Choosing the right crop at each stage of Garden Horizons is the single biggest factor in how fast you progress. The difference between a smart seed purchase and a bad one can be 7× more profit per cycle. This guide ranks every buyable and seed-pack crop by return on investment and breakeven speed so you always know exactly what to plant.
All prices below assume Lush ripening (×3.0), base weight, and no mutations — the bare minimum you should aim for. With Gold variants (×5) or weather mutations stacked on top, the numbers multiply dramatically. Use the Economy Calculator to simulate exact values for your specific crop.
Single-Harvest Tier List — Ranked by ROI
Single-harvest crops are bought from Bill every 5-minute restock cycle, planted, grown to Lush, then sold to Molly for profit. This is the core money-making loop for the first half of the game.
| # | Plant | Seed Cost | Lush Sell | Profit | ROI | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Carrot | 20 $ | 84 $ | 64 $ | 320% | Best early flip |
| 2 |  Onion | 200 $ | 900 $ | 700 $ | 350% | Solid upgrade |
| 3 |  Beetroot | 2,500 $ | 6,000 $ | 3,500 $ | 140% | Mid-game king |
| 4 |  Wheat | 12,000 $ | 21,600 $ | 9,600 $ | 80% | Best late-game flip |
| 5 |  Cabbage | 150,000 $ | 180,000 $ | 30,000 $ | 20% | ROI trap — skip unless Gold |
⚠️ Cabbage is a trap
Recommended Progression
Start with Carrot flips — they cost almost nothing and grow fast. Once you have ~5,000 $, switch to Beetroot for bigger per-cycle profit. At 50k+ $, Wheat becomes your main earner with 9,600 $ profit per crop. Skip Cabbage entirely unless you get Gold.
Multi-Harvest Tier List — Ranked by Breakeven Speed
Multi-harvest plants cost more upfront but produce fruit forever. Once you hit breakeven, every subsequent harvest is pure profit. Ranked by how fast you recoup the seed cost at Lush.
| # | Plant | Seed Cost | Per Fruit (Lush) | Breakeven | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Corn | 100 $ | 45 $ | 3 harvests | Fastest payback, low income |
| 2 |  Apple | 7,000 $ | 810 $ | 9 harvests | Best overall value |
| 3 |  Strawberry | 800 $ | 96 $ | 9 harvests | Cheap but low per-fruit |
| 4 |  Rose | 10,000 $ | 960 $ | 11 harvests | Solid mid-tier pick |
| 5 |  Mushroom | 1,500 $ | 120 $ | 13 harvests | Slow payback for the price |
| 6 |  Banana | 30,000 $ | 2,250 $ | 14 harvests | Good late-game passive |
| 7 |  Plum | 60,000 $ | 3,000 $ | 20 harvests | Expensive, slow breakeven |
| 8 |  Tomato | 4,000 $ | 180 $ | 23 harvests | Worst value — skip |
| 9 |  Potato | 100,000 $ | 4,500 $ | 23 harvests | High income, slow payback |
| 10 |  Cherry | 1,000,000 $ | 24,000 $ | 42 harvests | Endgame money printer |
⚠️ Avoid Tomato
💡 Best multi-harvest value: Apple
Best Crop by Budget
Not sure what to buy? Here are the optimal single-harvest picks at each price range. All values at Lush (×3.0), base weight, no mutations.
| Your Budget | Best Crop | Lush Sell | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 500 $ | Carrot (20 $) | 84 $ | 320% |
| 500 – 5,000 $ | Beetroot (2,500 $) | 6,000 $ | 140% |
| 5,000+ $ | Wheat (12,000 $) | 21,600 $ | 80% |
The pattern is simple: always pick the highest-tier crop you can fill your entire plot with. A full plot of Beetroot beats a handful of Wheat in total profit because more plants means more independent dice rolls for Gold and mutations.
Seed Pack Plants — Free Money
Seeds from the Dawn Seed Pack and Gardener Seed Pack cost zero Shillings — every sell is pure profit. If you pull any of these, plant and protect them immediately.
| Plant | Lush Sell | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Fruit | 80,000 $ | Dawn Pack (1.5%) | Best free plant in the entire game |
 Blossom | 12,000 $ | Dawn Pack (1.5%) | Legendary repeatable income |
 Olive | 10,000 $ | Gardener Pack (1.5%) | Solid legendary from free packs |
 Orange | 4,085 $ | Gardener Pack (5.5%) | Good filler, weight upside |
 Amberpine | 1,200 $ | Dawn Pack (16%) | Decent rare, common pull |
 Birch | 1,500 $ | Gardener Pack (16%) | Solid rare pull |
How Mutations Multiply Everything
Mutations are where the real money is. They add together (additive among themselves), then the combined sum multiplies your ripening × color variant. A single Starstruck (6.5×) at Lush turns a 6,000 $ Beetroot into a 117,000 $ payday. Stack two mutations and the numbers explode.
| Scenario | Mutation Total | Ripening | Final Multiplier | Example Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry + Starstruck | 6.5× | ×3 Lush | ×19.5 | ~156,000 $/fruit, repeatable |
| Cabbage + Starstruck | 6.5× | ×3 Lush | ×19.5 | ~1,170,000 $ per crop |
| Blossom + Starstruck | 6.5× | ×3 Lush | ×19.5 | ~234,000 $/fruit, zero cost |
| Beetroot + Shocked + Starstruck | 11× | ×3 Lush | ×33 | ~198,000 $ per crop |
| Cabbage + all mutations | 33.2× | ×3 Lush | ×99.6 | ~5,970,000 $ (theoretical max) |
Check the Economy Calculator to simulate any combination of crop + mutations + ripening + weight. The calculator uses the exact same formula the game uses, verified with in-game data.
Gold Variant — The Game Changer
Gold is a ×5 multiplicative color bonus — it multiplies on top of everything else. Gold + Lush = ×15, not ×8. A Gold Lush Beetroot sells for ~30,000 $ instead of 6,000 $. A Gold Lush Cherry with Starstruck hits ~780,000 $ per fruit.
💡 Never waste a Gold
Weight — The Hidden Multiplier
The game shows each crop’s weight in the tooltip. Sell price scales with the square of weight: a crop at 2× its base weight sells for 4× more. This is massive for heavy crops like Cabbage (1.1 kg base) or Dawn Fruit (0.41 kg base).
Use the weight slider in our Economy Calculator to see exactly how much your specific crop weighs and what it’s worth. Weight variance can easily double or triple the listed sell prices above.
Key Tips for Maximum Profit
Always wait for Lush
Buy seeds every 5-minute cycle
Fill your plot to Plant Cap
Switch to multi-harvest at the right time
Protect valuable plants
Time planting around weather
ℹ️ Use the Calculator