I started Grow a Garden with nothing. Literally 0 Sheckles, planting carrots like an idiot. Now I’m sitting on billions with a garden full of mutated Octoblooms. The journey from broke to rich took me about 40 hours, but I made every mistake possible.
This Grow a Garden money making guide is the shortcut. Everything I learned about making Sheckles, organized by progression stage.
Grab free seeds and boosts from codes first. The New Year’s Event also has daily login rewards through January 3rd.
Money Making Overview
There are three ways to make Sheckles:
- Selling crops - The main method
- Completing quests - Early game boost
- Trading - Endgame optimization
The key to all of them: mutations and timing. A normal crop is worth X. A mutated crop during an event is worth 100X or more.
Early Game (0 - 50,000 Sheckles)
You’re broke. Everything is expensive. Here’s how to escape.
Starting Strategy
- Redeem all codes - Check our codes page for free seeds
- Plant Corn - 100 Sheckles per seed, reliable returns
- Complete starter quests - NPCs give decent rewards
- Sell everything - Don’t hoard, you need capital
Best Early Seeds
| Seed | Cost | Sell Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corn | 100 | 500+ | Best starter |
| Tomato | 50 | 300+ | Cheap backup |
| Strawberry | 50 | 14+ | Multi-harvest |
Corn is your best friend early game. Plant it, sell it, repeat.
Early Game Mistakes to Avoid
- Don’t buy cosmetics
- Don’t buy expensive seeds you can’t afford to lose
- Don’t ignore quests
- Don’t wait for “perfect” weather, just plant and sell
Early Game Goal
Get to 10,000 Sheckles as fast as possible. This unlocks better seeds.
Mid Game (50,000 - 500,000 Sheckles)
Now you have options. Time to start optimizing.
Upgrade Your Seeds
Stop planting Corn. Move to:
| Seed | Cost | Sell Value | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watermelon | 10,000 | 20,000+ | Good value |
| Bamboo | 4,000 | 35,000+ | Multi-harvest! |
| Pumpkin | 2,000 | 10,000+ | Cheap legendary |
Bamboo is the mid-game MVP. It’s multi-harvest, meaning you buy once and harvest forever. 4,000 Sheckles for infinite 35,000+ harvests is insane value.
Start Timing Weather Events
This is where real money starts.
When Thunderstorm is announced:
- Plant your best seeds immediately
- Wait for lightning strikes
- Shocked crops sell for 100x normal value
A Bamboo normally sells for 35,000. A Shocked Bamboo sells for 3,500,000.
See our Weather Events Guide for full details.
Buy Your First Sprinklers
Sprinklers make crops grow faster and bigger.
Priority purchases:
- Basic Sprinkler (500)
- Advanced Sprinkler (5,000)
- Master Sprinkler (100,000)
See our Sprinklers Guide for the full method.
Mid Game Goal
Reach 500,000 Sheckles and buy your first Mango seed.
Late Game (500,000 - 10,000,000 Sheckles)
You’re no longer struggling. Time to scale up.
The Mango Era
Mango (100,000 Sheckles) is your new staple:
- Multi-harvest (buy once, harvest forever)
- 65,000+ per fruit
- Excellent mutation potential
Plant Mangos, set up sprinklers, wait for events. Each Shocked Mango harvest is 6.5 million+.
Full Sprinkler Method
Now you can afford all sprinklers:
- Basic (500)
- Advanced (5,000)
- Godly (25,000)
- Master (100,000)
- Grandmaster (500,000)
Stack all types on one plant for massive size bonuses. See our Sprinklers Guide.
Mutation Stacking
Start combining mutations:
- Shocked (100x) from Thunderstorms
- Bloodlit (4x) from Blood Moons
- Pet mutations (varies)
A Mango with Shocked + Bloodlit + Rainbow pet = 65,000 × 100 × 4 × 50 = 1.3 billion Sheckles.
See our Mutations Guide for all combinations.
Late Game Goal
Reach 10 million Sheckles and start saving for S-tier seeds.
Endgame (10,000,000+ Sheckles)
Welcome to the big leagues.
S-Tier Seeds
Now you’re saving for the best:
| Seed | Cost | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moon Mango | 8B | 180,000+ | 20 fruits per tree |
| Crimson Thorn | 15B | 210,000 | Highest accessible |
| Zebrazinkle | 33B | 260,000 | Second best |
| Octobloom | 33B | 288,888 | Best in game |
Yes, these cost billions. But one mutated harvest pays for itself.
The Endgame Loop
- Plant S-tier multi-harvest seeds
- Set up full sprinkler method
- Position mutation pets
- Wait for Thunderstorm + Blood Moon
- Harvest crops worth hundreds of millions each
- Repeat
Endgame Math
Octobloom with full setup:
- Base: 288,888
- Sprinkler method (+5x): 1,444,440
- Shocked (100x): 144,444,000
- Bloodlit (4x): 577,776,000
- Rainbow pet (50x): 28,888,800,000
One Octobloom fruit: 28.8 billion Sheckles.
And it’s multi-harvest. It keeps producing.
Money Making Tips (All Stages)
Always Have Seeds Ready
Don’t spend everything. Keep a stockpile for events.
Never Plant During Normal Weather
Your best seeds should only touch soil when events are coming.
Multi-Harvest > Single Harvest
Multi-harvest seeds are investments. Single harvest seeds are expenses.
Stack Everything
Sprinklers + Mutations + Pets = Maximum profit
Check the Shop Rotation
The seed shop rotates every 5 minutes. Rare seeds appear randomly. Check often.
Join the Community
Discord servers share weather alerts and trading opportunities.
Common Money-Making Mistakes
Buying seeds you can’t afford to lose. If losing a seed would hurt, don’t plant it during risky conditions.
Ignoring multi-harvest crops. The math always favors multi-harvest long-term.
Selling during normal weather. Wait for events. The difference is 100x.
Not using sprinklers. Free size bonus. No reason to skip.
Hoarding instead of investing. Sheckles in your pocket don’t grow. Seeds in the ground do.
Chasing cosmetics. Function over aesthetics until you’re rich.
Quick Reference
Best Seeds by Stage
| Stage | Best Seed | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Early | Corn | 100 |
| Mid | Bamboo | 4,000 |
| Late | Mango | 100,000 |
| Endgame | Octobloom | 33B |
Priority Purchases
- Better seeds (always)
- Sprinklers (all types)
- Mutation pets
- Garden expansions
- Cosmetics (last)
Event Priority
- Thunderstorm (100x)
- Meteor Shower (120x, needs Star Caller)
- Blood Moon (4x, stackable)
- Frost (10x if Frozen)
- Night (2x baseline)
Related Grow a Garden Guides
- Grow a Garden Seed Tier List - All seeds ranked
- Grow a Garden Mutations Guide - Maximize multipliers
- Grow a Garden Weather Events Guide - Event timing
- Grow a Garden Sprinklers Guide - Size bonuses
- Grow a Garden Codes - Free stuff
- Grow a Garden Beginner Guide - Full overview