Truffles are one of the most prized and expensive natural gourmet items. White truffles usually cost about $1000 to $2000 for a pound, while black truffles cost $300 to $600 for a pound. In 2007, a 3.3 pound white truffle was bought by billionaire Stanley Ho for $330,000. In 1999, a 2.86 white truffle was sold for $212,000.
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Why is it so costly? Because they are very hard to find. Since they're grow underground and among roots of trees, truffle hunters would ordinarily have an assistance of a pig or a truffle-sniffing-dog to find these below-ground mushrooms. The time to look and gather truffles is very intensive. Truffles are likewise low in abundance.
These days, in a trial to meet the need for truffles, there are a few U.S citizens who are growing black truffles commercially. An example would be a truffle company in North Carolina, the Garland's Gourmet Mushrooms and Truffles who have been in the truffle business since 1990s.
Although, most truffles maybe found in the wild, history showed that they were cultivated during 1800s in France. All the same, the First World War caused serious damage on the truffle cultivation. Apart from the United States, Australia and New Zealand are likewise cultivating truffles.
If you are preparing to cultivate truffles, then there are a few things that you would need to consider.
* Host plants - There are truffle businesses, like the Garland, that do not only buy gourmet mushrooms and truffles, but they also sell inoculated trees to serve as host plants or trees for the mushrooms. They usually sell oaks and hazelnut trees which are inoculated with Black Perigord or Black Burgundy truffle, or whatever variety will be grown.
How are the trees vaccinated? The tree seedlings are dipped in mycorrhizal fungi slurry. Given the right conditions and care, the truffles might be harvested in about six to ten years. It is nearly out of the question to grow truffles in a greenhouse. Trees are very essential on its growth.
* Soil - Apart from the trees, it is also important to prepare the soil where the trees would be planted. It has been tested the Mid-Atlantic States have reliable soil types for truffle growth. There are occasions when the solid has to be amended with lime to adjust its alkaline level.
Moisture is essential and the place where the tree seedlings would be planted ought to have adequate irrigation and good drainage. Although moisture is essential, standing water wouldn't only cause damage.
* Care - With proper care and repair off the seedling, it is possible to harvest a quarter of a pound for each tree. A pound usually costs about $200 dollars, Buy Marijuana Australia it could vary established on the market condition.
Proper care an maintenance can include maintaining an excellent irrigation system, keeping the trees with sufficient water. Weed control is also important. To control weed growth, you would have to cultivate, spray and even apply some mulch. Lime therapy, aeration and soil and promoting root increase of the host tree.
When cultivating truffles, it is important to consider and see that truffle growing would require time, energy and effort. Since it would take a few years before you really reap the fruit of your attempts, it is essential to plan additional sources of income during the early years and seasons when truffles are not abundant.
Native grasses are used in reforestation and pond plantings. Two of the grasses native to the Tennessee area are described below.
One of the native grasses is the andropogon, which is a perennial that grows during the season from the region of the short grass prairie to the Atlantic Ocean. It is tufted, forms sod, and has short, scaly rhizomes. The andropogon is a tall graass, growing to heights of 6 to 8 feet or more where it is protected from grazing. It base is very leafy with some leaves also on the stem. The andropogon grows in moderately well-drained through excessively well-drained soils. It can also adapt to other soil types such as shallow depth, low pH and low fertility.
The andropogon should not be harvested during its first season when it is establishing itself but during the second season it can be harvested by controlled pasturing or haying. It should not be harvested until it is 20 inches tall or cut lower than 8 inches. At that height, it should be protected from use until it has reached the height of 20 inches again. No cropping should occur below 8 inches or within 1 month of anticipated frosts.
The andropogon has relatively weak seedling planting compared to weeds and cool season grasses; therefore, control of competition is necessary for successful establishment of the grass. Mowing above the seedlings is a common method of weed control. Some herbicides may be used when forage harvests are not anticipated during the year. Grazing of competing cool season grasses after frost in the fall and before the bluestem is 1 inch tall in the spring is desirable, unless soil conditions are too wet.
Another of the native grasses is the Carex lupulina, which is a grass for wetlands restoration that can be found in wooded areas, swamps, fen and wet areas. It grows from 8 inches to over 4 feet in height, is yellow/green in color and its style is frequently bent. It bears fruit from May to September and its leaf is 1 to 5 inches wide and has a spike-like shape.
The grass has photosynthetic stems and leaves that have been reduced to sheaths surrounding the base of the stems. Some types of the Carex lupulina are a robust plant of lowland tropical wetlands, while many others are small annual or perennial herbs growing near streams. There are also some types of the plant that are aquatic, which usually have submerged, branching stems and often exhibit interesting photosynthetic adaptations in response to different environmental stimuli.
One of the best known types of Carex lupulina is the Chinese water chestnut plant. These plants bear tubers on their rhizomes which may be peeled and eaten raw or boiled. In Australia, these tubers are the basic food source for magpie geese for a significant portion of the year.