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
Has anyone ever heard of decent good truffles being found in Cornwall?
In brief, he may have truffles already! Truffles grow on tree roots. Many since the 1800 have tried that method, AND it did not work! This person is trespassing, you have the law on your side.
It would be nice to know at least which country you are in! And if it is the UK, that would definitely be most interesting to people who do research here. If so Please, please send a sample truffle for the UK truffle herbarium at the Royal Botanical Gardens at KEW.
You will get the second answer when you respond to your locality (of the woodlands of course).
My email is [email protected] You have my details on my website http://www.grosol.co.uk.
I live in the mountains and have/had truffles growing under one of my trees. I was told by my neighbour that in march another neighbour came onto my land with several buckets and gathered up all bits of wood and soil and anything else related to the truffles. Can you tell me if he will be successful in growing truffles from these bits he has collected and also, can I expect to see any truffles next march or do you think he has completely destroyed everything ??
It is very risky just to plant, if you do not know if there are truffles in the area first, then close by your planting area.
Top soil and substructures can change every 10 m. The wise planters have a survey first of topsoil and subsoils, or you might wait 30 years for nothing! The worst thing is that you will have spent time and money for no results. There are many truffle projects that fall in that category, even in France. The truffle environment to harvest truffles is very delicate and requires specialists.
Hi guys, just wondering if you have any tips for me. I am trying to reintroduce the black truffle is some parts of the Irish countryside.
Weather and landscape looks pretty handy for it.
I really like truffle and I know that before the famine was growing naturally and wild over here.please help with any comments and suggestions.
I’m starting with hazelnut trees infected.
I am the secretary of a group of mainly European scientists, but some international ones also.
We do know that there are European truffle species in Israel, Morocco, Turkey. Generally the lack of recorded truffles is because they are not hunted for. The location tends to be mountainous. The best truffles and trees to use are the local ones for survival.
I can put you in touch with more local experts if you let me know which country you are interested in.
Hello French Marie,
Do you think there will be truffles in west Africa .Is it possible to plant a truffle bearing tree in Africa
[…] there and how many animals are kept. In most instances, those farmers who have perfect land for growing truffles earn the most, but not even the world’s best scientists can work out what causes this products to […]
Hello again Andrea,
Please adhere to that great advice from Marie-Anne, I would also like to recommend that no one consumes any produce ‘fungi included’ without expert authentication.
Our company (http://www.totallytruffles.co.uk/) offers customers the chance to verify the genotype of any truffle species they may find, using a powerful molecular sequencing technique; this technology can also be used to discriminate between between truffles and false truffles.
We have worked hard to develop this type of precise trace-ability, so that we can offer our customers the quality products they deserve.
We can also offer a steady supply of ripe black summer truffles that are currently at the height of the season, as they have been sourced from main-land Europe, until fresh UK stocks become available during the Autumn months.
Andrea,
The first truffles are noted in June on the surface of the soil. However, a ripe truffle is marbled, nutty colour at least, white or off-white fine lines (mostly) with ochre to dark brown thicker meandering lines.They are not ripe when white or pale grey inside. It is not the season yet. At this time of year they can grow fast under the right weather conditions, but are unripe, and so immature that dogs can miss them.
With regards to identification, it is most difficult to identify a species of truffles in small or large specimen with no/or just a few ripe spores (within the flesh). There are 5 species with similar skin, black warty, and one dark brown skin that are found in the UK which can be confused by an inexpert eye. Unripe they can lack perfume. They take many months to ripen just like an apple. They are 14 species of truffles found in the UK, but only some end up on the gourmet table, like all mushrooms they mainly ripen in the autumn. Some do not have a black warty exterior.
Beware they are hypogeneous fungi that are not recommended to eat, they are found also below ground, and some have marbling too.
Have a look at cross sections of some UK ripe truffles on my website http://www.grosol.co.uk, with large sections of clean peridium (skin).
My expertise is the evolution/development of truffles as they are borne to maturity.
If you want to send a sample, my address is on the website. My recommendation is to note the location and leave all truffles alone to ripen. They have no value at this time of year, apart from research.
Please send specimen to the Botanical Garden at Kew, giving a rough idea where you found it and under what tree, date and your name. This helps keep the National records up to date. They will identify your specimen whether hypogeneous fungi or truffle, or false truffles!
Hi Andrea,
Sounds like a lucky find this time of year, particularly if you are posting from the UK. Would be interested too see a photograph if you have one available? Please forward an image to [email protected].
Would also be great if Rob could get in contact with me at the same address?
