All hail the crowning truffle

Crowning truffles are very shallow growing truffles that start to emerge and erupt from the soil, a little prematurely. This is to be expected in a young truffle farm where the trees and their all-important roots are still relatively small and shallow in the ground. As the truffles grow around the young roots, they often emerge before they’re fully ready. As exciting as it is to see them, it does pose a number of threats to the growing truffle, exposure to the elements and unwanted insects being just a few.

So what does that mean at the farm? A cover-up operation is required! For the last month, we’ve been systematically walking up and down each row of trees to monitor for any truffles making an untimely entrance! Some truffles might be completely exposed and some may present as an elevated mound in the soil. When we find them, we cover them carefully with soil. It’s imperative that we don’t disturb any other truffles in the process, so it’s all done by hand. At the moment, we’re monitoring weekly, to ensure all our truffles are nestled safely underground; the best environment for them to mature fully resulting in the best aroma and flavour.

Whilst this requires a lot of time and attention this year, there are methods we’re employing that will encourage truffles to grow further from the tree and deeper in the ground in future harvests. This annual cultivation involves aerating the soil, plenty of irrigation and adding lots more truffle spore to the ground, encouraging growth further from the trees.

Late autumn is also an opportune time for maintenance on the farm – cue weed, leaves and debris removal. Not only does this allow sunlight to reach the soil and the trees but also will help the dogs when the truffle hunting starts in mid-June and July. And as we know from this crowning experience, there should be plenty to find.

We’ll be sure to share details of the harvest here!

Jane, Tony & the team x

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