Our first annual grower’s seminar was held on the 18th of this November. It was a resounding success and we would like to thank everybody who came. The day started with a presentation by Dr. Paul Thomas and was then filled with plenty of Q and A time. We love meeting fellow truffle enthusiasts and enjoyed the day so much that we are planning to hold two seminars every year from now on. The next one is scheduled for March 2012, if you would like to attend pleaseemailshop@plantationsystems.com

If you are interested in creating a truffle plantation please contact us at: invest@plantationsystems.com or Tel: 01422 844095. We will send you a free information pack and provide a free soil test to assess the suitability of the potential site. Now is the perfect time of year to get the ball rolling, as the prime time for truffle tree planting is just around the corner and MSL have trees in stock for planting this season.

The Woodland Trust is calling on the public to help them track the early signs of autumn to see if it is affected by the unusual seasonal events that have taken place so far in 2011. With spring 2011 possibly being the earliest on record, one school of thought suggests that an early spring will be followed by an early autumn since leaves may have a “shelf-life”. Another believes that trees will remain growing as long as temperatures remain high and water is available.

A keen gardener in a West Yorkshire village has just made the discovery of a lifetime when truffles, worth hundreds of pounds, appeared in her flowerbed. “I was digging over the flower bed, when my garden fork pierced something solid” explained the plucky gardener who wishes to remain anonymous to prevent people foraging in her garden. Her find was verified by our truffle expert, Dr Paul Thomas “this is a super find of our native British truffle. We’ve never recorded a find from this area before and it’s very exciting”.

As part of RE:LEAF, a partnership campaign led by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to enable the planting of more trees in the capital, the Woodland Trust is offering 100 free tree packs to help community groups to get planting in their local area.

We have an update on the location and dates of the truffles seminar in October. It will be held at Robin Hood Golf Club, Solihull, West Midlands, B92 7DJ on 18thOctober 2011. The seminar is open to all those interested in growing truffles and will be packed with information. If you would like to reserve a ticket for the event please contact us atshop@plantationsystems.com Please be quick as there are limited spaces.

This month we were contacted by the world renowned programme Marsterchef, they were looking for some indigenous Irish truffles to be used on the Irish version of the TV series. We supplied them with native British summer truffles (Tuber aestivum/unicatum) and they didn’t disappoint.

October has now been set as the month that we’ll be running this years truffle cultivation seminar. The event will be aimed at everyone and anyone who has an interest in truffles and truffle cultivation. The day will consist of presentations covering all aspects of truffle growing, lunch and the rest of the day to ask any questions that you might have. We are planning to hold the event at a central UK location, in mid October. The seminar is likely to be quite popular and if you would like to reserve a place, please do get in contact.

Native woods and trees offer a huge range of benefits to farmers, including shelter for crops and livestock and summer shade important for both animal welfare and productivity. And now, with rising energy costs, more and more people are planning to plant wood for fuel. Home-grown firewood can be available within 10 to 15 years of planting, with annual sustainable supplies to heat the farmhouse thereafter. Managed harvesting of wood can also be compatible with truffle cultivation.