Best spring crops to be used in preserves jars?

[Lucy]

I know which crops make the most profit with no processing but which make the most profit when used in a preserves jar? I dont have kegs yet so im not sure how to make the most profits with the jars. I have 166 spaces in each sprinkler farm, Thank you!

(Sorry i know ive said something relating to this before, I'm a noob :P)

[Pixel Peeper]

I mean... all spring crops would be worth more processed in a Preserves Jar than sold raw. Some more than others, yes, and I don't know what range you're looking for here, but... in any case, there are multiple factors at work here.

The technical answer would be "the lowest-value ones" because of the +50g value modifier for the Preserves Jar. For example...

A gold-quality Pumpkin would sell for 480g raw (528g with Tiller), but 690g processed (966g with Artisan). With Artisan that's only 2 times its non-processed value.

A regular Salmonberry would sell for 5g raw, but 60g processed (84g with Artisan). With Artisan that's almost 17 times its non-processed value.

However, there's a catch. If you don't have enough Jars to process everything, you're going to want to process higher-value produce. A Salmonberry benefits way more from being processed than a Pumpkin, but you still make more gold from processing the Pumpkin. It takes 3 days either way.

Added catch: if you need reinvestment budget right now, that 3-day delay means you might be better off selling the higher-value produce first (to buy more seeds and stuff).

Like I said, multiple factors.

[Lucy]

Originally posted by Tripoteur Ventripotent:

I mean... all spring crops would be worth more processed in a Preserves Jar than sold raw. Some more than others, yes, and I don't know what range you're looking for here, but... in any case, there are multiple factors at work here.

The technical answer would be "the lowest-value ones" because of the +50g value modifier for the Preserves Jar. For example...

A gold-quality Pumpkin would sell for 480g raw (528g with Tiller), but 690g processed (966g with Artisan). With Artisan that's only 2 times its non-processed value.

A regular Salmonberry would sell for 5g raw, but 60g processed (84g with Artisan). With Artisan that's almost 17 times its non-processed value.

However, there's a catch. If you don't have enough Jars to process everything, you're going to want to process higher-value produce. A Salmonberry benefits way more from being processed than a Pumpkin, but you still make more gold from processing the Pumpkin. It takes 3 days either way.

Added catch: if you need reinvestment budget right now, that 3-day delay means you might be better off selling the higher-value produce first (to buy more seeds and stuff).

Like I said, multiple factors.

I believe that i have 25-30 preserves jars so salmon berries could be good, thank you for the help!

[Lucy]

Originally posted by red255:

Preserve jars are initial base value x2+50. (x1.4 with artisan)

Wouldn't normally bother with salmonberries. but you can if you want to.

Oh okay, thanks for the info!

[Pixel Peeper]

Yes, it's that +50 that makes the Jars better at processing low-value produce.

Salmonberry in Jar: 5g x2 = 10g + 50g = 60g (84g with Artisan)
Salmonberry in Keg: 5g x3 = 15g (21g with Artisan)

That said, I don't usually bother processing Salmonberries myself either, I just eat them for energy. Monopolizing a Jar for 3 days for a profit of less than 100g isn't worth it for me, especially since I've never had anywhere close to 25 Preserves Jars.

I use my Jars for stuff like Cauliflower.

[kevinshow]

The way I think about it is, which products are the easiest ones for me to grow/forage, and turn into something else that sells for higher?

If I can get Fruit A more easily than Fruit B, and A also has multiple harvests per plant, then I might stick with A even if B gives slightly more per preserve, because time-wise, maybe A can give more money for less effort.

An example would be that with the green house in use, I either have strawberries or blueberries up the wazoo. I end up carrying blueberries around to eat to replenish health, give to people (even if it's not their favorite but it still gives them positive likes and I have so many of them), and use them for recipes like preserves.

(I know someone may not have green house yet but the outdoor multiple harvest plants still can be a benefit for preserves).

So in my example, although we can end up with a lot of salmonberries, it requires movement all over the world map to collect them. Compared to growing a couple of plants, all collectable at my farm (or green house), that I can harvest and put up in preserve jars then go do something else, that might be what I'd go for instead.

Keep in mind it's up to what you like to do, too. I do like collecting the foraging items as a supplemental to my income, so if you do that too, and you have available preserve jars, then yes, you may as well turn them into something better before selling them.

[Pixel Peeper]

Originally posted by navorskatie:

So in my example, although we can end up with a lot of salmonberries, it requires movement all over the world map to collect them. Compared to growing a couple of plants, all collectable at my farm (or green house), that I can harvest and put up in preserve jars then go do something else, that might be what I'd go for instead.

Well, the thing with berries (Salmonberries and Blackberries) is that they're extremely plentiful. On the first spring you might only still get one berry per bush, but there are so many that spending five hours foraging will easily yield forty of them. By the time Blackberry season comes around, you'll be getting two or three berries per bush. While you can indeed do whatever you want, there are few activities more efficient than foraging berries. After nearly two weeks of never having any Energy, that first Salmonberry season is like being able to breathe for the first time.

The only way to make them directly valuable is to put them in Preserve Jars, and no one has all that many Preserve Jars, so the berries aren't generally used for gold, at least not directly.

