Glen Alvie truffles unearthed

WHEN Glen Alvie’s Neville Chapman harvested his first truffle in 2008, he knew there had to be more he could do to guarantee further success in the field.
In recent years, leading up to his most recent harvest, Mr Chapman tweaked the system which has resulted in 130gm finds.
Growing truffles is not always an easy feat, and many trees may only produce small quantities.
It is considered a long term investment with bountiful results in the kitchen.
Mr Chapman said his secret was to subtly tweak the system by adding lime to compact the soil, as well as watering the truffle trees during the summer months.
The trees were originally planted on Mr Chapman’s property 11 years ago. Truffle harvesting has become a way of farming for himself and his family.
Mr Chapman’s fresh truffles can now be enjoyed at the RACV in Inverloch, Beand in San Remo and Silverwater Resort on Phillip Island.
“Our supply is intermittent. We have found a few but now we need to learn how to market,” Mr Chapman said.
“Any income is gratefully received.”
Over time, Mr Chapman has also sought professional advice for truffle harvesting, including from truffle working dog specialist Georgie Patterson.
According to Mr Chapman, it is exciting when the dogs get a sense for truffles ready to be unearthed.
Mr Chapman’s truffles are generally harvested in autumn and winter. With the season coming to a close, he said he would continue to farm the truffles in 2016 and keep up his regime.

To scale: Glen Alvie’s Neville Chapman demonstrates the size of the truffles he finds on his farm.

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Posted by Sarah Vella on Aug 25 2015. Filed under Rural News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry