Stardew Valley 1.6: 4 New Crops Profit Guide (With Reproducible Math)

Stardew Valley 1.6 added four new crops, not eight: Carrot, Summer Squash, Broccoli, and Powdermelon. If you are optimizing your farm for gold, this matters, because any strategy built on the old "8 new crops" claim will push you into bad decisions and broken calculations.

This guide is a full rewrite with one goal: every key number should be easy to verify and easy to hand-calculate. We will cover:

• The only four true 1.6 crops
• Correct growth/regrow/season values
• Correct processing formulas and times
• Seed acquisition paths (since these seeds are not sold in normal stores)
• Step-by-step profit formulas you can reproduce on paper

To compare a growing window, profession and fertilizer setting, use our Stardew crop profit calculator.

TL;DR: Fast Ranking Before the Deep Dive

If we compare one tile for a full in-season window (28 days) using a conservative seed opportunity-cost model (explained below), the four new crops rank like this:

1. Summer Squash (best seasonal net among the 4)
2. Broccoli (very close, strong low-maintenance fall performer)
3. Carrot (great early cash flow, lower long-window yield)
4. Powdermelon (correctly modeled as winter, non-regrow, modest raw return)

If your bottleneck is artisan machines instead of field tiles, Preserves Jar products are generally more machine-efficient than Keg products for these four crops under this guide's stated processing-time assumptions.

You can validate all of this using the formulas in this article or directly in the calculator.

Data Snapshot: The 4 Real 1.6 Crops

Important correction: Powdermelon is winter, 7 days, not regrowable, and 60g base sell.

How To Get the New Seeds (They Are Not in Normal Shops)

1.6 new seeds are not sold at Pierre/Joja/Traveling Cart in the usual way. You need alternate acquisition routes.

Practical takeaway: seed availability in Year 1 is spikier than normal Pierre crops. Plan around your actual seed inventory, not a theoretical "I can buy 500 tomorrow" assumption.

The seasonal windows above apply to random seed sources. Raccoon Wife trades and Seed Maker production are exceptions. References Carrot Seeds, Summer Squash Seeds, Broccoli Seeds and Powdermelon Seeds. Their recipe-free seed sale values are opportunity costs in the examples below. Check the official 1.6 changelog for the four-crop addition.

Assumption Box (Read This Before Comparing Numbers)

To keep every table reproducible, this guide uses explicit assumptions:

• Time window: 28-day season.
• Planting day: Day 1 of the crop's season.
• Watering: Every day (no missed growth).
• Seed-cost model (default): We use each seed's sell price as opportunity cost (Carrot 15g, Summer Squash 20g, Broccoli 40g, Powdermelon 20g from seed pages).
• Alternative model: If you treat found seeds as "free," use the gross model (shown alongside net where useful).
• Quality/professions: Base quality, no Tiller/Artisan bonuses in core comparison.
• Machine bottleneck: Processing sections separate field output from machine throughput; do not assume infinite Kegs/Jars.
• Fertilizer rule: Speed-Gro/Agriculturist can reduce time to first harvest, but do not reduce regrow interval for multi-harvest crops.

This assumption block is exactly why your results can differ from random online tier lists.

Calculate Your Farm Profit →

Reproducible Profit Formulas

We will use only a few formulas.

1) Harvest Count

For a non-regrow crop planted on Day 1:

H = floor((L - 1) / D)

For a regrow crop planted on Day 1:

H = 1 + floor((L - D - 1) / R)

Where:

• L = season length (28)
• D = days to first harvest
• R = regrow interval
• H = total harvests in the season

2) Seasonal Revenue and Net Profit

Revenue = H x S

SeedCost = U x C

NetProfit = Revenue - SeedCost

Where:

• S = crop sell price
• C = seed opportunity cost
• U = seeds consumed in season
  • For non-regrow crops: U = H
  • For regrow crops: U = 1

3) Per-Day Metrics (Season-Level)

GrossPerDay = Revenue / L

NetPerDay = NetProfit / L

Compare harvest counts in the calculator and apply the seed opportunity costs by hand. The calculator currently charges 0g for these four seed types. This article values them at their 15g, 20g, 40g and 20g seed sale prices, so its net margins differ from a zero-acquisition-cost tool run.

