I'd like to create a trading colony, but to get it started I want to sell crops before moving on to crafting and such, what would be a good crop to plant that can (in a reasonable amout of time) grow in the beginning of a normal playthrough and sell for a lot?
Most efficient cash crop
rimworld
Related Solutions
You should sell meals instead of raw food (it adds huge value to it). It is actually possible to sell meals to the traders or visitors from other factions who won't buy sculptures but give fair price for all kind of meals.( and frequency of space traders is reduced highly).
Just keep a high level all-time cook and make him/her cook all the time (keep a forever fine meals job if possible: market value is 25 space bucks). If you don't have a skilled cook who can cook all the time, use someone else to make nutrient paste meals, which also sells for higher value than simple meals and doesn't need high skill level.
As far as quality is concerned the meals sell at same price if not at very low hit points.
This is a screenshot of my colony with all year around growth, Look at the quantity and the wealth of fridge !
After Roybin93's answer pointed me at the Wiki, I went in and added the new items to the table.
While Tribalwear's "Value / Work" remains uncontested, "Value / Material" and "Value / Weight" both have been usurped by the new recipes.
All six* of the new recipes beat out the duster in terms of Value, and if you're committed to bringing your goods to the traders (instead of waiting for them to come to you), the Value / Weight and Value / Material of the new Hat items will likely out-perform any previous Tuque-based industry.
In summary:
- If the limiting factor is Pawn time, make Tribalwear
- If the limiting factor is Textile materials, make Corsets or Dusters (depending on whether you've unlocked Noble Apparel)
- If the limiting factor is caravan carry weight, make Top Hats.
*Top Hats and Lady's Hats are identical in terms of cost, material, and value. The same holds true for Royal Vests and Corsets. The only difference between these pairs is which gender pawns they cause mood debuffs for when worn (due to wearing clothing clearly made for the other gender)
Best Answer
It depends on which biome you live in, but I believe potatoes are good overall in terms of yield. Cotton and healroot are more valuable, but they require higher plant skill. You can also forage wild berries without having any skill, or just chop wood. Though note that crops is a pretty awful way to make money - their main purpose is food for the colony.
Devilstrand is valuable and can be researched early on, but it grows awfully slow and is usually not worth considering, unless you have hydroponic bassins. It can make for a great trade product mid-game, especially if you have a good tailor who can make clothes out of it.
If you have any colonist with decent shooting skill, hunting is a far better way to gather trade resources - allowing you to sell both the leather and the meat (though the meat spoils quick before you have a fridge). If you plan to sell the goods by sending caravans to settlements, leather is great since it doesn't weigh much.
Turning meat + crops into kibble is another option, it isn't valuable but doesn't spoil. Great for your pack animals and can also be used as emergency food for colonists (but eating it gives them bad mood).