Leek

Overview

Leek is a vegetable crop in Starsand Island described in-game as: "One of the most important seasonings in Chinese cuisine; no dish can skip the soul step of stir-frying with it!" It becomes available once you earn the Apprentice Farmer certification from Graminova. Leek grows during Spring and Autumn, takes just 1 day to mature, and produces 4 leeks per harvest.

What sets Leek apart from most Apprentice-tier crops is its extraordinary versatility in the kitchen. Leek is a required ingredient in seven different cooking recipes, more than almost any other single crop in the game. Several of these dishes rank among the highest-value meals available, including Spicy Boiled Beef (600g), Spicy Chicken (581g), and Braised Pork Belly (514g). This makes Leek one of the most useful crops to keep in steady supply throughout your farming career, well beyond the Apprentice tier.

Quick Stats

How to Obtain Seeds

Leek Seeds are purchased from the Happiness Seed Shop for 60g each after you reach the Apprentice Farmer tier. The shop stocks up to 20 Leek Seeds per refresh cycle. Seeds are available year-round regardless of the current season, so you can stockpile them during Summer or Winter in preparation for planting.

You can also produce your own Leek Seeds using the Grinder, which converts harvested crops into seed packets. The Grinder unlocks at the Senior Farmer tier and is an effective way to cut seed costs once you reach that level. Given how many recipes call for Leek, running a self-sustaining seed operation through the Grinder is well worth the investment.

Growing

Leek grows on regular tilled farmland or in planting boxes. It does not require a trellis, paddy field, or any other specialized structure. To plant Leek, till a plot of soil with your Hoe, select Leek Seeds from your inventory, and place them on the tilled tile.

Once planted, Leek takes just 1 day to fully mature, tying it with Cabbage, Water Spinach, and several other Apprentice crops for the fastest growth time in the game. Water it using your Watering Can each day, or set up sprinklers to automate the process. Leek grows only during Spring and Autumn. If you plant it at the very end of a season and it does not mature before the season changes to Summer or Winter, the crop will wither and be lost.

Leek is a single-harvest crop. After you pick the 4 leeks, the plant is consumed and you must replant from seed. This differs from trellis crops like Cherry Tomato that regrow after harvest.

• Tip: Because Leek matures in only 1 day, it is excellent for squeezing in a final harvest at the tail end of Spring before Summer arrives, or at the end of Autumn before Winter sets in.

• Tip: Use Yield Fertilizer from the Fertilizer system to boost harvest quantity beyond the base yield of 4.

Sell Prices

The base sell price for Leek is 22g per unit. Since each harvest produces 4 leeks, a single harvest sells for 88g at base quality. Higher-quality Leek sells for more. Quality is influenced by the fertilizer you use and random chance during growth.

You can sell Leek at Zerine's General Store at the prices listed below. For even higher returns, sell to the Merchant Ship when it docks at Starsand Port every Monday, as it pays 200% of the normal sell price for all items.

While the raw sell price is modest, Leek's real value lies in its use as a cooking ingredient. Converting Leek into dishes like Spicy Boiled Beef or Braised Pork Belly yields dramatically higher returns than selling the raw crop. See the Recipes section below for details.

Recipes Using Leek

Leek is a direct ingredient in seven cooking recipes, making it one of the most versatile crops for cooking. Several of these dishes are among the highest stamina-restoring and most valuable meals in the game.

Spicy Boiled Beef is the most profitable dish that uses Leek, selling for 600g per plate. At Merchant Ship prices (200%), that jumps to 1,200g. Even the more modest Steamed Fish, which only requires Fish Fillet and Leek with no additional seasonings, sells for 138g and is one of the simplest recipes to mass-produce early in the game.

Several of these recipes also grant useful buffs. Braised Fish provides the "Underwater Treasure" buff, giving you a chance to pull extra treasure chests while fishing. Steamed Fish grants the "Never Skunked" buff, which causes fish to bite immediately without testing the bait first. Both buffs are stackable up to 5 times and last 30 seconds each.

Processing

Beyond cooking, Leek can be processed through two crafting stations for additional products.

