a massive boost for your Starfruit farm!
Here are other crops you should plant inside the Greenhouse aside from the one we’ve mentioned:
- Rhubarb – 220g-284g
- Cauliflower – 175g-385g
- Red Cabbage – 260g-572g
- Melon – 250g-550g
- Pumpkin – 320g-704g
- Sweet Gem Berry – 3000g-6000g
Note that selling prices may go higher depending on professions. Unfortunately, Sweet Gem Berry is not considered a fruit or vegetable by Stardew Valley, so price-boosting perks won’t have effects.
Ginger Island Farm
This tropical paradise far from modern civilization is home to rare and fresh produces. Ginger, Pineapple, Coconut – these are some fresh ones on the island! However, its warm condition makes planting every crop suitable even if it’s out of season in Stardew Valley.
Repairing the old farmhouse costs 20 Golden Walnuts to Parrots. It’s a room of four with a bedroom and kitchen for your basic needs. Although it’s unnecessary to purchase the place, it’s a nice hideout if you want to tend crops there.
Speaking of which, doing a minor cleanup and the soil is ready for tilling and planting! Sprinklers and Fertilizers work the same way as in the Greenhouse, and you don’t need to use Scarecrows.
We recommend planting the finest crops on the Island Farm and fencing them to prevent spreading weeds. You may also purchase a mailbox and Farm Obelisk upgrade for five and 20 Golden Walnuts, respectively. These two are indispensable as they provide more ease!
Winter Seeds
Wild Seeds on Winter thrives on the cold soil of Stardew, making extra money possible. Note that “crops” growing are still Foraged Items since you can find them in the wild and other places, including the Mines and Skull Cavern.
Depending on a crop’s outcome, you can make between 60g – 300g. However, consider qualities and professions as their selling prices can become game-changing with fertilizers.
Here’s a close comparison of every winter forage’s base price, with qualities and professions:
| Crop | Crocus | Crystal Fruit | Snow Yam | Winter Root |
| Normal | 60g | 150g | 100g | 70g |
| Normal with Tiller | 66g | |||
| Silver | 75g | 187g | 125g | 87g |
| Silver with Tiller | 82g | |||
| Gold | 90g | 225g | 150g | 105g |
| Gold with Tiller | 99g | |||
| Iridium | 120g | 300g | 140g | |
| Iridium with Tiller | 132g | 200g |
It’s crucial to invest in Basic Fertilizers since Winter Wild Seeds can revive your farm. Moreover, you can multiply them fast because crafting them costs only one of every crop mentioned, and they grow for seven days. You’ll unlock the crafting recipe after Level 7 Foraging, giving you ten seeds per click.
Preserves Jar
If you’re a Stardew Valley newbie, making Jams and Pickles can earn you extra during Winter. And although you won’t get that much profit, these artisan goods can make a big difference in the number of seeds you can buy. Processing these two takes 4000 in-game minutes (2-3 days)
For vegetables:
- Artichoke – 370g-518g
- Bok Choy – 210g-294g
- Garlic – 170g-237g
- Kale – 270g-378g
- Red Cabbage – 570g-798g
- Tomato – 170g-238g
For fruits:
- Blueberry – 150g-210g
- Cranberry – 200g-280g
- Grape – 210g-294g
- Pineapple – 650g-910g
- Rhubarb – 490g-686g
Hops is another good choice, but it’s better to turn it into Pale Ale for better income.
Making and Aging Wines
Instead of vegetable juices, why make wines? Profit.
After harvesting all your fruit crops, you may sell them for quick money or wait for Winter to pass by with Kegs and Casks.
Many players acknowledge how wine-making in Stardew Valley is lucrative and passive. If you’re stuck with a handful of fruits, start by making a Keg. You can place the artisan equipment anywhere and craft as many as possible after reaching Level 8 Farming. Here’s the best layout for your Storage Shed and the crafting ingredients:
After 6.25 in-game days (10000 minutes), you can collect Wine and sell a fruit’s base price thrice. However, you can also wait 56 days to make Iridium-tier earnings while doing other things.
It’s easy to age wines:
- Buy the Cellar upgrade from Robin for 100000g.
- Wait three days to finish construction.
- Craft Casks with Wood and Hardwood.
