Growing Truffles

Hi Folks
I hope truffles are an acceptable topic on this forum? Just wondered if anyone has tried growing them and can give me any advice? I’m particularly interested in the French Perigord Black Truffle. I just ordered 3 trees that are inoculated with French Perigord Black Truffle Spores. (English oak trees).

We have white oak growing along our property line. Has anyone else attempted this? Any luck? Thank you!

9 Likes

If you haven’t already, I recommend you read “Taming The Truffle”. Quite comprehensive, it tackles the matter of trufficulture with great detail, mostly geared to the interested layman. I read it cover to cover, and still refer to it the the interest resurfaces. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Off the top of my head, the most important part of trufficulture seems to be the soil: they need it well-drained and alkaline.

8 Likes

Sorry for the delay in responding. I just saw this. Much appreciated and I will get this. Have you had luck with growing truffles?

I haven’t made the attempt. I don’t have the space & resources to justify attempting it yet (even a lone tree costs a pretty penny). When the time is right, I’ll try either a Pecan truffle or a Summer truffle; either of them seem like they’d handle the tropics better than a Perigord, though they’re native to similar climes. Summer truffles seem to have the broadest tolerances among the better truffle types.

1 Like

My pecan trees in Texas panhandle produce truffles. I certainly had nothing to do with it except planting the trees and mulching them with wood chips. We definitely do have alkaline soil.

2 Likes

We actually have an old Extension publication for growing truffles in Texas. Private message me your email and I will send it to you. It’s geared towards Texas though, and the industry never caught on for some reason.

4 Likes

Pm sent, thanks. :slight_smile:

1 Like

Anyone growing truffles now? “Many are in predictably forested corners of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and North Carolina”. How Truffles Are Grown And What Makes Them So Special.

3 Likes

I’m working on cultivating two truffles native to the Eastern United States.
The pecan truffle: Tuber lyonii and the Appalachian truffle: Tuber canaliculatum.


Pecan Truffle


Appalachian Truffle

These two truffles grow on a wide range of hosts including pecan, hickory, chestnut, oak, hazelnut, hop hornbeam, pine, and willow. I am particularly interested in double cropping clonal nut tree varieties with native American truffles.

13 Likes

I have the Beast hazelnut innoculated with black truffle.
My douglas firs should have Appalachians…

4 Likes

We got a place down in Sonoma County CA. Just looked up truffle growing and turns it’s all the new craze here. Guess I should be growing truffles then.

2 Likes

Here’s a cool story of how scientists recently (~2019) cracked the code on how to produce very high yields of bianchetto truffle on loblally pine in specially-amended soil: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/american-grown-truffle-breakthrough-180977702/

6 Likes

Did you do your own inoculations or did you purchase them pre inoculated?

Preinnoculated by foggy bottom nursery.

2 Likes

Have you guys had any of the ones from the grocery stores? Does anyone know if they smell the same as the ones freshly picked?

I’ve always been interested in this but they always just smell overwhelmingly like shiitake mushrooms to me. The smallest amount of any truffle seemingly turns everything into shiitake mushrooms for me which isn’t bad, but it’s so overpowering and overwhelming to my senses. :thinking: I’ve had truffles or truffle flavored dishes about 4-5 times and every time, i would have to brush for minutes right afterwards to get the taste and smell out of my mouth because i can’t stand it. I’m wondering if I’m just getting old and bad stuff because i always hear people talk so highly of it. my experiences haven’t been too pleasant except for one time where i had it in pasta at a fancy restaurant and it wasn’t overpowering me like previously.

2 Likes

Many truffle oils and truffle flavored things are actually made with a synthetic version of the main truffle flavor compound, that might be the reason, and the one time you had actual grated truffle it wasn’t bad

3 Likes

you’ve got to have a light touch cooking with them. you’d want to look for the oil or whatever you’re buying to have actual truffle in it, read the labels very carefully.

it’s extremely good grated, we go truffle hunting as a friend of ours here has a sniffer dog and occasionally I’ll come home with a few small ones. there is for sure a taste difference just like with any fresh food being a bit better taste

I have had the oil my friend makes from them and it’s very good. at one time I had a grocery store oil and it tasted pretty strong and rank, I don’t think it was actually truffles in it, or they had been so heavily processed that it wrecked that flavor.

I grow winecap and blue oyster here and have an experimental patch for morel. I’m hoping to see those in spring.

4 Likes


Met Ronald in NJ at a hazelnut conference. He provided the black truffle innoculant that ended up in The Beast.

4 Likes

I have bought other mushroom spore from this company. They have recently started selling truffle trees. Doesn’t look like a good option for our area , however.

3 Likes

A girl here in the pnw has trained her dog how to hint truffles :scream:

1 Like