Grow Your Own Truffles
Usually one thinks of collecting truffles as a solitary activity carried out in secrecy at dead of night. However it is now possible to buy trees already inoculated with truffle spores.
Contrary to common belief commercial cultivation is nothing new. Truffles have been cultivated since the 1800s and reached a peak in France in the late 19th century. Large tracts of land were freed during this century by the spread of the fungus phylloxera which destroyed many vineyards. Also, the French silk industry collapsed when disease killed the silk worms, making mulberry trees redundant.
It was only with a shift of population from country to town, and the devastation of the First World War that cultivation on a mass scale declined. In recent times, Australia and New Zealand have been successfully cultivating truffles. It remains to be seen whether it takes off in this country.
Truffles are, of course, a fungus and “ectomycorrhizal”, that is they are found in association with plant roots, and have a symbiotic relationship with the trees they grow under. The first cultivation of truffles was achieved in France by planting acorns from an oak that was known to have truffles growing at its roots. Truffles prefer oaks, beech, hazels or poplars, and like sun and a moist, alkaline soil. You will have to be patient though – it takes 5-8 years for them to start fruiting.
Although truffles are associated with France and Italy (Piedmont), there are many different varieties that grow all over the world. They do grow wild in this country too, and the most common is the white, summer truffle (not to be confused, however, with the white Alba truffle from Italy which commands such high prices but cannot be grown here unfortunately!)
Despite its reputation as a luxury food, French and Italian peasants associated the truffle with famine. As the food writer, Elizabeth Luard, explains in her book, truffles were a cash crop. The peasants who collected them only ate them in times of war and hardship, when the market had collapsed. They were used to flavour a pot of beans when no meat was available.
Having planted your inoculated tree and watched it grow, how do you find your truffle? Trained dogs are preferred to pigs because they don’t root and are less likely to eat what they find! Alternatively, some people say all you need is a stick to disturb the flies (there is a variety of fly which is particularly associated with truffles) and watch where they fly up. A disturbance in the earth where they have swelled is another sign. Good hunting!
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Discussion
Hi also found this very informative, I noticed that the other UK companies sell tress which have been verified using a fail safe molecular diagnostic to reduce the risk of failure.
The distribution of truffle finds in the UK is very much governed by the balance of free cations in the soil which very much limit where these inoculated trees can be grown.
First of all before considering truffles on your land you need a land/soil survey unless you know that there are truffles 100 yards away. They are very fussy. If there is inoculum in the soil…plant hazels, you might get some anyway.
There are lots of places in France that sell REGULATED controlled trees by either I.N.R.A or C.T.I.F.L.- Search for such ‘pepinieres’, and look for a local one.
In the UK there are no controls, and unless a supplier has proof of having obtained truffle of the species used for inoculation you have no idea whether you will be waiting for 10-15 years to get nothing, or some other undesirable fungi.
Make sure they have been a long time in the trade, and have technicians on board that can guarantee you the survival of the plants.
We do these sort of things but would not travel that far!
See the list of services you need on http://www.grosol.co.uk
Good luck!
I have a house in the Lot and we have a spare acre here which I would like to consider planting truffle trees. Our soil is sandy, very free draining and at the moment we have just 3/4 oak trees on the land.
First of all where do I go for information on obtaining the trees and also for guidance as to how we look after them?
Edwina
The market for Perigord truffles is early in the year Jan-March, and so is Tuber brumale, which are very similar, now both are white inside. They are tiny now.
Truffles that are white inside have no value. If your truffles are 2-4cm with a black hard peridium witrh marked warts, they are more likely to belong to the aestivum group. They are 5 species in that group. Some may have some colour now, but inside they should be brown ( brown to dark chocolate) marbled white to be of any value and have a strong perfume, be firm to the touch. Some are not marketable because they are not in the commercialised truffle list.
There are official seasons for the hunting of truffles per district, and in Italy you need a license to hunt, just like for fishing over here. The season for picking to avoid harvesting unripe specimen starts in mid September. The ‘summer truffle’ can be confused with other more valuable truffles and in certain regions it is illegal to harvest even these. September is for Autumn truffles not winter truffles.
A ripe truffle can grow to 10-12 cm, is dark marbled coloured and perfumed (some species to pinch your nose!). Truffles can grow much more than that.
Try to learn from them!
See the pictures of truffles of the aestivum group on http://www.grosol.co.uk
French Marie
Hello there, what a great website!
I have recently returned from Italy with 5 (i think i have identified them as) Black Perigold Truffles.
Could someone please advise me where or how I can sell these in the UK?
Thankyou for your help
Paul
I found just under a kilo this week and please go to http://www.newforestmushrooms.co.uk I sell and post fresh truffle from £10 inclusive of postage for small ones up to £45 for larger ones ( approx 120g for large ones )
I live in Colombo and was once given a whole bagful of what I now realise were truffles which had grown wild.
