1. Good Organic Gardening - January-February 2016

GARDENING CHALLENGE | Growing truffles
Truffles: worth the trouble
Australia’s burgeoning truffle industry is making home gardeners
curious about growing the fungus in their backyards
Words Jennifer Stackhouse
Interested in eating truffles? No, not the chocolate type, but those
curious, black, richly scented fungi that can cost a fortune. A truffle is
an edible ascomycete fungus. The edible part is found underground
where it grows like a tuber. The name “truffle” literally means lump or
tuber, which is also the fungus’s botanic name: Tuber melanosporum.
Truffles are very expensive to buy, strongly flavoured and
used sparingly when added to dishes such as omelettes, pasta
or pizza, or infused into oils.
Origin of truffles
Edible truffles are native to Europe, particularly Spain, France and Italy,
but are now grown around the world. Truffles form a close relationship
with the roots of certain trees — including birch, oak, hazelnut and
pine — and grow naturally in forests.
The relationship is a two-way process. The tree provides the fungus
with sugars while truffles appear to help the roots absorb nutrients.
As well as growing black truffles, Australian farmers are also
experimenting with other species, including the white truffle
and the summer truffle, which matures later than black truffles
and extends the truffle season.
Truffles in Australia
In Australia, truffles are grown commercially, farmed in tree plantations
known as trufferies. To get started, the truffle fungus is inoculated
into the roots of host trees and the young trees are then planted.
Favoured trees for black truffle production are oaks — particularly
holm oak and English oak — and hazelnuts. Stone pines are
preferred for white truffles.
Truffle farming is a relatively new industry for Australia. The
first black truffle was produced in north-west Tasmania near
Deloraine in 1999. Today there are an estimated 200–300
commercial truffle growers spread across the south of Western
Australia and South Australia as well as in parts of northern
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