Here are the crafting ingredients and an optimal layout you should try:
It might get costly to build the Cellar setup at first. However, it’s trickier to select the right fruit, so check this comprehensive table alongside prices, professions, and waiting time of the best crops:
| Fruit | Ancient Fruit | Melon | Pineapple | Starfruit | Waiting Time |
| Normal | 1650g | 750g | 900g | 2250g | |
| Normal with Artisan | 2310g | 1050g | 1260g | 3150g | |
| Silver | 2062g | 937g | 1125g | 2812g | 14 days |
| Silver with Artisan | 2886g | 1311g | 1575g | 3936g | |
| Gold | 2475g | 1125g | 1350g | 3375g | 28 days |
| Gold with Artisan | 3465g | 1575g | 1890g | 4725g | |
| Iridium | 3300g | 1500g | 1800g | 4500g | 56 days |
| Iridium with Artisan | 4620g | 2100g | 2250g | 6300g |
If you feel the excitement with the selling part, hit casks with either Axe, Hoe, or Pickaxe to obtain the artisan good.
Bee House Outside the Valley
Outside Spring, Summer, and Fall, Apiary farming lets you earn money in Winter. A Bee House can give you extra income ranging from 100g to 952g depending on the flower. That’s why it’s important to take advantage of farmland spaces with the best layout.
Any design will do, but don’t get excited about adding an entire row of flowers since you’ll need less! Here’s the ideal layout we have in mind:
Ginger Island offers the farmland 2.0 experience in your frosty homestead back in Stardew Valley. Although space is sometimes a problem versus planting crops, the decision’s up to you. However, placing Bee Houses anywhere on the island will work, but make sure to have the following flowers with their selling prices as flavored honey:
| Flower | Flavored Honey Selling Price | With Artisan |
| Fairy Rose | 680g | 952g |
| Poppy | 380g | 532g |
| Summer Spangle | 280g | 392g |
| Sunflower | 260g | 364g |
Make sure to have at least one flower near the radius so you’re not wasting the materials for a Bee House. Wild Honey sells for 100g, which is less than the investment for running across the map and occupying a tile.
You may also use Speed-Gro Fertilizers to cut the waiting time and earn that sweet Winter money fast!
Selling Animal Products
It’s an excellent call to invest in farm animals as they give decent profit after hard work and patience. Unfortunately for meat lovers, ConcernedApe is not a fan of butchering livestock because it doesn’t feel right to him. But there are options for milking, collecting animal drops, shearing, and so much more for profiting!
It might be four more seasons for Year 1 Stardew Valley players before achieving a self-sufficient barn or coop. A combination of daily petting, maximized inside capacity, auto-feeder, and heater is optimal but will take tons of work. You’ll get something if you’re a beginner, but not much.
However, it’s the opposite for advanced players in the mid or late-game since they can buy livestock and buildings.
Pigs and rabbits are among the most popular choices because of their valuable products: Rabbit’s Foot and Truffle. While the latter sells lower and rarer than the former, its quantity can easily make you a millionaire. Unfortunately, you can’t find Truffles during Winter because pigs won’t go outside like the rest of the animals.
Some better substitutes for pigs are Golden Chicken, Ostrich, Dinosaur, and Cow. The first three bring lucrative profits because of their rarity and value. Although you may begin with Cows and Chickens, the profitability is subpar.
The following is a table of every livestock’s products with their selling price, including all qualities and professions. We’re showing the side-by-side comparison for you to avoid committing mistakes.
| Animal Product | Normal | Normal with Rancher | Silver | Silver with Rancher | Gold | Gold with Rancher | Iridium | Iridium with Rancher |
| Dinosaur Egg | 350g | 437g | 525g | 700g | ||||
| Duck Egg | 95g | 114g | 118g | 141g | 142g | 170g | 190g | 228g |
| Duck Feather | 250g | 300g | 312g | 374g | 375g | 450g | 500g | 600g |
| Egg | 50g | 60g | 62g | 74g | 75g | 90g | 100g | 120g |
| Goat Milk | 225g | 270g | 281g | 337g | 337g | 404g | 450g | 540g |
| Golden Egg | 500g | 600g | 625g | 750g | 750g | 900g | 1000g | 1200g |
| Large Egg | 95g | 114g | 118g | 141g | 142g | 170g | 190g | 228g |
| Large Goat Milk | 345g | 414g | 431g | 517g | 517g | 620g | 690g | 828g |
| Large Milk | 190g | 228g | 237g | 284g | 285g | 342g | 380g | 456g |
| Milk | 125g | 150g | 156g | 187g | 187g | 224g | 250g | 300g |
| Ostrich Egg | 600g | 720g | 750g | 900g | 900g | 1080g | 1200g | 1440g |
| Rabbit’s Foot | 565g | 678g | 706g | 847g | 847g | 1016g | 1130g | 1356g |
| Void Egg | 65g | 78g | 81g | 97g | 97g | 116g | 130g | 156g |
| Wool | 340g | 408g | 425g | 510g | 510g | 612g | 680g | 816g |
Raw animal products are sometimes not enough. That’s why we also recommend turning eggs into mayo at the Mayonnaise Machine and milk into cheese at the Cheese Press.
