One of the first things you’re likely to do in Stardew Valley is plant a crop of Parsnips. This unassuming root vegetable can easily form the bulk of your income during your first season in Pelican Town, due to its cheap seeds and fast growth rate. Here are some fun facts to know about the humble Parsnip, as you start a new life in Stardew Valley.
How to Be a Parsnip Pro
You receive 15 Parsnip Seeds in the same welcome package from Mayor Lewis that contains your first set of tools, and one of the first quests in the game requires you to plant and harvest a Parsnip. Strap in; that all means your first couple of hours in a new game are filled with all-out Parsnip action.
This is primarily because Parsnips grow fast. It takes 4 days for Parsnips to grow, which ties them with Garlic as the quickest-growing Spring crop. Since Garlic isn’t readily available until Year 2, that makes Parsnips your first real cash crop in Stardew Valley. Once you burn through your first batch of Parsnip Seeds from Mayor Lewis, you can buy more from Pierre’s General Store or at JojoMart, although they’re more expensive at the latter location.
There’s no particular trick to growing Parsnips. Just clear some land, mill the soil, and plant them on any arable soil you’ve got. Water them every day, and 4 days later, you’ll have some Parsnips. They’re a sort of unlabeled tutorial crop, and while the initial rate of return on Parsnips isn’t incredible, you do still make a per-unit profit if you buy the Seeds.
Parsnips, By the Numbers
- Season: Spring
- Seeds: 20g (Pierre), 25g (JojoMart)
- Base Sale Price Per Unit: 35g
- Growth Time: 4 days
- Energy/Health When Eaten: 25 Energy/11 Health
As with most other crops, Parsnips may come out of the soil in higher-quality variants, which are labeled with a star on their icon. Silver, Gold, and Iridium-quality Parsnips sell for more (up to 100% more for an Iridium Parsnip) and restore more energy/health when eaten raw.
What Else to Do with Your Parsnips in Stardew Valley
Once your farm’s up and running, you may end up with more Parsnips than you know what to do with. Naturally, the next step is to see what else they’re good for. While they never quite lose their utility as a fast-growing moneymaker, Parsnips have a handful of other uses in recipes, crafting, and quests.
Recipes & Crafting
- Parsnips can be Pickled in a Preserves Jar or turned into Juice in a Keg. This renders them inedible but makes them into salable artisan items. As Pickles, Parsnips sell for a base price of 120g, and as Juice, they’re worth a base price of 78g. (There are generally better ways to use your Keg/Jar, but hey, if all you’ve got to spare is Parsnips...)
- Get to 3 hearts with Caroline and she’ll mail you a recipe for Parsnip Soup. This requires 1 Parsnip, 1 Milk, and 1 Vinegar, and restores 85 Health and 38 Energy on consumption.
- At Farming level 3, you’ll unlock the recipe for Farmer’s Lunch, which is made with 1 Parsnip and 1 Omelet (1 Egg, 1 Milk). Eat it to restore 200 Health and 90 Energy.
- Parsnips are one of several vegetables you can use to craft a Shirt and Belt with the sewing machine in Emily’s house. This is unlocked as soon as you’ve obtained 1 Cloth from any source, i.e. running Wool through a Loom.
- If you put a Parsnip, or Parsnip Soup, in the dye pots in Emily’s house, it creates yellow dye.
Gifts
- Pam loves Parsnips. If you’re looking to get the most possible mileage out of completing the early quest “How to Make Friends,” the easiest option is to give Pam a Parsnip on her birthday, Spring 18. She’s at the Stardrop Saloon every night until midnight.
- If you’re actively trying, for whatever reason, to anger Abigail, Haley, Jas, Sam, or Vincent, give them a Parsnip. This actually lowers their Friendship by a small amount (-20 pts.).
- Every other villager besides these 6 has a slight positive reaction to receiving a Parsnip (+20 pts.). Again, it’s better than nothing.
Quests and Other Options
- As noted above, “Getting Started” requires you to harvest a single Parsnip.
- In Spring, some of the random delivery quests from Pierre’s Help Wanted board outside the General Store might require a Parsnip. These usually reward a small sum of money; some friendship points with the villager who put in the request; and credit towards the Gofer and Help Wanted trophies/achievements.
- If you want to chase JojoMart out of town by rebuilding the Community Center, a single Parsnip is needed for the Spring Crops Bundle, and five gold-quality Parsnips are required to make the Quality Crops Bundle. These appear to always be part of the overall requirements for the Community Center, even if you use the option from version 1.5 to “remix” the Bundles at the start of a new game.
In summary, don’t be afraid to go all-in on Parsnips. While they aren’t as useful or valuable as some later crops, Parsnips are a solid and reliable vegetable that’ll give you the income stream you need to get further into Stardew Valley. Good luck out there.
