If you want advanced meals that provide amazing buffs on the regular, then you’re going to need to learn how to farm.

Farming in The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is a simple process except it does use a unique light source mechanic.

In this survival guide, we’ll show you how to farm in Return to Moria.

To see farming plots that already exist in the world, be sure to watch the video below!

Build or Find Farm Plots to Start the Farming Process

When farming in Return to Moria, you have the option of building your own farm plots or using ones that already exist.

To build your own farm plot, you’re going to need to pick up bat droppings or Ihraz granite to unlock the plot recipes.

Bat droppings tends to be the easiest to gather since you get them from bats that spawn in the mines.

They might also join goblins, orcs, and other enemies during a siege on your base.

You have two choices when it comes to farm plots.

The farm patch can only hold one seed, but it’s also less expensive to make.

To craft a farm patch, you’re going to need three Ihraz granite and two bat droppings.

The farm box is bigger and allows you to grow three crops in it.

It’s also more expensive to craft as it requires 10 Ihraz granite and 6 bat droppings.

To mine Ihraz granite, you’re going to need to head deep within the mines.

Once you pass through the Elven Quarter and enter the mines properly, you’ll find granite ore.

Keep in mind you’ll need a high tier pickaxe to harvest it.

How to Plant Seeds in Farm Plots in Return to Moria

With your plots ready for planting, you’re going to need some seeds.

You can plant mushrooms, sunion, and other crops directly into the plots, too, but seeds work the best since you can’t cook with seeds, but you can cook with actual crops.

To get seeds, you’re going to need to find a farming store or a house that has farming pots buried in the earth.

These pots, when broken, have a chance of dropping seeds.

With the seeds in your inventory, you’ll need to approach the plot where you can choose to plant them.

You may need to switch through the different seeds available to ensure you’re planting the right one.

Simply press “E” when you’re satisfied with your choice and plant it.

It only takes a day for the crop to grow, so you can harvest it the next day if you so wish.

How Does Light Impact Farming in Return to Moria

Farming is a pretty easy activity except you need to know which crops and seeds prefer the dark.

Return to Moria uses a light system which determines what plants can use what plots in certain areas.

Mushrooms, for example, don’t like full light.

You’ll need to plant them in plots that have half-light or less.

You can tell if a plot has full, half, or no light based on the icon that hovers over the plot.

A full white circle means it has full light, a half-filled circle means it has half-light, and an empty circle means it has no light.

You can’t grow a seed or crop in a plot that has the incorrect amount of light.

So, in the case of a mushroom, you can put it in a plot that has full light, but it won’t grow.

You need to place it in a plot that has half-light or less.

This means that if you’re going to build your own farming plots in Return to Moria, then you need to be aware of what light sources you have coming into your base.

The good news is that if you can find a sun stone in the mines, then you can craft a lamp that basically generates full light.

This will allow you to farm crops that need full light even if you’re deep in your base.

To save you from guessing, because I certainly lost a few seeds trying to see which preferred full light and which didn’t, here’s a list of seeds and crops based on their light preferences.

Crops that prefer full light include:

• Aule Bloom
• Cabbage
• Chive/Chive Seeds
• Fennel/Fennel Seeds
• Khuzdul Oat
• Mint/Mint Seed
• Mountain Potato
• Parsnips
• Thanazutsam
• Thyme/Thyme Seed
• White Bean/White Bean Seed

Crops and seeds that prefer little to no light include:

• Aberrant Cavecap
• Biteweed
• Deep Mushroom
• Mushroom
• Poison Mushroom

Build your plot and start farming those ingredients to make even more advanced meals.