Truffles thrive in climates with distinct seasons. They grow best during hot summers, with alternating periods of abundant rain and partial drying of the soil. A period of frost in winter is essential to initiate fruiting.

Truffles thrive in naturally well-drained limestone soil with an alkaline pH. South-facing, aerated, and slightly sloping soil provides ideal conditions for truffle growth. While pH and nutrient deficiencies can usually be corrected with various amendments, soil texture is very difficult to alter. It is therefore essential to test the texture of the desired terrain before planting a truffle orchard.

Although sandy soil is recommended for truffle cultivation, Burgundy truffles and Appalachian truffles tolerate clayey soils well, as represented by the texture triangles. Clayey soils, however, require more work and must be loosened first.

Several soil parameters, in addition to its texture, are essential for a truffle orchard to be productive. The main parameters are listed in the table below, with pH* and the carbon/nitrogen ratio being the most important. Since soil chemistry and biology are made up of complex interactions, these values ​​are intended as references, but do not guarantee the success of the truffle orchard. Conversely, even if these conditions are not rigorously met, various factors can interact with the parameters listed above to make the establishment of the truffle orchard possible. Ideally, you should call on a specialist to evaluate the desired land and interpret the soil analysis results.

* Liming, in addition to adjusting the pH, provides the carbonate ions necessary for truffle cultivation.

The soil is a vast battlefield where microorganisms fight for nutrients and the privilege of establishing a symbiosis with plants. Although truffle plants are already mycorrhized with truffles, the latter could be supplanted by ectomycorrhizal fungi in the soil if they were present in large quantities. This requires a lot of work and must be loosened beforehand.

✅ The most suitable cultivation backgrounds for truffle cultivation involve plants that associate with endomycorrhizae, because the soil is colonized by fungi that cannot compete with the truffle.

• Agricultural or market gardening
• Maintained meadow
• Vine
• Orchard

⛔️ Unfavorable crop history is the recent presence of woodlands that are associated with ectomycorrhizae. Since the spores persist in the soil for more than ten years, recently deforested land should be considered with caution.

The growth of several ectomycorrhizal fungi is inhibited at high pH: establishing a truffle orchard on unfavorable soil is therefore possible if the pH is modified to reach the pH required for truffle growth. It is also possible to use a very aggressive truffle, such as the Appalachian truffle, since it outcompetes soil fungi in establishing symbiosis with trees.

At Truffes Québec, we work with trained dogs to harvest our truffles. They are more docile and less voracious than pigs. This process is called digging, which involves searching for truffles in the ground, as it is a fungus that grows at the foot of a truffle tree, in symbiosis with its roots. Digging comes from the Latin word cavare , which means to dig.

There is no real age limit for training a dog, but the best results will be achieved between the ages of six and eighteen months. A good dog can be trained until maturity, which it reaches around three years of age.

There are training kits such as Canitruf from Europe, but Truffettes ' Appalachian Truffle flavored oil can also be used.

Trained dogs can usually detect several types of truffles, although their effectiveness can vary. Even if the scent of the Appalachian truffle (T. canaliculatum) differs from that of T. melanosporum (Périgord truffle), it is possible that the dog will still be able to find it. Furthermore, Appalachian truffle oil contains a compound common to all types of truffles.