Harvest Hollow by the numbers: which crops actually pay
Every price, growth time and pest risk in Harvest Hollow lives in one data file, and the economy was tuned with a simulation before release. That means the game can be read like a spreadsheet. Here is what the numbers say.
The table
Profit is what one harvest sells for at the base market price, minus the seed, divided by the growing time. Experience (XP) is given per harvest, so it is also shown per minute. Pest risk is the chance per minute, while you are playing, that pests land on the crop.
| Crop | Level | Seed | Grows | Sells for | Coins/min | XP/min | Pest risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radish | 1 | 5 | 45 s | 8 | 4.0 | 1.33 | none |
| Carrot | 1 | 10 | 2 min | 21 | 5.5 | 1.50 | none |
| Lettuce | 2 | 16 | 3 min | 34 | 6.0 | 1.33 | 2% |
| Potato | 3 | 25 | 5 min | 56 | 6.2 | 1.20 | 3.5% |
| Tomato | 4 | 40 | 8 min | 95 | 6.9 | 1.12 | 4% |
| Cucumber | 5 | 55 | 10 min | 125 | 7.0 | 1.10 | 3.5% |
| Bell pepper | 6 | 75 | 14 min | 180 | 7.5 | 1.00 | 4% |
| Strawberry | 7 | 100 | 20 min | 252 | 7.6 | 0.90 | 3.5% |
| Corn | 8 | 110 | 25 min | 312 | 8.1 | 0.80 | 3% |
| Pumpkin | 9 | 180 | 35 min | 480 | 8.6 | 0.86 | 2.5% |
| Watermelon | 10 | 240 | 45 min | 660 | 9.3 | 0.84 | 2.5% |
| Grapes (vine) | 11 | 900 | 60 min, then 30 | 480 ×6 | 9.4 | - | 2% |
Market prices move every five minutes, between 75% and 130% of the base price, so the real figure on any given harvest can be a third lower or higher. The ranking holds on average.
What the numbers say
Bigger crops pay more per minute - but only a little
Profit per plot rises steadily from about 4 coins a minute for radishes to over 9 for watermelons and grapes. The curve is gentle on purpose: a long crop is worth more, but not so much more that short crops become pointless.
Early on, carrots beat everything for experience
XP per minute goes the other way. Carrots give 1.5 XP a minute, more than any other crop; pumpkins and watermelons give less than one. Levels unlock new crops, plots, the barn and the coop, so in the first hour XP is worth more than coins. If you check in often, fill the field with carrots and radishes and level up first.
The first levels go quickly: the XP needed for the next level is 25 × level1.75, so level 1 needs 25, level 2 about 84, level 3 about 171 and level 4 about 283.
Pests only come while you are playing
This is the most useful detail in the data. Pest risk is applied only while the game is open; crops keep growing while you are away, but nothing attacks them. So:
- Plant long crops before you leave. A pumpkin that grows for 35 minutes while you are away has no pest risk at all.
- Plant short crops while you play. Radishes and carrots never get pests, and they are ready before you would have to deal with any.
- Save the neem shield for big crops you watch grow. At 30 coins it is not worth it on a lettuce, but it is cheap insurance on a 480-coin pumpkin.
Pumpkins are a lottery ticket you cannot lose
A pumpkin gives a single fruit worth 480 coins. A growth tonic adds about 30% to a harvest, and the extra produce is rounded randomly - so on a one-fruit crop the tonic gives a 30% chance of a second pumpkin. That is a 60-coin tonic for an expected 144 coins more. On a radish the same tonic is worth almost nothing.
Compost makes cheap crops cheaper
Compost makes a crop grow 35% faster until harvest, so a 45-minute watermelon is ready in about 33 minutes - 12 minutes saved for 10 coins. That is a good deal when you are watching the farm. On a crop that grows while you sleep, it changes nothing you will notice.
The grape vine
Grapes are the only crop that is planted once and harvested several times: an hour to the first harvest, then every 30 minutes, six harvests in all. Counted over the vine's whole life - three and a half hours - it earns a little more than a watermelon per minute, and it needs replanting far less often. For a player who checks in a few times a day, a row of vines is the most relaxed income in the game.
How fast should it go?
The simulation used to tune the game plays a farmer who checks in every minute and ignores orders. That farmer reaches the hen coop (level 4) in about 30 minutes, grapes (level 11) in about five and a half hours and the last sprinkler in about eight hours. If you fill orders from the neighbours, which pay 30-60% above the market, you will get there faster.
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