Truffles- In the UK

[Cab]

I know you said don’t ask, but I would love to hear the squirrel story!!!

As for St. Georges mushroom, they are good and the season is not to far away but personally I prefer truffles, then bay-boletus, then other ceps, then chanterelles, then Giant puffballs!

I do like Boletus, but they all go into the drier together, and I can't say I've got a preference amongst them. Maybe the much underrated pink cracking boletus, I love that it grows nearly anywhere, it turns a nasty shade of green and although its nasty fresh it dries superbly. I kind of admire that

Giant puffballs are wonderful. But for me, the best is St. Georges, they're meaty, tasty, wonderful aroma, and they come at just the right time of year when foraging for wild plants as well as shrooms is getting interesting again. I've got a soft spot for blewits too.

Now what’s the story with the squirrels?

Oh, that

After reading that it isn't just pigs and dogs that go for truffles, that deer and squirrels like them too, I thought I'd go wandering somewhere with both (the location, for several reasons, will remain a secret ). Watched squirrels all day, waiting till they dug in the right kind of places for truffles to be (little slope, less vegetation, near any of the beech trees in the wood). Well, 99 times in 100 it was acorns they were after, but near the end of a long day I found two rather lovely summer truffles. Worth the effort

[Nicos]

All this chat about such unusual mushrooms!! Is there anywhere the ordinary folk can safely lay our hands on them?? Don't trust myself to pick the right ones as they all seem to look different at different stages of growth.Red and spotty and judges wigs are about the only two I could recognise as a definate no no. The rest all look a bit yummy!! I was once advised never to buy wild mushrooms from anywhere you can't sue for negligence!!!!

[suee]

Hello Paul - we were told there were two truffle trees in our garden in south west France when we bought the house, but the owner was useless re gardening and couldn't say which. I'm pretty sure which they are (oaks) going on size of tree and age of house (28 years). Have I left it too late to start cultivating them? If not, any general tips - especially on finding the truffles without a pig!

[Mycorrhizal]

Hi everyone,

Cab: Wow. That’s a dedicated way to hunt for truffles! What time of year was it? I ‘m guessing it was autumn as there were squirrels with acorns about…

Nicos: I’m not sure where your based, but many cities have excellent fruit and veg wholesale markets. You normally have to get there around 6am at the latest but you can usually find a couple of sellers who specialise in wild mushrooms- most of these will order what your looking for. There is an excellent market near us that I only discovered in late autumn, but they had fantastic chanterelles and later on, winter chanterelles – a lot cheaper than buying in delis/shops!

Suee: Your plot sounds fantastic! It is a little late in the season, but truffles are still being harvested. A good bet is to look at the vegetation under the trees, the winter truffle usually causes what’s known as a brulee under the trees, this is just a circle of ground around the tree that looks burnt/devoid of vegetation or full of stunted vegetation. This is normally a good indication of truffles. Have a look in the burnt-area, you can:
1) Look for cracks on the surface of the soil
2) Look for the presence of the truffle-fly, these are tiny but hover over where ripe truffles are buried.
3) Get on your hands and knees and ‘sniff’ the ground – sounds mad, but it can work.
4) Not recommended, but if you are desperate you can GENTLY scrape away the top layer of soil with your hands- you must be careful other wise you can severely reduce the ability of the tree/fungus to produce more truffles- this should never be attempted on natural truffle-trees.

Good luck and please let me know how your search goes!!

Cheers,

Paul

[Cab]

Hi everyone,

Cab: Wow. That’s a dedicated way to hunt for truffles! What time of year was it? I ‘m guessing it was autumn as there were squirrels with acorns about…

Late summer, August or September. Only a few acorns, its a beech wood, but they seem to find all manner of things to bury.

[Pedigree]

Has there been any success from any of your plantations yet Paul?

[bearded bloke]

Pedigree,Paul's last visit was on 14-11-2006 @ 08:12,so I fear no reply will be forthcoming

[Pedigree]

Ok thank you bearded bloke

[spanish_gardener]

I really enjoyed reading post and look forward to read and learn more. Truffles are really popular in my hometown, but I don't know too much about growing them. I used to go to a truffle festival back home and I saw a decrease of 'wild truffles' pickers and an increase of truffle farmers. Our most popular truffle is the 'trufa negra' (black truffle). There is lot of going on because some markets sell a Chinese truffle which looks like the black truffle, but people say they are tasteless.

[Jakejakeyjakejake]

Blackmoor nursery do a cobnut tree with truffle spawns that will grow in a fairly small space I noticed today


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[Bill HH]

This is all well and good but i have enough pests to deal with, if i try growing truffles won't i wake up to find my plot full of pigs?

[Kristen]

This is all well and good but i have enough pests to deal with, if i try growing truffles won't i wake up to find my plot full of pigs?

I woke up to find a Deer in my garden a while back ... I put it in the freezer (some "processing" was involved )

I've "grown" a couple of pigs in the garden. Huge success. Ate all my fallen apples in the autumn, and barrow loads of acorns, and they dug & manured the area I wanted to plant a Hydrangea bed in. Plus they tasted fantastic, compared to the anaemic pork in supermarkets.

Not so good if they eat all your Truffles though?!


Hydrangea Walk | K's Garden

[Bill HH]

Yes i would actualy love to wake up to a garden full of pigs, think of all that bacon, with or without truffles.

[Pedigree]

Yes i would actualy love to wake up to a garden full of pigs, think of all that bacon, with or without truffles.

haha I love it

[veggiechicken]

Yes i would actualy love to wake up to a garden full of pigs, think of all that bacon, with or without truffles.

You can keep the pigs, I'll have the truffles - made with rum please