Mandrake

Overview

Mandrake is an all-season crop in Starsand Island described in-game as "a dangerous plant whose roots can either cure diseases or cause them." It belongs to the Senior Farmer tier, meaning you must reach the Senior Farmer certification before you can purchase its seeds. Mandrake grows during all four seasons, taking 6 days and 18 hours to mature and producing 4 units per harvest.

As one of only twelve all-season crops in the game, Mandrake provides a reliable source of income year-round without any seasonal gaps. It is classified as an "Other Crop" rather than a vegetable or fruit, and it has no direct cooking recipe uses. Instead, Mandrake's value comes entirely from its high sell price of 294 Coins per unit, which makes it one of the more profitable raw crops available at the Senior Farmer level.

While Mandrake does not process into a cooking ingredient at the Separator, it can be converted back into Mandrake Seeds at the Grinder. This is useful for players who want to reduce seed expenses over time. At 119.4 Coins per day, Mandrake sits in the middle of the Senior Farmer profitability rankings, making it a solid choice for steady all-season farming.

Quick Stats

How to Obtain Seeds

Mandrake Seeds are purchased from Graminova at the Happiness Seed Shop in Starsand Town for 370 Coins per seed bag. Because Mandrake is a Senior Farmer crop, you must first complete the Starter, Apprentice, Junior, and Intermediate Farmer certifications before the seeds become available in the shop.

Since Mandrake grows in all four seasons, its seeds are available for purchase year-round once unlocked. The shop stocks up to 20 Mandrake Seeds per restock cycle, so you may need to wait for the shop to refresh if you plan to plant large batches.

Once you have access to the Grinder (also unlocked at the Senior Farmer tier), you can convert harvested Mandrake back into seeds. Each Mandrake placed in the Grinder produces 2 Mandrake Seeds. This means a single harvest of 4 Mandrake can yield 8 seeds, more than enough to replant and expand your Mandrake plots without spending any additional Coins at the shop.

Growing

Mandrake can be planted on standard Farmland or in a Planting Box. No special planting surface like a Paddy Field or Trellis is required. Simply till a plot of soil on Farmland (or place a Planting Box) and plant the Mandrake Seeds to begin growing.

After planting, Mandrake takes 6 days and 18 hours to reach maturity. This is one of the longer growth cycles among all crops in the game. For context, River Lotus (also Senior tier) takes 6 days, and Reishi Mushroom takes 5 days and 18 hours. The longer growth time is offset by Mandrake's strong per-harvest profit of 806 Coins.

Water the crop daily for it to grow on schedule. If you skip a day of watering, growth will stall until the next time you water it. Once mature, harvest the Mandrake to collect 4 units per plant. Mandrake is a single-harvest crop; after you pick it, the plant is removed and you must replant from seed.

You can speed up Mandrake growth using fertilizers. Ripening Fertilizer I (unlocked at Apprentice Farmer) instantly advances growth by 8 hours. Ripening Fertilizer II (Junior Farmer) advances by 13 hours, and Ripening Fertilizer III (Intermediate Farmer) advances by 25 hours. Since Mandrake has a long growth period of 6 days and 18 hours, fertilizers are especially valuable for cutting down the wait.

Placing Bumblebee hives near your Farmland also boosts growth speed for all nearby crops, including Mandrake. Combined with sprinklers for automatic watering, you can reduce the daily maintenance of a large Mandrake farm significantly.

Sell Prices

Mandrake sells for 294 Coins per unit at Zerine's General Store. Since each harvest produces 4 Mandrake, a single harvest sells for 1,176 Coins total, resulting in a net profit of 806 Coins after the 370 Coin seed cost.

On a coins-per-day basis, Mandrake earns approximately 119.4 Coins/day when sold raw. This places it in the middle of the Senior Farmer profitability rankings. For comparison, River Lotus leads the Senior tier at 136.7 Coins/day but only grows in Autumn and Winter and requires a Paddy Field. Mint earns 130.7 Coins/day but is limited to Spring and Summer. Mandrake's key advantage is that it grows in all four seasons, so you never have a seasonal gap in production.

The Merchant Ship pays 200% of the normal sell price when it docks at Starsand Port, effectively doubling Mandrake's value to 588 Coins per unit. Selling a full harvest of 4 Mandrake during a Merchant Ship visit nets 2,352 Coins, which is an excellent return.

Profitability Comparison

The table below compares Mandrake with other Senior Farmer crops to show where it stands in terms of daily profit.

Among all-season Senior crops, Mandrake outperforms Rice by a significant margin (119.4 vs 100.8 Coins/day). If you are looking for the best year-round crop at the Senior Farmer level, Mandrake is the clear winner. Rice, however, has a shorter growth cycle (5 days) and a lower seed cost (260g), making it better for players who prefer faster turnover.

Special Uses

Unlike many other crops in Starsand Island, Mandrake has no direct cooking recipe that uses it as an ingredient. It cannot be processed at the Separator into a cooking ingredient like Sugar, Flour, or Oil. Its in-game description hints at medicinal properties ("cure diseases or cause them"), but there is no crafting station or recipe that uses Mandrake for medicine or potions.

