Optimum Soil Conditions
Truffle cultivation is an 'exact art' and the soil is probably the most important consideration for any one seriously contemplating truffle farming. The overriding principle of truffle farming is to maintain trees in soil with high concentrations of divalent cations, such as calcium and magnesium. This is important to make sure that phosphate concentrations are kept low enough, to allow symbiosis to thrive between the tree and the truffle. Anyone interested in roughly typing their soil can visit the British Geological Survey
Areas containing high levels of calcified soil and limestone (loam soils), with an elevated pH of between 7.5 and 8.5, are ideal and these salts will limit the phosphates available for tree growth in the absence of the truffle fungus. Truffle trees should also be planted in well-drained soil that has not been subjected to intensive agricultural practices, which tend to elevate phosphates and harbour persistent fungicides. Existing tree plantations are also rich in competing fungi that can also make truffle cultivation difficult. Below is a guide for soil parameters that should be considered before embarking on any project. You can also get your soil tested through our store.
Truffle cultivation is an 'exact art' and the soil is probably the most important consideration for any one seriously contemplating truffle farming. The overriding principle of truffle farming is to maintain trees in soil with high concentrations of divalent cations, such as calcium and magnesium. This is important to make sure that phosphate concentrations are kept low enough, to allow symbiosis to thrive between the tree and the truffle. Anyone interested in roughly typing their soil can visit the British Geological Survey
Areas containing high levels of calcified soil and limestone (loam soils), with an elevated pH of between 7.5 and 8.5, are ideal and these salts will limit the phosphates available for tree growth in the absence of the truffle fungus. Truffle trees should also be planted in well-drained soil that has not been subjected to intensive agricultural practices, which tend to elevate phosphates and harbour persistent fungicides. Existing tree plantations are also rich in competing fungi that can also make truffle cultivation difficult. Below is a guide for soil parameters that should be considered before embarking on any project. You can also get your soil tested through our store.
Taming the Truffle
Totally Truffles has considered a vast array of factors that underpin the symbiotic relationship between the plant and the fungus. We feel that the climate is not necessarily limiting truffle production in Northern Europe, as truffle species normally associated with warmer climates have been found as far north as Scotland.
We have identified metabolic signals that maintain the symbiosis between the fungus and the plant; careful management of the enzymes regulating this metabolism has always been associated with successful truffle production. At Totally Truffles we are capitalizing on this biochemical knowledge to bring the truffle producing community bespoke fertilizers that will help them to manage their success and provide a sustainable future for this type farming. 
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