Stardew Valley Pumpkin Guide – Tips, Uses, Sell Price, Seeds, Grow Time

If it’s fall in Pelican Town, that means it’s time for Halloween Spirit’s Eve, and that means it’s time for Pumpkins. These massive gourds are one of the most lucrative cash crops in the entirety of Stardew Valley, even with their lengthy grow cycle. Here’s some useful intel on becoming a Pumpkin farmer.

How to be a Gourd Genius

Once you hit Fall, everyone in Pelican Town wants Pumpkins to carve for Spirit’s Eve at the end of the month. At least, that’s what I assume is going on, because I have no other idea why Pumpkins are worth big cash money. They sell for a higher price than almost any other crop in the game, only exceeded by Starfruit and Sweet Gem Berries.

There’s no particular trick to Pumpkins, unlike Strawberries. You can buy Pumpkin Seeds from every conventional vendor in the game starting on Fall 1, and each Seed you plant results in 1 Pumpkin. That’s about it. They take a long time to grow without accelerants like Speed-Gro, but they’re worth the effort.

Pumpkins, By the Numbers

• Season: Fall
• Seeds: 100g (General Store), 125g (JojaMart), 150g (Traveling Cart)
• Base Sale Price Per Unit: 320g
• Growth Time: 13 days
• Energy/Health When Eaten: Raw Pumpkins are inedible.

This may never come up at all over the course of a normal game, but Pumpkins are one of 3 standard crops in Stardew Valley that may combine into a single giant crop. This has a vanishingly low chance of happening (~1%) if you plant Pumpkins in at least a 3x3 grid at your farm.

You can smash a giant Pumpkin with your Axe to get ~20 normal-quality Pumpkins at once. It’s worth keeping this in mind when you’re arranging your crops, as it’s a big potential payoff in exchange for not being able to efficiently use a Sprinkler on your Pumpkin patch.

What Else to Do with Pumpkins in Stardew Valley

You can’t eat Pumpkins by themselves, but they’re an ingredient for a couple of useful recipes like Autumn’s Bounty. Between their use in cooking, their utility as gifts, and their high sale price, it can be difficult to keep Pumpkins in stock. Don’t be afraid to devote a lot of farming space to them.

Pumpkin Recipes & Crafting

• Putting a Pumpkin into a Keg creates Pumpkin Juice, which sells for a base of 720g. This is a solid income multiplier for normal-quality Pumpkins, but using a silver-quality Pumpkin or better for Juice doesn’t affect the Juice.
• A Preserves Jar turns Pumpkins into Pickled Pumpkins, which sell for a base of 690g.
• Once you reach 7 hearts with Demetrius, he’ll mail you the recipe for Autumn’s Bounty. This restores 220 Energy when eaten and is easy to make (1 Pumpkin, 1 Yam), which makes it a great go-to food for dungeon runs.
• Tune in to the Queen of Sauce on your TV on Winter 21 to learn the recipe for Pumpkin Pie: 1 Pumpkin, 1 Wheat Flour, 1 Milk, and 1 Sugar.
• When she reaches 7 hearts, Robin mails you the recipe for Pumpkin Soup. This is almost as easy to make as Autumn’s Bounty (1 Pumpkin, 1 Milk) as long as you’ve got cows, and restores almost as much Energy (200).
• At the Spirit’s Eve Festival on Fall 27, buy the Jack-O-Lantern recipe from Pierre for 750g. This is a weak but spooky light source made with 1 Pumpkin and 1 Torch. Once placed, it rots immediately on Winter 1.
• Naturally, if you put a Pumpkin in the dye pots at Emily’s house, it creates orange dye.
• A Pumpkin is one of several vegetables that can be used to create a Button Down Shirt at Emily’s sewing machine.

Gifts

• Most of the villagers in Pelican Town will be happy to accept a Pumpkin as a gift:
  • Abigail, Krobus, and Willy all love Pumpkins.
  • Conversely, Haley, Jas, Sam, and Vincent all dislike them. 
  • Every other villager likes Pumpkins, which makes them a decent go-to gift option if you’re in a bind on the Feast of the Winter Star.
• If you’re looking to befriend Sebastian, stockpile Pumpkins so you can make them into Pumpkin Soup.
  • Similarly, Mayor Lewis loves Autumn’s Bounty, while almost every other villager likes it.
  • Marnie loves Pumpkin Pie, and everyone else besides Krobus, Leo, and Willy likes it.

Quests Requiring Pumpkins

• The Fall Crops Bundle in the community center requires a single Pumpkin.
• You can use five gold-quality Pumpkins to complete the Quality Crops Bundle in the community center. In practice, you’re likely to complete this bundle with Corn well before you reach your first Fall, since Corn can be planted in Summer.
• On Fall 19, check your mail for a quest from Caroline, “Carving Pumpkins.” Bring her a Pumpkin to receive 500g and 1 Heart’s worth of friendship points.

As the “Livin’ Off the Land” show on your TV tells you, Fall is arguably the single most lucrative season for farming in Stardew Valley, and it’s mostly down to the financial benefits of churning out Pumpkins. If you plant Corn early in Summer to grind for cash, then blow your bankroll on Pumpkin Seeds, you can make more than enough cash in Fall to pay for all the upgrades you need over the course of your first Winter.