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Depending on the variety and season planted, a potato takes between three and five months from planting the seed potato to be ready for harvesting. The potato can also be left in the ground for another couple of months before harvesting.

Truffles are formed when a truffle spore attaches to the root of a tree and forms a fruiting body. We still have a lot to learn about this process. We have learnt that we can help the process by planting saplings whose roots have been inoculated by truffle spores. However, it still takes at least five years from planting these to harvesting a truffle. The truffle must also be harvested at the right time—too soon, and it has not ripened, and too late, and it is starting to spoil or rot.