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Planting Instructions

Instructions for Establishing Your Truffle Orchard

These instructions are applicable to plants infected with either tuber melanosporum (the Périgord black truffle) native to France, Italy, Spain, Croatia and other parts of Europe, and tuber uncinatum (the summer or Burgundy truffle) indigenous to the UK and found all over Europe.

Choice of site

The ideal site is a free-draining, well-aerated alkaline soil, overlying limestone or chalk with a well-defined structure, on a southeast or south-facing slope. There should be an absence of other trees nearby (minimum of 75m on level ground) that may harbour competing fungi on their roots. If this distance is not possible to achieve, then a trench should be dug (0.5m in depth) between established tree(s) and the prepared ground and lined with black polythene sheeting.

Ground Preparation

Once the site is chosen it should be treated as follows:

Stock should be used to eat off any palatable standing vegetation.
Cultivate to remove weed growth. It is preferable not to use weed-killer containing 'glysophate'.
Power harrowed down to a depth of no more than 20cm.
A stock-proof fence (where agreed) should be erected.
An electric fence installed to keep out badgers and wild boar (if appropriate).
Sufficient agricultural lime should be applied to raise the pH to 7.9. The amount that will have to be applied will depend on the natural pH of your soil. A rough guide is 2 tons of lime per hectare per 0.1 pH unit that the pH needs to be raised. It is important not to apply excess lime otherwise the concentrations of some trace elements, such as iron, can fall to critically low levels. We recommend that several smaller applications of lime be applied to gradually increase the pH.
If you are planting on an exposed site we recommend that you protect your plants from the wind. You can use artificial windbreaks or a hedge containing any of the plants listed on the attached sheet.

Irrigation

Adequate soil moisture during the first few months after planting is essential to prevent desiccation. However, excess soil moisture is detrimental, as it will reduce the soil's porosity. Truffle UK Ltd therefore recommends that an irrigation system is installed. A mini-sprinkler system with variable sized tips is ideal for the first few years but eventually a system capable of delivering more irrigation water can be considered.

Plant Density

The optimum planting densities are:

Tuber melanosporum* - 400 or fewer plants per hectare.
Tuber uncinatum**- 1100 plants per hectare of which 800 plants per hectare need to be infected with tuber uncinatum with the balance (300) being made up from either ash, sycamore, field maple and/or yew.

Planting

When your plants arrive:

Stand them up and water them (ideally rain water).
If you do not have time to plant immediately, place them somewhere away from plants that might have ectomycorrhizal fungi on their roots i.e. oak, beech, hazel, hornbeam amongst others. For a full list please contact us. It is best to place them on clean plastic sheeting and ensure that the bags do not dry out. You must plant within 2 weeks in order to limit the chance of competing fungi establishing on the roots.
As you dig the holes, place one fully cupped-hand of limestone chip (5mm) in the bottom of each one.
Each tree should be protected by a poly tube (minimum of 90cm in height and 12cm wide) and staked and caned.
When you plant-out, gently remove the seedling from the pot by tapping the bottom of the pot and carefully place in the hole you have prepared without losing too much of the potting medium. Do not pull the roots or potting-mix out of the bag - just cover over with soil, as you would do normally and firm down gently without compacting.

Consultancy Service

Truffle UK Ltd is happy to provide a consultancy service on any of the aspects covered above if required.

Notes:

*tuber melanosporum, known as the Black or Périgord truffle. Native to France, Italy, Spain, Croatia and other parts of Europe. This stocking density does not qualify under The Farm Woodland Premium Scheme(FWPS) or Woodland Grant Scheme(WGS).

**tuber uncinatum, known as the Summer or Burgundy truffle. Indigenous to the UK and found all over Europe. This planting density will qualify under the FWPS or WGS.

The information and advice given above is based on the most up-to-date information available to Truffle UK Ltd at the time it was drawn up and all due care was exercised in its preparation. Any subsequent action in reliance on the accuracy of this information is the sole commercial decision of the user of the information and is taken at his or her own risk. Accordingly, Truffle UK Ltd disclaims any liability whatsoever in respect of any losses or damages arising out of the use of this information or in respect of any actions taken in reliance upon the validity of the information.