The taste was so good I have been longing for them ever since.
However, nobody here seems to know anything about them and I don’t know whom to ask. Is there any evidence of truffles growing in Asia ?
I was told (by the lady who gave them to me) that they came out of the ground when there was lightening and thunder. This was a very long time ago. I don’t know her whereabouts now.
Hi Sam,
We can sell the truffles for you if you like? We always have buyers for British truffles and need as many as we get. We have several truffle farms in joint-venture with landowners across the UK but need more production!
Please do get in contact when the season begins.
many thanks,
Paul
[email protected]
Dear Sam Tyler,
Would it be too much for you to give me your contact details to see which species you find?
There are several very similar species, and I am looking at the distribution of a new species, which I showed at an International conference of truffle researchers last year. This would be most helpful.
You will find my details
http://www.grosol.co.uk/contact_us.php
Looking forward to speaking with you
I have been selling truffles for years,from a patch in northern England,there is loads of the stuff,very balanced and beautiful,I came across it by accident
See also http://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/plants-flowers/fungi-mycorrhizae-truffles/
and lots of advice / comments above :-)
How very interesting this site is, i would love to go truffle hunting, but where do i start?! is it the right time of year?
I assume that you need Australian suppliers; a quick google of truffles, trees inoculated, Australia reveals a number of companies
eg
http://www.triffidpark.com.au/htm_pages/truffle_trees.htm
http://www.truffles.net.au/5.html
and people who have started on a project
http://www.fiveacrenursery.com.au/truffles.htm
So, it might be worth speaking to them ?
Good luck
http://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/plants-flowers/fungi-mycorrhizae-truffles/
As I have a lot ot hazel nut trees and acorn trees, I am very interested in growing Truffles so I would like to know where I can obtain them – we live in Gippsland vic aust.
thank you
Maureen Lucardie
We are on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada and are aware that black Perigord truffles are being grown up island, north of us, quite successfully. I know the people who cultivate them imported the trees from France. Who would I talk to about having trees or the inoculum shipped to Canada. We would like to try cultivating the white Alba truffles to see if they can be successfully cultivated in this region of Canada. We are on the West Coast so have mild winters with lots of moisture. I know our soil is more acidic so we would have to add lime to make it more alkaline.
This is the harvesting season for a number of truffle species. Truffles are the basis for inoculum, plus many other additives and processing…..and local truffles work best. So how to get local truffles???
Unfortunately, unlike Italy truffle hunters do not require a practising license, so it is difficult to seek them out. See if there is any top class restaurant locally who would know who to get some from.
However beware, there are currently 4 different look alike species at this time of year in Norfolk, and only one reaches top price. So make sure who you get them from can differentiate!
Unfortunately those who sell them do not know how to separate truffles of the aestivum group. However, we can help.
The recipe for inoculum is a commercial matter, and is not sold on the market, but inoculated trees are.
I hope this helps making your mind up. See our website for some of the different truffles. http://www.grosol.co.uk. There are several more species that are not there yet for various reasons, some because they are too rare.
hello,
how i can get truffle inoculum
DEAR ALL,
Currently I check the opportunity to plant and grow truffles in Bulgaria. Bulgaria is a nice place for the natural vegetation and favorable climatic conditions, so close to the natural habitat of truffles.
I would be very grateful to receive from you links, book titles, people contact data and similar on the theme “planting truffles”. Also helpful will be your feedback on the financial part (excluding land investment). Thank you very much in advance.
Regards, Nadya
e-mail: [email protected]
Not likely Tom, unless your very driven and patient!
Do I stand any chance of finding truffles in the UK without a trained dog? Thansk
If you’d like to know if your site has the potential for truffle cultivation (or if your woods could be harboring them), you can now have your soil tested (as well as tree roots tested) and site surveyed through http://www.MSLAnalysis.com
2 services:
1- Soil testing for truffle potential + other soil tests
2- DNA testing to confirm truffle colonization of tree roots, or to identify truffles
I hope this may help some of you.
Thanks,
Paul
ps we’ll still try and ID your potential truffle finds for you for free, if you email us pictures!
hi nicky thank you for letting me now i will give them a call on tueday
a big thinks jo
Hi Jo
You can train your dogs to hunt for truffles through plantation systems above http://www.PlantationSystems.com. I trained my dog with them and she is fabulous. The dog trainer is called Marion Deane and she can be contacted either through the website above or on 01935 824 316. I am taking another dog there to train up on Sunday when she is running a course. She is also running other courses through the summer. Maybe see you there
http://totallytruffles.weebly.com/
Guy Kiddle
23 September, 2011