There are more living things in a teaspoon of healthy soil than there are humans on earth! Mathew Evan's book "Soil" makes this claim early in what's a great read. And there are important lessons in this for all of us, especially truffle growers. Terroir is as important - if not more important for truffle growers than for vignerons or home gardeners. The soil that truffles grow in influences the aroma (and the shape) of the truffles growing anywhere. At Truffle Paddock farm our soil is a flinty sandy loam - and our truffles have an aroma influenced by that, whereas those from Manjimup have a more chocolate like aroma from the rich Karri soils there. Micro-organisms in the soil also influence how truffles grow and facilitate communication between the truffles and their tree hosts.