Mandrake's only processing use is at the Grinder, where 1 Mandrake can be converted into 2 Mandrake Seeds. This is a standard seed conversion available for all crops at the Grinder, but it is especially useful for Mandrake because of its relatively high seed cost of 370 Coins. By grinding a portion of each harvest back into seeds, you can significantly reduce your ongoing expenses.

Because Mandrake lacks cooking or processing recipes, its entire value proposition is selling the raw crop. This makes it a straightforward, low-maintenance crop: grow it, harvest it, sell it. There is no need to manage processing chains or cooking station queues.

Everlasting Mandrake Seeds

Like all plantable crops, Mandrake has an Everlasting variant. Everlasting Mandrake Seeds produce a Mandrake plant that regrows after each harvest indefinitely, eliminating the need to replant. This turns Mandrake from a single-harvest crop into a perpetual one, saving both seeds and replanting time.

There are several ways to obtain Everlasting Mandrake Seeds:

• Eternal Blessings skill: At the Senior Farmer tier, you can upgrade the Eternal Blessings passive skill. This gives every regular harvest a small chance of dropping an Everlasting seed instead of a normal crop. Since you are already at Senior Farmer to grow Mandrake, this skill should be one of your priorities.

• Mirthshroom Soup buff: Eating Mirthshroom Soup (recipe found in a Moonlit Forest chest) grants a temporary buff that increases the chance of dropping Everlasting seeds when harvesting. This buff stacks with the Eternal Blessings skill for higher odds.

• Islandpedia and quests: Some Everlasting Seeds can be found as rewards from Islandpedia milestones or specific quests. Check the quest board and your Islandpedia progress for any that offer Everlasting Mandrake Seeds directly.

• Treasure chests: Tilling and untilling soil on your homestead can spawn treasure chests. These chests occasionally contain Everlasting seeds, though most of the time they award Coins instead.

Once you have an Everlasting Mandrake Seed, plant it on Farmland or in a Planting Box just like a regular seed. Water it daily and harvest normally. After picking the crop, the plant will remain in the ground and begin its next growth cycle automatically. If you accidentally remove an Everlasting crop, the game refunds the Everlasting seed to your inventory, so you cannot lose it permanently.

Everlasting Mandrake is particularly valuable because it eliminates the 370 Coin seed cost on every cycle. With Everlasting seeds, every harvest yields a full 1,176 Coins in pure profit (instead of 806 after subtracting the seed cost). Over many cycles, this adds up to a substantial increase in income, especially since Mandrake grows year-round.

Gifting

Mandrake can be given as a gift to NPCs. The following characters have notable gift preferences for Mandrake:

• Loved by: Graminova, Marston, Matilda, Parrot, Sagewood

• Neutral: Panda, Squirrel

• Disliked by: Dog, Ferret

• Liked by: All other characters

With five characters loving Mandrake as a gift, it is a useful item to keep on hand for building friendships. Since Mandrake grows year-round, you always have a fresh supply available. Graminova is especially convenient to gift since she runs the Happiness Seed Shop where you buy the seeds in the first place.

Tips

• Mandrake is the most profitable all-season crop at the Senior Farmer level, earning 119.4 Coins/day compared to Rice at 100.8 Coins/day. If you have reached Senior Farmer and want consistent year-round income, Mandrake should be one of your staple crops.

• Use the Grinder to convert a portion of each harvest back into seeds. Since 1 Mandrake produces 2 seeds, grinding just 1 of your 4 harvested Mandrake gives you 2 seeds. Combined with selling the remaining 3 (882 Coins), you spend nothing on seeds for the next cycle and still make a healthy profit.

• Set up sprinklers to automate daily watering. Mandrake's 6-day 18-hour growth time means you will be watering for nearly a full week per cycle. Sprinklers save you from having to visit your farm every single day.

• Place Bumblebee hives near your Mandrake plots to boost growth speed. Every hour you shave off the growth cycle increases your effective Coins per day.

• Sell Mandrake to the Merchant Ship when it docks at Starsand Port for double the normal price (588 Coins per unit). A full harvest of 4 Mandrake sold to the Merchant Ship brings in 2,352 Coins.

• Prioritize getting Everlasting Mandrake Seeds once you unlock the Eternal Blessings skill. Removing the 370 Coin seed cost from every cycle raises your effective profit from 806 to 1,176 Coins per harvest, a 46% increase.

• Since Mandrake has no cooking recipe uses, you do not need to worry about reserving any for the kitchen. Sell or grind every Mandrake you harvest. This makes it one of the simplest crops to manage.

• Mandrake grows on both Farmland and Planting Boxes. If your Farmland is full with other crops, consider placing Planting Boxes to expand your Mandrake output without needing more tilled soil.

Related Articles

• All Crops

• Farming

• Crop Profitability Rankings

• Crop Calendar

• Happiness Seed Shop

• Grinder

• Everlasting Seeds

• Sprinklers and Irrigation

• Fertilizers

• Merchant Ship

• River Lotus

• Rice