Take the fence down!

Step one to fencing the trufferie is to take down the existing fence next to the lucerne paddock ... so we can put up a new vermin/pest-proof fence.

Only the strainer posts left!

It's raining

Lots of rain over the last few days has seen the lime 'disappear' into the soil - great preparation for the trufferie

Lots of steady rain over the paddock

And then, plough it in!

Well you can't just leave the lime on top of the ground now can you?

The first diesel tractor Case made ploughs in the lime - twice!

 Well - it is a lot of lime!

Spreading the lime

Now that the lime has arrived it's time to spread it - all 60 tonnes on just one hectare

spreading lime around the apricot tree - its staying!!!

This took about five hours

The all important pH

Soil and climate are both really key ingredients for a successful trufferie. The soil at mum's farm is great BUT pH is quite low at around 5.8 ... it needs to be at around 7.8 for truffle trees. So, the first step in preparing the soil for the new trufferie is to add lime LOTS of lime - 60 tonnes per hectare!!

lime is delivered to be spread in the morning ... hope it's not windy