Preparing the ground
Two years of deep ripping, picking up rocks, soil tests and more spreadsheets than we’d like to admit. Then, in 2020, 400 French oaks went in, each inoculated with black truffle spores.
Truffles
Truffles are a long game.
French black truffles, grown under 400 oaks and found by dog. In season from June to August.
“When you say truffles you mean those brown blobs that look a bit like poo but people pay loads of money for?”
How it started
Energy, and a healthy sprinkling of ignorance.
Is it a mushroom? Why are they so expensive? Do they grow on trees? We were as naive as anyone when we started.
An agronomist had said nothing would grow on the farm because the soil was “shit”. So, like the millennials we are, we googled “what grows in shit soil?” Truffles came back as the answer.
You plant something, then wait four years to find out whether it’s worked. In an increasingly safe and sanitised world, we loved the romance of that.
2Years getting the soil right before planting
20tOf lime spread, or the best part of it
400French oaks, planted over six weeks
2025Our very first truffles
The long game
Plant, wait, hope.
The waiting game
Mowing, pruning and Snailgate. Twice. Every tree survived except one, courtesy of Simon, a spirited rescue horse who mistook our truffière for a playground. We had a spare.
The first harvest
In 2025 we unearthed our very first truffles. Little nuggets of black gold, and a moment that made every challenge worth it.
The truffle sniffing squadron
You get to take your dog to work.
Even after four years, you only think you have truffles. You need a dog to check if it’s worked. As if the reward couldn’t get any better.
- Gravy, our Lagotto Romagnolo, sniffed out our first truffle
- Her sisters Millie and Beth are still on their L plates
- In season, the dogs are also contracted to find truffles on other farms
The best is still ahead.
Whether it’s hunting alongside Gravy, tasting truffles fresh from the earth or following our journey from afar, we can’t wait to share it with you.