Stardew Valley Amaranth: When to Plant & How to Use

In Stardew Valley, the Fall brings with it the opportunity to plant a plethora of crops before the weather gets cold for the Winter. Of those, some of the most colorful is Amaranth, but it’s not always clear when you might need it.

Here’s how to grow Amaranth in Stardew and what to do with it.

How to Grow Amaranth in Stardew Valley

If you’re looking to start growing some amaranth, you’ll have to wait until the Fall to do so. It’ll cost you 70 gold from Pierre’s shop, 87 gold from Joja Mart and between 105 and 1000 gold from the Traveling Cart. Pierre’s gonna be your best bet to get some, so as usual, it’s always good to shop local.

You can also get your hands on some amaranth seeds during the winter if you go to the Night Market on the 17th day in Winter. You can buy them from the Magic Shop Boat for 70 gold, which is the lowest you can get them for, and the same price as you’d pay at Pierre’s during the fall. This is going to be the most useful if you’ve got a greenhouse and you want to grow some during the off-season.

You plant amaranth just the same as you would any other crop, and it doesn’t grow on a trellis so you can lay it out as tightly as you desire. It’ll take seven days to grow up to maturity, and after it’s all grown you’ll have to harvest it with a scythe rather than picking it by hand. You’ll only get one harvest out of them, and you’ll get one piece of amaranth per seed that you put down.

How to Use Amaranth in Stardew Valley

Once you’ve got yourself your bundles of amaranth, now it’s time to put them to use. You can sell them for a base price of 150 gold for the standard quality crop, but you’ll get up to 300 gold per amaranth if they’re Iridium quality. If you’ve chosen the Tiller profession, you’ll earn 10% more per crop on top of that.

You won’t need any for the Community Center initially, but once you’ve got the base done and you’re working on the remixed bundles, you’ll need amaranth for the remixed Dye Bundle. When it comes to giving it as a gift, it’s not going to be anyone’s favorite, but the color causes many of the villagers to still like it to some degree.

While not every crop will be used exclusively in a cooking recipe, you will need some amaranth if you want to say you’ve cooked every meal in Stardew. You’ll need a bundle of it to make a Salmon Dinner, along with one salmon and piece of kale. Other than that, it won’t really be of any help to you on the farm.

You will however need some if you want to complete every quest that comes your way from the other villagers. On the third day of Fall, Marnie will send you a letter explaining that her cows love amaranth, so she’d like you to bring her a single bunch of it to give to them. Successfully doing so will earn you 500 gold and a point of friendship with her, so if you’re looking to get a hold of those purple shorts, amaranth might serve as an asset.

Other than that, there’s not much more to know about how to grow amaranth in Stardew Valley and how to use it. It’s not one of the best money makers for your farm, but it’ll make some cows happy if you’re willing to put in a little work for them. If you need more guides for Stardew like where to catch a flounder or the best gifts for Pam, be sure to check back here.