Greenhouse Guide
The Greenhouse is one of the most valuable structures in Stardew Valley. It allows you to grow crops from any season year-round, protected from weather and seasonal changes. This guide covers unlocking the greenhouse, optimizing its layout, choosing the best crops, creating a year-round planting plan, and comparing greenhouse farming to outdoor farming.
Unlocking the Greenhouse
There are two ways to unlock the Greenhouse, depending on whether you chose the Community Center or Joja Mart route.
Community Center Route
Complete all Pantry bundles in the Community Center. The Pantry bundles include:
| Bundle | Required Items |
|---|---|
| Spring Crops | Parsnip, Green Bean, Cauliflower, Potato |
| Summer Crops | Melon, Tomato, Blueberry, Hot Pepper |
| Fall Crops | Corn, Eggplant, Pumpkin, Yam |
| Quality Crops | Gold-quality Parsnip, Melon, Pumpkin, Corn |
| Animal Bundle | Large Egg, Large Milk, Goat Milk, Wool, Truffle (or any 3 of 5) |
Once all Pantry bundles are complete, the Junimos repair the Greenhouse for free. This is the recommended route for most players.
Joja Mart Route
Purchase the Greenhouse development project from the Joja Community Development Form for 35,000g. This route is faster but costs significantly more gold.
Greenhouse Features
- Year-round growing: Any crop can grow in any season inside the Greenhouse.
- Weather protection: Crops are never destroyed by rain, storms, or seasonal changes.
- No grass: Grass does not grow inside the Greenhouse.
- Sprinklers work: You can use sprinklers to automate watering.
- Limited space: The interior has approximately 120 plantable tiles.
- Fruit trees can grow: Fruit trees can be planted inside the Greenhouse and will produce fruit year-round.
- Bee houses do NOT work: Bee houses placed inside the Greenhouse will not produce honey.
- Junimo Huts cannot be placed inside the Greenhouse.
- Casks can be placed: You can place casks inside the Greenhouse for aging wine and cheese.
Optimal Greenhouse Layout
The most efficient Greenhouse layout uses Iridium Sprinklers, which water the 8 tiles surrounding them (in a 3x3 area minus the center). Each Iridium Sprinkler covers 8 crop tiles.
Recommended Layout Strategy
- Place Iridium Sprinklers on the center tile of each 3x3 section.
- Plant on all 8 surrounding tiles of each sprinkler.
- Leave a walking path along the edges for access.
- Use Quality Fertilizer on every tile for maximum crop quality.
Sprinkler Layout Options
| Sprinkler Type | Coverage | Sprinklers Needed for 120 Tiles | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iridium Sprinkler | 8 tiles each | 15 sprinklers | Best option |
| Quality Sprinkler | 8 tiles each | 15 sprinklers | Same coverage, cheaper |
| Deluxe Sprinkler (mod) | 24 tiles each | 5 sprinklers | Not in vanilla game |
Optimal Tile Count
With careful placement, you can fit approximately 12-15 Iridium Sprinklers in the Greenhouse, covering 96-120 crop tiles. The exact number depends on how you arrange walking paths.
Best Greenhouse Crops
Since the Greenhouse allows year-round growing, choose crops that provide the best long-term profit.
Ancient Fruit (Best Overall)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Seed Source | Plant an Ancient Seed (found from artifact spots, fishing, or purchased from the Traveling Merchant) |
| Growth Time | 28 days initial, then regrows every 7 days |
| Base Sell Price | 550g |
| Wine Sell Price | 1,650g (2,310g with Artisan) |
| Iridium Wine (Cask) | 3,300g (4,620g with Artisan) |
| Strategy | Plant once and harvest forever. Each plant produces fruit indefinitely. |
Ancient Fruit is the undisputed king of greenhouse crops. Once planted, it produces fruit every 7 days for the rest of the game. Processing into wine and aging in casks creates the most profitable single product in the game.
Starfruit (Best Single Harvest)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Seed Cost | 400g (from Oasis in the desert) |
| Growth Time | 13 days |
| Base Sell Price | 750g |
| Wine Sell Price | 2,250g (3,150g with Artisan) |
| Iridium Wine (Cask) | 4,500g (6,300g with Artisan) |
| Strategy | Plant and harvest repeatedly. No regrowth, so replant after each harvest. |
Starfruit wine has the highest single-item sell price in the game. However, since starfruit does not regrow, you must replant after each harvest, which reduces overall efficiency compared to ancient fruit.
