Hi Everybody,

This may have nothing to do with nothing, but this week-end I was walking around my Biodiesel shed and there were morel mushrooms everywhere! I have only lived here two years, so I don't know if this is normal or not. Last year we had a late killing frost, so maybe I didn't get to see the "normal" crop, but I like to think the Biodiesel had something to do with it. They all grew on the side of the shed where I used to drain my wash water. I couldn't find any others in my yard or the woods behind the house.

You can see some pictures here. Pictures

So, obviously biodiesel makes morels grow, right. Well, maybe not exactly, but I though it was funny.

Matt

quote:

So, obviously biodiesel makes morels grow,

Hmmm. Maybe the glycerin?

Anyways, you could take them to a specialist, and if they are of the edible varieties, you could make some extra cash...

quote:

Originally posted by bernyjb:

quote:

So, obviously biodiesel makes morels grow,

Anyways, you could take them to a specialist, and if they are of the edible varieties, you could make some extra cash...

No need for a specialist...morels ARE edible, and delicious, too. Nice discovery, wv matt!

Craig

Quick, look for black truffles!

quote:

No need for a specialist...morels ARE edible

Some are, but there's a species that's toxic.

"When gathering morels, care must be taken to distinguish them from the poisonous false morel (Gyromitra esculenta and others)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morel#Types_of_morel_mushrooms

WV,

You picked them without hesitation so I'm sure you know they're edible. They are, if you have any doubts. I went out hunting yesterday and found six.

I wonder if you might be on to something...to date I am aware of only one individual that has been able to intentionally cultivate morels.

Since I have a "spot" that usually produces a few each year I think I will use a bit of wash water on that spot and see if I can't encourage a few more next year.

Good find! Thanks for sharing.

Send em to me and i will eat them, if i get sick,i might have saved you.......
They are not up yet here, maybe next week.
Jammer

Funny thing !! My wastewater dump has produced an excellent morel crop the last 2 years. It must be the KOH. What a wonderful side benefit. hehehe...... oh and still no money spent for diesel at the pump !!!!!

The morel of the story is your biodiesel activity appears to be mushrooming...

I'm headed to my brother's place in central Michigan in two weeks and hopefully mushroom season is in full swing there. Man, how I miss eating those little delicacies in the spring. Not many grow here in Las Vegas..

Maybe I'll start shipping him my wash water!!! Or, maybe I'll start dumping my wash water in my back yard and see what miracles happen.

Jim...

I and one other local biodieseler have noticed the same thing for the past few years. Morels grow in the areas of the wash water dump and the glycerine dump (I've been using it to kill weeds in the pastures that haven't established grass yet). Naoh BD waste seems to grow more than KOH BD waste...Our spring has been cool but dry, so the ones I'm finding pop up quick on a sunny day but are dried out already by the time I find them...

quote:

Originally posted by ajdance:
Funny thing !! My wastewater dump has produced an excellent morel crop the last 2 years. It must be the KOH. What a wonderful side benefit. hehehe...... oh and still no money spent for diesel at the pump !!!!!

Wait- this TOTALLY makes sense, as in the Sierras, morels flourish after fires. KOH is caustic potash. My bet is that the morels that are found in the wild after fires tend to favor the areas with the whitest, purest ash. This could actually be a pretty big discovery!

Very cool discovery!!

People have been trying to domesticate fire morels for years.

The ones you have growing will grow pretty large. We call them "Blondes".

What kind of trees are growing in your yard?

Hi Chuck and everyone,

Thanks for writing, I just thought it was funny and am not sure how seriously to take this. There are a couple of morels growing over in the Tiger Lilies on the shady side of my house, but they are much smaller. The big ones are are right where my wash water used to drain, next to my shed. There are four trees in that area a big maple (15" Diameter trunk), two small Black Walnuts (6" D trunks) and a tiny Plum tree (4" D trunk). Tiger Lilies grow in amongst the trees and some Honey Suckle bushes are in the area too.

I might have sprayed some de-methed glycerin in that area a year ago, but it wasn't a regular thing. I did dump all of my wash water there for a good while, but I stopped maybe 8 months ago, as I have been trying to get away from water washes.

I was just excited to see the morels, because I never had them before. I looked on the internet and took them to some locals who go out in the woods to "hunt" morels and they said they had never seen morels so big, but they were edible. I ate some yesterday and I'm not sick yet.

Thanks for all the feedback everybody,
Matt

Black truffles are grown here and elsewhere on land that is very hevaily limed. Could be an opening...