Full Seasonal Math for Each New Crop (Step by Step)

Carrot (Spring, 3 days, no regrow)

Inputs:

• L = 28
• D = 3
• S = 35
• C = 15

Harvest count:

H = floor((28 - 1) / 3) = floor(27 / 3) = 9

Revenue:

Revenue = 9 x 35 = 315g

Seed consumption and cost (non-regrow):

U = H = 9

SeedCost = 9 x 15 = 135g

Net:

NetProfit = 315 - 135 = 180g

Per day:

GrossPerDay = 315 / 28 = 11.25g/day

NetPerDay = 180 / 28 = 6.43g/day

Interpretation: Carrot is still a strong cash-flow crop because of the 3-day loop, but it is not the best long-window earner among the four once you include seed opportunity cost.

Summer Squash (Summer, 6 days then 3 days)

Inputs:

• L = 28
• D = 6
• R = 3
• S = 45
• C = 20

Harvest count:

H = 1 + floor((28 - 6 - 1) / 3)

H = 1 + floor(21 / 3) = 8

Revenue:

Revenue = 8 x 45 = 360g

Seed cost (regrow):

U = 1

SeedCost = 1 x 20 = 20g

Net:

NetProfit = 360 - 20 = 340g

Per day:

GrossPerDay = 360 / 28 = 12.86g/day

NetPerDay = 340 / 28 = 12.14g/day

Interpretation: Summer Squash wins this model because regrowth gives repeated harvests while only consuming one seed.

Broccoli (Fall, 8 days then 4 days)

Inputs:

• L = 28
• D = 8
• R = 4
• S = 70
• C = 40

Harvest count:

H = 1 + floor((28 - 8 - 1) / 4)

H = 1 + floor(19 / 4) = 5

Revenue:

Revenue = 5 x 70 = 350g

Seed cost (regrow):

U = 1

SeedCost = 1 x 40 = 40g

Net:

NetProfit = 350 - 40 = 310g

Per day:

GrossPerDay = 350 / 28 = 12.50g/day

NetPerDay = 310 / 28 = 11.07g/day

Interpretation: Broccoli is nearly tied with Summer Squash and has very low management overhead in fall.

Powdermelon (Winter, 7 days, no regrow)

Inputs:

• L = 28
• D = 7
• S = 60
• C = 20

Harvest count:

H = floor((28 - 1) / 7) = floor(27 / 7) = 3

Revenue:

Revenue = 3 x 60 = 180g

Seed cost:

U = H = 3

SeedCost = 3 x 20 = 60g

Net:

NetProfit = 180 - 60 = 120g

Per day:

GrossPerDay = 180 / 28 = 6.43g/day

NetPerDay = 120 / 28 = 4.29g/day

Interpretation: Powdermelon is correctly modeled as a winter single-harvest cycle crop. It is useful, but it is not a hidden regrow monster.

Comparison Table: Seasonal Field Performance (Per Tile)

If you switch to a "seeds are free drops" model, subtract the seed-cost column from your decision process. That boosts all four, but does not change the core behavior pattern: Summer Squash and Broccoli remain the strongest season-long tile earners.

Try the Profit Calculator →

Processing comparison per item and machine minute

Normal-quality Carrot Juice is 78g versus 120g Pickles, Summer Squash Juice 101g versus 140g Pickles, Broccoli Juice 157g versus 190g Pickles, and Powdermelon Wine 180g versus 170g Jelly. Juice takes 6,000 machine minutes, Jar products 4,000 and Wine 10,000. Gross product revenue per 1,000 machine minutes is therefore 13 vs 30 for Carrot, 16.83 vs 35 for Squash, 26.17 vs 47.5 for Broccoli, and 18 vs 42.5 for Powdermelon. This throughput comparison excludes input opportunity cost, machine construction and calendar collection delays. Sources Carrot, Summer Squash, Broccoli, Powdermelon, Keg and Preserves Jar.

FAQ

Final Takeaways

The corrected 1.6 crop picture is much cleaner than the misinformation version:

• Only 4 true new crops.
• Powdermelon is winter, 7-day, non-regrow.
• Speed-Gro does not alter regrow interval.
• Seed acquisition is a real constraint because normal stores do not sell these seeds.
• Processing decisions must include machine bottlenecks, not just raw sell multipliers.

If you want one practical default plan:

1. Use Carrot for fast Spring liquidity.
2. Lean on Summer Squash in Summer for strong stable net.
3. Shift to Broccoli rhythm in Fall for reliable high-value cycles.
4. Use Powdermelon in Winter as a correctly scoped supplemental crop, not a fake regrow anchor.

Then choose your growing window, seed access, fertilizer and profession setup in the calculator.