A truffle plantation at home ?

An oak can only produce truffles within 30 years.
Furthermore it has to be 15 years old before it is able to start producing truffles.
That is why the truffle production flourished at the end of the last century and declined 30 years later.
Oaks were planted to an increased extent between 1870 and 1875 as a consequence of the destructions caused bythe phylloxera (insecte voisin des pucerons).

In 1950, Félix Ayme created his plantation of trees with the intention to produce truffles. From then on Ayme Truffle has controled and managed its truffle production (from the very beginning until the sale).

Do you know it ?

In 1847, Auguste Rousseau planted oaks on his property.
In 1898, he published a study of one hectare of truffle culture in a magazine called "Echo Agricole" :
The truffle culture was born et la méthode écrite

The truffle oak

How to make your truffle plantations

" A good 'truffle soil' is calcareous, poor and not to deep, aerated, not extremely clavey and it drys well and deep enough.
But we also know truffle trees on rich, deep and damp soils " Jean Pagnol

1) Analyse of the ground

Take a soil sample out of a depth of 3 to 30 cm. Take out 4 to 5 soil samples on your plot. Mix them all, put them in an plastic bag and send them to a laboratory. Do not forget to mention that you have got the intention to plant truffle trees. The ideal pH for the Tuber Mélanosporum has to be between 7.5 and 8.

2) Preparation of the ground

It is necessary that the cultivation of the land is not deeper than 25 to 30 cm. Do not mix the subsoil with the soil for cultivation. Cultivate preferably in September or October, so you can plant in November or December or even in spring, depending on how weather is like.

3) Distance of plantation

The distance depends on how rich the soil is. If the ground is rich ( vegetation and strong trees in the area), it would be better to leave a space of 6m x 5m or 6x6 or 7x6. If the ground is poor you can leave a space of 4m x 4m or 5 x 5 between the plants. On our 11 hectares large plantation, we leave a space of 7.2 m x 3m between our trees. Between 2 rows of truffle we plant 3 rows of lavender, so we can harvest lavender as well, as a kind of source of income until the truffle trees start producing

4) The plantation

Mark the places where you intend to plant the truffle seedlings. Make holes in the size of 20 x 20 x 20 cm. If the trees are in baskets, cut the basket lengthways ( 3 cuts with the same distance). If the trees are in pots, take the tree carefully out of the pot and put it in the hole. Cover the plant with loose and aerated soil. Water the soil with 2 or 3 liters of water so that there is some settlement. Finally cover all with a mixture of soil and plant rests.

The choice of the trees : look your environement

According to your geographical situation, do not hesitate to visit us. We will help you to choos the kind of tree that is convenient for you.