Crystalariums
Gem replicating is popular in Stardew Valley (literally the fictional in-game place) and around the Ferngill Republic. It’s the perfect copying machine regardless of minerals or gems type, and it’s easy to farm them to earn money in winter.
The process is simple: craft a Crystalarium with Battery Pack (1), Iridium Bar (2), Gold Bar (5), and Stone (99). Remember that you’ll need to reach Level 9 in Mining to have the recipe. More type of this equipment at your disposal is better since you’ll get multipliers for every gem.
Insert one mineral per machine, and you’re good to go.
Space-wise, an upgraded Storage Shed works best as you can fill up almost every corner like this:
However, you may also place Crystalariums outside the Farm to take advantage of available tiles. But take note of some villagers’ paths because they could instantly destroy your money-making setup!
We recommend using Diamonds in this lucrative way of earning money in winter since they sell 750g (base) and 975g with Gemologist. It’ll take five days, but it’s highly valuable in the end.
Fishing and Crab Pots
Do you want to take a break and show your angling skills? It’s up to you whether the fishing spot will be on Ginger Island, Calico Desert, Mines, or Ocean. The landscape will vary, but you’ll still get compensation after selling your big catch.
Fishing won’t help you earn a hundred thousand, but it’s the best opportunity for beginners to get something during winter. Make sure to have baits and tackles as it impacts your overall loots, and you may encounter Treasure Chests! Other than that, it’s just a lovely hobby that won’t work during the late game.
On the other hand, you can use Crab Pots to earn extra money. It’s available after reaching Level 3 in Fishing and requires Iron Bar (3) and Wood (40) to make. However, you can craft it at a lower price of Copper Bar (2) and Wood (25) if you have Trapper.
The profession is a huge help in saving crafting resources since crab potting isn’t lucrative.
Fish Ponds
A better and more organized version of using the waters to earn money in winter is by Fish Ponds. It’s like placing fishes in an aquarium, but they multiply in this new farming method. While they reproduce inside their new home, you can’t grab them for profit. Instead, you’ll get daily loots that increase odds as the population goes higher.
In building one, you’ll need to give Robin the following:
- Green Algae (5)
- Seaweed (5)
- Stone (200)
- 5000g
You can build multiple ponds and earn more along the way. However, you’ll need to pick the finest fishes to get the most profit during winter.
Here’s a complete table of every fish you can decide to pet with their loots at different populations:
| Fish | Capacity 1-2 | Capacity 3-4 | Capacity 5-6 | Capacity 7-8 | Capacity 9-10 |
| Albacore | Roe (R.) (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Anchovy | R. (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Blobfish | R. (1) | R. (2) | Pearl (1), Warp Totem: Farm (W.T.) (5) | ||
| Bream | R. (1) | ||||
| Bullhead | R. (1) | ||||
| Carp | R. (1) | ||||
| Catfish | R. (1) | ||||
| Chub | R. (1) | ||||
| Cockle | Broken CD (B.C.D) (1), Broken Glasses (B.G.) (1), Driftwood (D.) (1), R. (1), Seaweed (1-3), Soggy Newspaper (S.N.) (1), Trash (1) | Coral (1), Sea Urchin (S.U.) (1) | Nautilus Shell (N.S.) (1), W.T.: Beach (1) | ||
| Coral | Dolomite (1), Limestone (1) | ||||
| Crab | B.C.D (1), B.G.(1), D. (1), R. (1), Seaweed (1-3), S.N. (1), Trash (1) | Coral (1), S.U. (1) | N.S.l (1), W.T. : Beach (1) | ||