They're best used as Energy (which will in turn let you make way more gold) or inexpensive healing (saving you gold). They make excellent gifts because plenty of villagers like berries, and 5g for a Liked gift is extremely good value, so they indirectly save you gold there too.

I've never skipped a berry season and I never will. Not unless I'm doing some sort of challenge playthrough where foraging isn't allowed.

[Lucy]

Originally posted by navorskatie:

The way I think about it is, which products are the easiest ones for me to grow/forage, and turn into something else that sells for higher?

If I can get Fruit A more easily than Fruit B, and A also has multiple harvests per plant, then I might stick with A even if B gives slightly more per preserve, because time-wise, maybe A can give more money for less effort.

An example would be that with the green house in use, I either have strawberries or blueberries up the wazoo. I end up carrying blueberries around to eat to replenish health, give to people (even if it's not their favorite but it still gives them positive likes and I have so many of them), and use them for recipes like preserves.

(I know someone may not have green house yet but the outdoor multiple harvest plants still can be a benefit for preserves).

So in my example, although we can end up with a lot of salmonberries, it requires movement all over the world map to collect them. Compared to growing a couple of plants, all collectable at my farm (or green house), that I can harvest and put up in preserve jars then go do something else, that might be what I'd go for instead.

Keep in mind it's up to what you like to do, too. I do like collecting the foraging items as a supplemental to my income, so if you do that too, and you have available preserve jars, then yes, you may as well turn them into something better before selling them.

Originally posted by Tripoteur Ventripotent:

Originally posted by navorskatie:

So in my example, although we can end up with a lot of salmonberries, it requires movement all over the world map to collect them. Compared to growing a couple of plants, all collectable at my farm (or green house), that I can harvest and put up in preserve jars then go do something else, that might be what I'd go for instead.

Well, the thing with berries (Salmonberries and Blackberries) is that they're extremely plentiful. On the first spring you might only still get one berry per bush, but there are so many that spending five hours foraging will easily yield forty of them. By the time Blackberry season comes around, you'll be getting two or three berries per bush. While you can indeed do whatever you want, there are few activities more efficient than foraging berries. After nearly two weeks of never having any Energy, that first Salmonberry season is like being able to breathe for the first time.

The only way to make them directly valuable is to put them in Preserve Jars, and no one has all that many Preserve Jars, so the berries aren't generally used for gold, at least not directly.

They're best used as Energy (which will in turn let you make way more gold) or inexpensive healing (saving you gold). They make excellent gifts because plenty of villagers like berries, and 5g for a Liked gift is extremely good value, so they indirectly save you gold there too.

I've never skipped a berry season and I never will. Not unless I'm doing some sort of challenge playthrough where foraging isn't allowed.

So should I use parsnips or something such as that?

[Pixel Peeper]

Originally posted by LuluPupp:

So should I use parsnips or something such as that?

I wouldn't think so.

Parsnips are nice the first couple weeks of the game because they let you grow your money very quickly and give a lot of EXP.

But if it's your second spring, they're not good. Say you have 50 Quality Sprinklers and you can water 400 tiles... if you use those tiles to grow Parsnip, you'll have to harvest them every 4 days, your Jars will never be able to process all that (you'd need 400 Jars), and you won't make much money per tile (about 1,000g per tile for 7 harvests).

If you use those tiles to grow Rhubarb instead, you won't have to harvest as often and you'll be able to use the long growth time to process the stuff from previous harvests while the next batch grows. It's less work, requires way fewer Jars, and you'll also make more money per tile (about 1,150g per tile for 2 harvests).

Still, I believe Strawberries would be your best choice; they're the best spring crops by far. Of course, if you didn't get a Greenhouse in early winter, it's unlikely that you have enough Strawberry seeds by the time spring comes around. Then you'll have to pick another one.

https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Crops

[I Kinda Fail]

Think of it this way. A blueberry's worth 50g.

If you make blueberry jelly, it's 50g x2 = 100g, then add another 50 for 150g.
If you make blueberry wine, it's 50g x3 = 150g. But it takes twice as long.

Preserve jars are best for things you have fields and fields of, such as parsnips, potatoes, kale or green beans. They double the value then add 50g.

Wine is best for things that grow very slow and have high value, such as melons or pumpkins. They take the already high value and triple it.

[Pixel Peeper]

Originally posted by I Kinda Fail:

Think of it this way. A blueberry's worth 50g.

If you make blueberry jelly, it's 50g x2 = 100g, then add another 50 for 150g.
If you make blueberry wine, it's 50g x3 = 150g. But it takes twice as long.

Preserve jars are best for things you have fields and fields of, such as parsnips, potatoes, kale or green beans. They double the value then add 50g.

Wine is best for things that grow very slow and have high value, such as melons or pumpkins. They take the already high value and triple it.

Yes, this is true, and this is what most players usually think about.

But OP's situation is an odd one. Their issue isn't "Jars VS Kegs", it's "I only have Jars, what do I grow in the tiles that are available to me".

On a purely tile-based basis, Cauliflower would be better than Parsnips despite the much, much greater value increase that Parsnips get from Jars.

Of course, if OP had hundreds of Jars, less investment budget, didn't mind frequent harvests and were willing to expand their field by at least 20%, Parsnips would come back on top.