Separator

The Separator breaks Leek down into 2x Vegetable Juice. The Separator blueprint is available for free from the Equipment Blueprint Pack at Zerine's General Store. Vegetable Juice is used as a crafting material and can also be sold directly.

Pickling Jar

The Pickling Jar converts 2x Leek and 2x Salt Bricks into Pickled Leek. The Pickling Jar blueprint unlocks at the Intermediate Farmer tier. Pickled Leek is a preserved food item that restores stamina and has a long shelf life, making it a solid option to keep in your inventory during exploration trips.

Grinder

The Grinder converts harvested Leek back into Leek Seeds. This machine unlocks at the Senior Farmer tier. Once you have the Grinder, you can sustain your Leek supply without purchasing seeds from the shop, saving 60g per seed packet.

Everlasting Leek Seeds

Like all crops in Starsand Island, Leek has an everlasting seed variant. Everlasting Leek Seeds produce a plant that regrows after every harvest without needing to replant. Combined with Leek's already-fast 1-day growth cycle, everlasting seeds turn it into an extremely low-maintenance ingredient farm that produces 4 leeks every single day of Spring and Autumn.

There is also a rarer Immortal variant. Immortal Leek Seeds ignore seasonal restrictions entirely, letting you grow Leek year-round in any season, including Summer and Winter. This is especially valuable for Leek because so many high-tier recipes depend on it; running out of Leek in the off-season can bottleneck your cooking operation.

Methods for obtaining everlasting and immortal seeds include:

1. Mirthshroom Soup: Eating this soup grants the Creamy Seeds buff. While active, harvesting any crop has a chance to drop everlasting or immortal seeds. Stacking 5 soups maximizes the drop rate.

2. Eternal Blessings: A Workpedia skill available at the Senior Farmer tier. Provides a permanent passive chance to receive everlasting crops when harvesting. Can be upgraded with Starsand Points.

3. Treasure Chests: Found on the surface island and in the Moonlit Forest. Some chests contain everlasting or immortal seeds.

4. Islandpedia Rewards: Completing certain Islandpedia milestones rewards everlasting seeds.

If you dig up an everlasting or immortal crop with a pickaxe, the seed is refunded to your inventory. You never lose it, which lets you freely relocate crops as your farm layout changes.

Gifting

Leek can be given as a gift to NPCs. The following preferences have been confirmed:

Since Graminova loves Leek, gifting her a few is a convenient way to build friendship while visiting the Happiness Seed Shop to buy more seeds. At only 22g sell value, the opportunity cost of gifting Leek instead of selling it is minimal.

Tips

• Leek's biggest strength is not its sell price but its role as a cooking ingredient. Seven recipes call for Leek, and several of those dishes sell for 400g or more. Prioritize cooking with Leek rather than selling it raw whenever possible.

• With a 1-day growth time, you can harvest Leek every single day of Spring and Autumn. Over a 30-day season, that is 30 harvests from a single plot, yielding 120 leeks per tile.

• Steamed Fish (138g) only requires Fish Fillet and Leek. If you are fishing regularly, this is one of the easiest recipes to mass-produce for consistent income early in the game.

• For late-game cooking, Spicy Boiled Beef (600g) and Spicy Chicken (581g) are among the most profitable meals in the game. Both require Leek, Pepper, and Fine Salt alongside their main protein. Keeping a large stockpile of Leek ensures you can cook these dishes whenever you have the other ingredients ready.

• Selling to the Merchant Ship on Monday at 200% price doubles your returns on both raw Leek and cooked dishes. A plate of Spicy Boiled Beef sold to the ship fetches 1,200g.

• Consider using sprinklers on your Leek fields. Even though the crop only takes 1 day to grow, automating watering saves daily effort when you are running large-scale operations to feed multiple cooking recipes.

• Everlasting and Immortal Leek Seeds are among the most valuable seed upgrades you can find, because Leek's cooking versatility means you will always need more of it. Immortal seeds in particular let you grow Leek through Summer and Winter when the regular crop is unavailable.