| Crayfish | B.C.D (1), B.G. (1), D. (1), Green Algae (1-3), R. (1), S.N. (1), Trash (1) | Mixed Seeds (M.S.) (2-3) | W.T.: Mountains (1) | ||
| Dorado | R. (1) | Bug Meat (20) | |||
| Eel | R. (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Flounder | R. (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Ghostfish | R. (1) | Quartz (1) | Quartz (3), Refined Quartz (1), Pale Broth (3), White Algae (5) | ||
| Halibut | R. (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Herring | R. (1) | ||||
| Ice Pip | R. (1) | Iron Ore (5) | Diamond (1), Frozen Geode (1-5), Frozen Tear (1) | ||
| Largemouth Bass | R. (1) | ||||
| Lava Eel | R. (1) | Gold Ore (2) | R. (2-3), Magma Geode (5-10), Spicy Eel (5) | ||
| Lingcod | R. (1) | Bug Meat (20) | |||
| Lobster | B.C.D (1), B.G. (1), D. (1), R. (1), Seaweed (1-3), S.N. (1), Trash (1) | Coral (1), S.U. (1) | N.S. (1), W.T.: Beach (1) | ||
| Midnight Carp | R. (1) | ||||
| Midnight Squid | Squid Ink (1) | Squid Ink (2) | |||
| Mussel | B.C.D (1), B.G. (1), D. (1), R. (1), Seaweed (1-3), S.N. (1), Trash (1) | Coral (1), S.U. (1) | N.S. (1), W.T.: Beach (1) | ||
| Octopus | R. (1) | Omni Geode (1-10) | |||
| Oyster | B.C.D (1), B.G. (1), D. (1), R. (1), Seaweed (1-3), S.N. (1), Trash (1) | Coral (1), S.U. (1) | N.S. (1), W.T.: Beach (1) | ||
| Perch | R. (1) | ||||
| Periwinkle | B.C.D (1), B.G. (1), D. (1), R. (1), Green Algae (1-3), S.N. (1), Trash (1) | M.S. (2-3) | W.T.: Mountains (1) | ||
| Pike | R. (1) | Bug Meat (20) | |||
| Pufferfish | R. (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Rainbow Trout | R. (1) | Prismatic Shard (1), Rainbow Shell (1) | |||
| Red Mullet | R. (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Red Snapper | R. (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Salmon | R. (1) | ||||
| Sandfish | R. (1) | R. (2) | Cactus Seeds (2-5), R. (3) | ||
| Sardine | R. (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Scorpion Carp | R. (1) | R. (2) | Cactus Seeds (2-5), R. (3) | ||
| Sea Cucumber | R. (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Sea Urchin | R. (1) | R. (5) | |||
| Shad | R. (1) | ||||
| Shrimp | B.C.D (1), B.G. (1), D. (1), R. (1), Seaweed (1-3), S.N. (1), Trash (1) | Coral (1), S.U. (1) | N.S. (1), W.T.: Beach (1) | ||
| Slimejack | R. (1) | Green Algae (1) | Green Slime Egg (1), Slime (10-50) | ||
| Smallmouth Bass | R. (1) | ||||
| Snail | B.C.D (1), B.G. (1), D. (1), R. (1), Green Algae (1-3), S.N. (1), Trash (1) | M.S. (2-3) | W.T.: Mountains (1) | ||
| Spook Fish | R. (1) | Treasure Chest (1) | |||
| Squid | Squid Ink (1) | ||||
| Stonefish | R. (1) | Copper Ore (5) | Diamond (1), Geode (1-5), Stone (30) | ||
| Sturgeon | Sturgeon Roe (1) | Sturgeon Roe (2) | |||
| Sunfish | R. (1) | Solar Essence (1) | |||
| Super Cucumber | R. (1) | Amethyst (1-3), Iridium Ore (1-3) | |||
| Tiger Trout | R. (1) | R. (2) | |||
| Tilapia | R. (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Tuna | R. (1) | R. (1) | |||
| Void Salmon | R. (1) | Void Essence (5-10) | R. (3), Void Egg (1) | ||
| Walleye | R. (1) | ||||
| Woodskip | R. (1), Wood (1-5) | Hardwood (5) | Acorn (1-5), Maple Seed (1-5), Pine Cone (1-5) |
There’s Another Productive Year For You!
Your Winter could either go well or not – but it’s not over yet. Preparing for upcoming seasons is a great redemption arc to catch up with all the lost value. Thankfully, the Night Market, which opens from 15th – 17th of the month, can help you.
The Magic Shop Boat offers seasonal seeds you can buy for the same price as Pierre’s General Store. However, the stock rotates daily, so get everything you’ll need fast!
