A truffle (not to be confused with the chocolate treat or even a mushroom) is a type of ectomycorrhizal fungi, which means it grows symbiotically with tree roots. Truffles, unlike other types of mushrooms, grow entirely underground. This delicacy is eaten mostly in restaurants and, of course, exported to other European markets. You sure can find it in a store, however, it has quite the hefty price tag.
Because truffles is such an expensive product, farming it can be quite lucrative.
Paul Miros, second in command and in charge of advertising and marketing at Woodford Truffles SA, shares his expertise on growing truffles.
According to Miros, the truffle is the fruiting body of the fungus.
“The truffle is the fruiting body of the fungus that is growing on the host plant. The host plant is the oak tree, you can use different trees that can accept mycorrhizal fungi,” Miros says.
Climate requirements
There are various types of truffles found all over the world. The black winter truffle, also known as the French perigod, is the most common and easiest to cultivate, he explains.
“The black winter truffle species needs a cold environment to grow in and the truffle grows underground, so it’s a little bit protected from the environment,” Miros says.
But essentially, the truffle needs to be in snowy conditions, for example, in the mountains. At Woodford, Miros explains that they use a measurement of cold units to determine whether the site is viable to grow the truffles. The minimum requirement for cold units is around 750 cold units.
The areas best suited are high up in the mountains, and they plant in the Langkloof as well as the Outeniqua area in George, and the Cerderburg mountain range. The Western Cape is the perfect place to grow, Miros says, however, there are pockets in KwaZulu-Natal that are perfect for truffle farming too.
Soil preparation process
He further notes that soil is really important over and above the temperature. “If your temperature isn’t right, you’re not going to get the truffles, but the soil is critical. The fungus likes to grow in very alkaline soil with a pH of 7.8. Most South African soil is sitting around 4 pH and 5 pH which is quite acidic. Understanding that pH zone that you want to be growing in means you have to change soil before you plant your trees.”
If the pH level is not correctly changed, the tree might grow, however, the truffles may not grow. To get the soil to a pH of 7.8 it is important to work calcitic lime into the soil to about 40 cm deep.
Miros says at Woodford they add about 90cm per hectare of lime into the soil, and it needs to be done all in one go in the beginning.
Incorrect soil composition:
- Locks up the nutrients.
- Makes the nutrients unavailable to the tree.
- Puts the tree in a vulnerable situation.
Water requirements
In South Africa, we have extremely harsh weather, including long droughts and dry spells.
You must keep in mind that this truffle species is native to Europe, and we are attempting to replicate its environmental circumstances, explains Miros.
Essentially the pattern they are looking for is 21 days of rainfall. So, setting up an irrigation system within the Mzansi borders is quite critical. It is important to be able to give the tree water when requires.
“You don’t want the top layer of soil (30cm) where the roots are, scavenging for nutrients, so you don’t want that to dry out completely,” he explains.
On the other side of the coin, the soil should not be too wet either, and in essence it is difficult to say how much water is needed. It’s important to know what your soil can do and how it can handle the water that it is given.
“I do recommend a micro jet system onto each tree, So you can change the nozzle of the sprinkler and start watering outward of the tree in your first year. You’re watering the tree so it doesn’t die because the tree is vulnerable and thereafter you have a taproot that pushes down as far as possible to sustain the tree,” he advises.
Harvesting season
Truffle hunting is best done in the morning as there is often less wind and it’s easier for the dog to find the scent of the ripening truffle.
“Harvesting occurs at the beginning of winter; it is about 8-10 weeks long. It happens once a year and you have to have a trained dog to sniff the aroma of the ripening truffle. So from January-February they are tiny, but they don’t have an aroma yet. And the Perigord is kind of white inside and a reddish brown outside, and they only develop an aroma after 4-6 months in the winter time,” he explains.
When the dog leads you to the position in the ground, you carefully open the top layer of soil without disturbing the mycelial connection to the host tree.
Don’t harvest trees when they are too young, Miros cautions. Allow the tree to grow at least 4-5 years before you start digging into the soil.
“Don’t try and farm with truffles as a primary endeavour. Diversify. These are diversified roots and it is scary because it’s happening underground. And you don’t know what’s going on because the maturing of the tree takes between 5-7 years sometimes even ten years,” he adds.
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