We are pleased to announce that the Truffle Hunters Dog School has moved to Somerset. Our expert trainer, Marion Dean, is delighted with the facilities and has already broadened the range of courses on offer. For more information about the dog school contact:Training@plantationsystems.com

One of the most essential steps to growing and living sustainably is making sure that the soil you are growing on will give you the best possible yields. Sustainable living is about getting the most out of your land and the best way to do this is to ensure a good foundation for your crops. To learn more about the services we offer please visit www.mslanalysis.com

Truffles are often found in a range of ecological niches, but a recent find in Gloucester is a completely new one on us!

This past month we’ve had to say a fond farewell to Emma Bleakly-Dean, who’s moving overseas to start a new adventure and will continue to work with us from time to time. We’ve also been joined by two new recruits, Heather Sutton and Catriona Jones. Heather has taken on Emma’s role and will be your first point of contact and will be helping out at this years events. Ecologist Catriona has joined us on a research role and has already started mining our data-sets and designing new trials For further information on truffles, contact us now: 0845 519 5808

The summer or burgundy truffle (Tuber aestivum/uncinatum) is a species with a huge market and a wide geographic spread. Wild finds of this species have been recorded from areas as diverse as Northern Africa to Russia. With a flavour that varies through the season, early summer varieties are often mildly flavoured and quite clean on the palate, while those harvested from late summer onwards can be really quite intense – in a similar vein to the Perigord truffle (Tuber melanosporum).

We had a great response to our Trees for Schools project. Our final trees of the season went out to Carnforth North Road Primary School and their 5-8 year old students.

For those in the know, a recent article in the prestigious science journal, Nature, has caused waves in the truffle world. Having no less than 50 authors, this excellent piece of research helps to start to answer some of the current questions in truffle research. One of the big questions has been whether the truffle itself is responsible for its complex aroma or whether it is other organisms that call the truffle fruiting body home. Through sequencing the genome it can now be conclusively stated that the truffle itself is responsible for the majority of its heady scent –

We are delighted to announce that later this year we will be holding a residential course for those interested in truffles and truffle cultivation. Based in exclusive, award-winning, 5* accommodation on the Isle of Bute, the course will be over two days and involve excursions and full in-depth sessions on all aspects of truffles and their cultivation. Including meals and accommodation at Balmory Hall, a spectacular grade A listed Victorian mansion, the course will include a champagne reception and some seriously good truffle-heavy food.

The very first bottles of the world’s first, truffle infused vodka go on sale this month. Vodka is not the only alcoholic drink to use truffles and there are a range of alternatives from Brandy to a number of liquors. For a number of these concoctions, it is the Périgord truffle that lends its flavor, infamous for its rich, earthy aroma and distinct taste. There are products which use just truffles for the flavor but as with most truffle oils, a synthetic and chemical flavor often listed as ‘truffle aroma’ is often added. For those interested in these alcoholic drinks, they can