I dont know if I have found black truffles they where under old oak tree and a nut tree.i dont know anyone who can tell me if they a so how will I know
we have fresh tubers of aestivum now.
we can supply big quantity products.
please contact me at : [email protected]
Rob, you can’t put truffles into an already established woodland. Truffles reproduce by animals eating them and the spores coming out in their faeces. The spore in the faeces find their way into acorns/nuts etc that have dropped from trees. Many years later, truffles then grow on new trees that came from these acorns/nuts exposed to truffle spores. Therefore it’s basically not possible to introduce truffles into already existing trees. You have to buy trees that have already been inoculated then wait many years for the fruit to bear.
Cutting down all your trees for new truffle-bearing trees would not be a good idea, since oak and hazel are readily supportive of mushrooms and other fungi, meaning the truffles would have to compete with existing organisms already present in the soil. Plus they prefer south and west facing sites, and alkali soil with Ph 7.9.
There are other ways to make the most of your woodland. I always liked the idea of building strategically spaced shelves among the trees, and hanging baskets to grow fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs. This would make the most of the available space by using the vertical levels of the woodland. You would have to ensure that appropriate amounts of sunlight fight through the shelves/baskets.
hello, im always looking for new things on our farm. we have a 5acre woodland north faceing on a slope.
The trees are 23years old and there are oak and some hazel etc. i would like to introduce truffles into it but i dont know were to start. CAN ANYONE HELP?
French Marie,
Please be assured that I have had alot of testing done on this which has cost me thousands and the product has been perfected. All im saying is if something needs to be done and it needs to be as organic and natural as possible. The reason more things are becoming curable is due to research which involves testing. If we just sat back and ignored things we would still be living in caves.
Peter,
You have to be fully aware of what any introduced product does. There may be instances where you want to kill all fungi, but forests rely on fungi to access nutrients.
Fungi turn tough leaves and cellulose (wood) into readily available nutrients. Local fungi is best adapted to compete. If you kill all local fungi with a product, you have the potential for foreign fungi to get established…and kill the UK woodlands and forests, the food for plants, butterflies etc…..fungi is at the bottom of the food chain.
A lady had truffles and many species of mushrooms under a 250-300 yr old oak (many lovely in recipes!), some rare, others not and truffles….the state of her lawn bothered her so much that she hired a gardener to tidy her lawn, get rid of the moss, weeds…and I told her that she would get rid of her mushrooms too…and a season later…she admitted that I was right, nice grass but nothing else!
On the other hand many nurseries use mycelium from one or other fungi to grow plants (whips) faster…but then these tiny trees even if from local source or DNA, they are ruined for the local mycelium, and beautiful mushrooms…that is boletus, truffles etc. as their roots are already colonised with the introduced mycelium.
I am glad to see that The Forestry Commission which looks after many hectares of woodlands and forestry did not seem to be interested. It is reassuring….
Hi just to add to what French Marie said, I produce a liquid organic fertiliser which is also a great fungicide which I have offered the forestry commission and other organisations on a number of occasions but they dont seem to interested.
Philip…. Your take, do you give back ?
I’ve always been interested in the woodlands and what we can take from our natural surrounds to be able to serve – so any additional information, I’m going to be so grateful to you, thanks.
Please beware that there are 33 species of truffles, and I have collected 13 species in the UK. If you want to buy truffles to eat, that may be fine to buy from outside the country, but for using as inoculum, throwing the debris on any land, you risk damaging the environment, import damaging bacteria, insect larva, and fungi species, to the UK.
Northern Africa harvests mostly terfez, which are not truffles. They keep wanting to put them in the same categories but scientifically and culinarilly they are not. They are hypogeneous fungi (below soil level fungi) eaten like potatoes. I do not recognise these dates as dates for harvesting species of truffles.
See what has happened to the Dutch elm disease, oak die back disease ( rhododendrons), ash currently….what next?
dear sir, we are a big truffles collectors in turkey.our truffles pure natural.we collect on mountains.we have willage personals all families can collect it. in 15 march then 15 may between we collect truffles. if you need it pleas send me meail.
hakan konur
mail: [email protected]
mob:00905462651185
The ratio of Calcium to Magnesium is particularly important. It is Magnesium that appears to regulate the symbiotic trigger in these fungi a requirement to establish the fruiting body; this has been known for some time.
http://totallytruffles.weebly.com/
There are however other mechanisms of this symbiotic relationship that are more poorly understood that limit the scope of the truffles growing in Southern Europe.
cations = positively charged ions (sodium, potassium, calcium etc)
Cornwall does not have the right kind of solid rock formation or quarternary drifts for the mycelium to survive.
French Marie
1 September, 2015