Overview
This is a ranking list of the best crops in starbound taking into account their value.This isn’t your normal farming. This is advanced farming.
Sprinklers
Sprinklers are a 2×1 object used to water crops. Its dimensions are important when calculating how many dirt blocks it can water and how much clearance it needs.
Sprinklers need 7 blocks of empty space above them to work properly, they can be placed on top the soil, be suspended above the crops through platforms or even be put below the ground.
The following chart has the relation between the placement of the sprinkler and how many blocks it can water in total.
NOTES:
- From a 10 block elevation and beyond the edge of the irrigated area is watered irregularly, putting the sprinkler so high up is not recommended.
- Putting a sprinkler more than 3 blocks away from under the ground leads to it losing its reach.
- The tallest crop in the game is 6 blocks tall, meaning that you won’t have to account for the blocks occupied by the sprinkler from a 7 block elevation and beyond.
this should be a banana tree which actually is 6 blocks tall instead of 5 like a sugar cane
Math, briefly
This is the equation I used to calculate the wield of pixels on nearly all things on this list.
VALUE- is how much an item is valued at. eg: cotton fibre = 10 pixels
number of plants- how many fully grown plants you have of a that certain crop.
time- time, in minutes, it takes for a crop to become harvestable.
number of items- number of items needed to make the thing you are going to sell. eg: Canvas = 9 cotton fibre
1.26 is a modifier that takes into account the odds of you harvesting double crops (36%) and of getting plant fibre instead (10%)
The left side is the equation is measured in pixels/minute.
You’ll also have to multiply the final result by 0.3 if you are selling your produce through a terramarket launchpad or 0.2 if you’re using a common merchant. I will not apply this final calculation in the guide as it already has enough number clutter.
Ranking Criteria
Crops in this list are judged in the following caracteristics:
- Pixel Wield
- Stackability in inventory
- The need to be watered
- Seed rarity and type of biome found
- Blocks occupied: 1 or 2
- The need to be replanted after harvested
Legend
Stackability:
Crop is stackable / Crop isn’t stackable
Plant Size:
1 Tile Wide / 2 Tiles Wide
Needs to be replanted after harvest:
Doesn’t need to be replanted / Needs to be replanted
Crafting Improvement:
Sold uncooked / Sold cooked
——S Rank——
Boneboo
Boneboo is the most profitable crop in the game. A Boneboo monoculture will provide the highest amount of money compared to any other monoculture or any other combnation of crops. It is one of the most valuable raw ingredients in the game but also grows much quicker than other valuable crops. It does not need to be replanted after being harvested, which makes farming Boneboo very easy and convenient.
Boneboo is also used in several high level food recipes which grant several strong buffs to the player, however it should be sold uncooked if profitability is the main objective. As mentioned previously, a monoculture of Boneboo is the most profitable type of farm, planting any other type of crop to be crafted with Boneboo into valuable recipes will actually decrease the overall pixel production of the farm because despite cooked recipes being more valuable than their individual ingredients, those ingredients are still worth less than several Boneboo sold individually.
Eggshoot / Boltbulb
These two plants wield the highest amount of pixels in any given horizontal space, they are worth 25% less than boneboo, but occupy half the space and grow at the same rate. You can also think of them as the most profitable plant per sprinkler used. They need to be replanted after being harvested, but that isn’t too much of problem since they are only a single block wide, meaning one can run while planting the seeds without worrying about creating gaps in the plantation that can’t be filled later.
Cooking is also not recommended with these plants. The space is better used by just planting more Boltbulb or Eggshoot. Furthermore, some recipes using these plants will actually decrease their overall value as they are worth less than the sum of their parts.
Alien Fruit
Alien Fruit grows in trees fround in Alien Biome Planets, trees produce several fruit after harvested and also grow quicker than any crop in the game. Collecting tree saplings is also much faster than collecting seeds since every time a tree is fallen it drops several saplings, while harvesting normal farm crops there is a very small chance paying out with addtional seeds.
It should be crafted into Alien Juice before being sold for a 25% value increase.
A big thank you to u/Amegatron for his findings.
——A Rank——
Sugar
Sugar is the highest valued stackable crop, the player’s inventory can hold a virtually infinite amount of it. An entire planet covered in sugar cane will fill less than 8 slots of inventory (counting the space occupied by the seeds). Since it needs to be replanted after harvesting and is 2 blocks wide, farming sugar is not as streamlined as other crops, and will demand extra care while replanting.
It should be crafted into Bon bon bon bons for the highest profit. Sugar is used in the most recipes than any other crop, and is very important to unlocking new recipes.
Reefpod
Reefpods need to be planted in underwater soil, demanding extra care when constructing these farms, but this might actually be a good thing, as this takes away the need for sprinklers.
Reefpods should be cooked into Reef Juice before being sold.
——B Rank——
Diodia
Diodia is a valuable crop, it sells for a high amount and takes 30 minutes to grow. But otherwise, not very remarkable.
Diodia can be sold uncooked for a high amount, but it can also be cooked with Boltbulb into Zmash if you happen to happen to have some bolbtbulb lying around.
Oculemon / Dirturchin
Oculemon and Dirturchin are found in the same type of planet, worth the same amount of pixels and grow at the same rate, neither has a simple cooking recipe that can improve its value without much effort.
——C Rank——
Chilli
Coralcreep
Coralcreep is also farmed underwater, but doesn’t need to be replanted like Reefpods. It has all of the benefits and downsides of underwater farming, but it’s not worth as much as the other underwater crop.
Rice
Rice seeds are found in the type of planet the player first spawns in. Rice can be carried along with a campfire for a large amount of boiled rice that can be prepared on the go. Rice is also used in several low level recipes and can be quite useful to fight off hunger in survival mode.
Cocoa
Cocoa seeds are very easy to find and are very convenient to harvest.
Cook it into chocolate before selling.
——D Rank——
Silk
Although silk is not a plant, the production of silk fiber is deserving of mention here as it gives a fairly reasonable amount of pixels and for also having several advantages over normal crops. It doesn’t need to be watered, requires very little space and the crafting materials for it can be found at any tier 2 or 3 planet. It’s also a very important crafting material in the mid-game.
It should be crafted into silk fabric before being sold.
——E Rank——
Cotton
Cotton is one of the least profitable crops in the game. But it’s very important for crafting armor. It should be replaced with other crops if profitability is in mind.
Thorn Fruit
Thorn Fruit cannot be farmed in a traditional way, it is impossible to get Thorn Plant seeds in the game without the use of cheats / admin commands. Anyhow, Thorn fruit are among the least valuable crops, their in-game worth is of just 30 pixels, but they can be crafted into Thorn Juice which is worth 40 pixels.
Plant Fibre
Plant fibre can be crafted into string, salve and bandages to be sold.