Shillings are the engine of everything in Garden Horizons. More Shillings means better seeds, better gear, and faster progression. This guide covers every viable money-making strategy — from first-day Carrot loops to end-game Gold Lush farms — ranked by efficiency and accessibility.
Economy Basics
Every plant has a base price and a base weight. The sell value is determined by both — heavier plants with higher base prices yield the most Shillings. The Lush variant multiplies value by 3×, and mutations stack additional multipliers on top.
The key insight for efficient farming: time is your most limited resource. Plants only ripen while you are online. Every decision should be evaluated by Shillings per minute of online time.
Early Game — Fast Cash with Carrots
Carrots are the beginner's best friend: low cost, fast ripening, and easy to convert to Shillings quickly. The Carrot loop:
Buy Carrot seeds from Bill
Plant and wait for Lush
Sell to Steve — reinvest immediately
Repeat — upgrade after 3–5 loops
💡 Buy the Watering Can as soon as you can
Mid Game — Switching to Premium Crops
Once you have the Watering Can and a stable Shilling base, transition to higher-value crops. The jump from Carrot to Onion is enormous:
| Crop | Base Price | Lush Value | Relative Income |
|---|---|---|---|
 Carrot | 30 💰 | ~90 💰 | 1× (baseline) |
 Corn | 15 💰 | ~45 💰 | 0.5× (lower value, heavier) |
 Mushroom | 40 💰 | ~120 💰 | 1.3× |
 Strawberry | 32 💰 | ~96 💰 | 1.1× |
 Onion | 300 💰 | ~900 💰 | 10× |
| Apple | 270 💰 | ~810 💰 | 9× |
 Beetroot | 3,750 💰 | ~11,250 💰 | 125× |
Notice how Beetroot at Lush (~11,250 💰) is worth 125× more than a Lush Carrot. Transitioning to Beetroot as soon as you can afford the seeds is the single biggest income leap available in the game.
⚠️ Beetroot takes longer to ripen
Mid–End Game — Mutation Farming
Once you have premium crops mastered, the next level is mutation farming: planting during specific weather events to get high-multiplier mutations on your best crops.
| Strategy | Expected Multiplier | Required Setup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lush Beetroot, no mutation | 3× | Seeds only | Baseline — always achievable |
| Lush Beetroot + Rain stack | 12× | Seeds + timing | Reliable with good session planning |
| Lush Beetroot + Shocked | 16.5× | Seeds + weather timing | Needs Thunderstorm event |
| Lush Beetroot + Starstruck | 22.5× | Seeds + Starfall alert | Best consistent strategy — plant during Starfall |
| Lush Beetroot + Starstruck + Shocked | 36× | Perfect conditions | Maximum payout — rare opportunity |
💡 Join weather alert communities
End Game — Gold Lush + Maximum Mutations
Beyond Lush lie the color variants: Silver, Gold, and Rainbow. Gold and Rainbow plants are worth significantly more than standard Lush plants, and pairing them with Starstruck or Shocked makes them the most valuable items in the game.
The exact conditions for obtaining Gold and Rainbow variants are still being fully documented by the community. What is confirmed: they require plants to reach advanced ripening stages beyond standard Lush, with specific conditions that may include time, weather, or tool use.
Strategy Comparison — Shillings per Session
| Strategy | Session Length | Shillings Estimate | Skill Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lush Carrot loops | 15–20 min | 200–500 💰 | ⭐ Beginner |
| Lush Onion + Watering Can | 30–40 min | 2,000–5,000 💰 | ⭐⭐ Easy |
| Lush Beetroot, no mutation | 45–60 min | 15,000–30,000 💰 | ⭐⭐ Easy |
| Lush Beetroot + Rain mutations | 45–60 min | 40,000–80,000 💰 | ⭐⭐⭐ Medium |
| Lush Beetroot + Shocked | 45–60 min | 60,000–120,000 💰 | ⭐⭐⭐ Medium |
| Lush Beetroot + Starstruck | 45–60 min | 80,000–180,000 💰 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Hard |
| Gold Lush + top mutations | 60+ min | 500,000+ 💰 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Expert |
ℹ️ Use the Value Calculator