It’s a sunny, chilly autumn afternoon and Jenny McAuley of Red Hill Truffles is preparing for the busiest season of the truffle calendar. ”The truffle season starts at the beginning of June and runs for 12 weeks,” explains Jenny. “The truffle starts growing in the ground in the first week of December and it takes until the first of June to grow and ripen. The fungus grows on the root of tree, and the tree likes the fungus because the fungus kills the grass around the tree that competes with it for the sugar, water and elements it needs to thrive.