Can you grow truffles in your garden?
Not indoors and not in a cellar: truffles live together with tree roots. Nurseries do sell hazels inoculated with the Burgundy truffle (Tuber aestivum var. uncinatum), for a garden with airy, chalky soil. Expect years of waiting, with no guarantee of a harvest.
Truffelgaard (NL) · BS-77Baldur (NL) · BS-78NC State Extension — New Crops & Organics · BS-54You cannot know in advance whether truffles will ever appear: NC State warns that after 5 years without a harvest, growers often do not know whether anything will still come.
NC State Extension — New Crops & Organics · BS-54The soil
A Dutch nursery asks for airy, well-draining soil with enough lime and a pH preferably above 7.2. NC State gives a pH of 7.6–8.1 for the Périgord truffle and limes the soil. So test your soil first.
Truffelgaard (NL) · BS-77NC State Extension — New Crops & Organics · BS-54How long do you wait?
The sources vary widely. A web shop promises the first truffles after about 3 years, a nursery gives 6 to 10 years, and NC State the 4th to 9th year for the Périgord truffle. In Cambridge the first British Périgord truffle came 9 years after planting.
Baldur (NL) · BS-78Truffelgaard (NL) · BS-77NC State Extension — New Crops & Organics · BS-54University of Cambridge · BS-55Maintenance
Do not leave fallen leaves lying: they can acidify the soil. The Burgundy truffle occurs only to a limited extent in the wild in the Netherlands.
Baldur (NL) · BS-78Truffelgaard (NL) · BS-77Harvesting
Truffles grow underground; you track them down with a trained dog.
University of Cambridge · BS-55Source
- Black Périgord Truffles in NC (Black Truffle Project) — NC State Extension — New Crops & Organics
- Périgord black truffle cultivated in the UK for the first time (6 nov. 2017) — University of Cambridge
- Hazelaar met Bourgondische truffel — Truffelgaard (NL)
- Bourgondische truffel geënt op hazelnootstruik — Baldur (NL)
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