Cranberries (Best Multi-Harvest)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Seed Cost | 240g per seed |
| Growth Time | 7 days initial, then regrows every 5 days |
| Berries Per Harvest | 2 berries |
| Total Harvests Per Season | Up to 5 |
| Jelly Price | 200g per jelly (280g with Artisan) |
| Wine Price | 225g per wine (315g with Artisan) |
| Strategy | Plant once and harvest multiple times. Best with preserves jars. |
Other Viable Greenhouse Crops
| Crop | Seed Cost | Growth Time | Regrowth | Best Processing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blueberry | 80g | 13 days | 4 days | Wine or Jelly | 3 berries per harvest |
| Melon | 80g | 12 days | None | Wine | Good wine value |
| Pumpkin | 100g | 13 days | None | Wine or Pickles | High base value |
| Hops | 60g | 11 days | 1 day | Pale Ale (Keg) | Daily harvest, fast keg processing |
| Strawberry | 100g | 8 days | 4 days | Wine or Jelly | 2 berries per harvest |
Year-Round Planting Plan
Strategy 1: Full Ancient Fruit (Recommended)
Fill the entire Greenhouse with Ancient Fruit. This is the simplest and most profitable strategy.
- Setup: Plant Ancient Seeds on all available tiles.
- Maintenance: Harvest every 7 days. Place kegs around the farm to process wine.
- Profit: With 120 ancient fruit plants and Artisan profession, you earn approximately 2,310g per fruit every 7 days = 39,600g per harvest cycle.
- Annual profit: ~2,070,000g per year from wine alone (before aging).
Strategy 2: Mixed Ancient Fruit + Starfruit
Use part of the Greenhouse for Ancient Fruit and part for Starfruit.
- Ancient Fruit area: 80 tiles for ancient fruit (regrows every 7 days).
- Starfruit area: 40 tiles for starfruit (harvest every 13 days).
- Profit: Combines the regrowth advantage of ancient fruit with the high per-item value of starfruit.
Strategy 3: Seasonal Rotation
Rotate crops by season for variety, though this is less profitable than the above strategies.
- Spring: Plant strawberries and potatoes.
- Summer: Plant blueberries and melons.
- Fall: Plant cranberries and pumpkins.
- Winter: Plant winter seeds or leave empty.
Greenhouse vs Outdoor Farming
| Factor | Greenhouse | Outdoor |
|---|---|---|
| Seasonal restrictions | None | Must match season |
| Weather protection | Full | None |
| Space | ~120 tiles | Virtually unlimited |
| Sprinkler automation | Yes | Yes |
| Fruit trees | Yes (year-round fruit) | Seasonal only |
| Bee houses | No | Yes |
| Casks | Yes | No (cellar only) |
| Best crop | Ancient Fruit | Season-dependent |
Iridium Sprinkler Layout Guide
Grid Layout (Most Efficient)
Place sprinklers in a grid pattern with 3 tiles between each sprinkler (center to center). This ensures full coverage with no overlap.
S . . S . . S . .
. X X . X X . X X
. X X . X X . X X
. X X . X X . X X
S . . S . . S . .
. X X . X X . X X
. X X . X X . X X
. X X . X X . X X
Where S = Sprinkler and X = Crop tile.
Greenhouse Tips
- Ancient Fruit does NOT die between seasons. Once planted, it produces fruit year-round indefinitely.
- You can grow trees inside the Greenhouse, including fruit trees. Fruit trees produce fruit year-round inside.
- The Greenhouse counts as indoors for the purposes of the game, so seasonal restrictions do not apply.
- Bee houses do NOT work inside the Greenhouse. Place them outdoors near flower crops instead.
- Junimo Huts cannot be placed inside the Greenhouse.
- Casks can be placed inside the Greenhouse for aging wine and cheese.
- Do not let the Greenhouse sit empty. Even basic crops are better than nothing.
- Use Deluxe Fertilizer on every tile for consistent iridium-quality crops.
- Plant Ancient Fruit as soon as possible. The earlier you plant, the more you benefit from its indefinite regrowth.
- Process all greenhouse crops. Never sell raw crops when you can make wine, jelly, or pickles instead.