To get the most out of your garden, you need to be committed all year round. No matter the size of your garden, wool can be an effective helper. How can you use sheep's wool in the garden?
You can always find out how to make gardening more enjoyable and even useful. One of these options is mulching, fertilizing and more with chopped sheep's wool or sheep's wool pellets. Read on to learn more about it if you're interested.
Use sheep's wool in the garden - mulch
Sheep's wool mulch, like other mulching materials, keeps the soil moist and prevents weeds from sprouting. Mulching with sheep's wool also has the added benefit of retaining heat in the soil in winter. This keeps the roots warmer, extending the growing season for some plants. In addition to the aesthetic value, mulching with wool also has a practical benefit. Because it is naturally biodegradable, it will decompose over time and restore soil fertility.
Wool mulch decomposes when removed, but at a snail's pace, sometimes taking up to two years. However, this is not a problem if you want to reuse the mulch in subsequent years.
Storage of water
The wool also helps conserve and store water. When it comes to maintaining soil moisture, wool is second to none. Like a sponge, it absorbs rainwater, preventing the plants from getting wet, and then gradually releases some of the water back. In addition, this shielding from torrential rains gradually improves the soil structure.
While there are many materials that can act as water storage for plants, wool has proven to be the most effective material at gradually releasing water to individual plants as they need it. Wool makes it possible to save water and still achieve optimal results for the plants. You can protect your plant from wilting for a week by mixing wool pellets into the soil.
Using wool as fertilizer
Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are essential for plants to thrive. But nitrogen is what they need most. You can get one to two percent nitrogen when you use compost to support plant growth. The nitrogen content of fertilizer made from poultry manure, for example, can be up to 4.5 percent. The nitrogen content of sheep's wool is between 9% and 14%. Add some wool pellets to the soil along with the seeds and then wait for your garden to bloom.
The fertilizer made from wool is specialgood for strong toes: potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and also for fruit trees and berry bushes.
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Pest control with sheep wool
Unwashed, natural sheep's wool contains a high concentration of lanolin, an oil that is popularly known to have pest-repellent properties (including snails). It is said that the rough texture of the wool prevents snails from passing through it, so it can be used as a barrier around the roots of susceptible plants.
Long-term weed control thanks to wool
Due to its density, sheep's wool is an excellent weed barrier. In most cases it continues to perform this function for two years.
Use sheep's wool in the garden on the compost
An environmentally friendly alternative to peat that gardeners might consider is making compost from sheep's wool and other biomass. A typical compost pile can also be enriched with small amounts of wool, which as it decomposes enriches the soil with nutrients.
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Insulating properties
The insulating properties of sheep's wool are unsurpassed. Some farmers also successfully sell the wool to the construction industry, particularly for insulating houses. Another environmentally friendly use of wool is to insulate the chicken coop or other animal houses as well as sheds, garden sheds or other garden structures. Place small amounts of wool in the cracks of a shed or stable to keep out the cold.
What should you pay attention to?
- Direct sowing
Direct sowing might be difficult if you have fertilized or mulched your garden. The wool forms a thick mat and takes a long time to decompose. This is particularly a problem when fast-growing plants are planted in a row. Transplanting seedlings into the garden shouldn't be too much of a problem, especially if they will remain there for most of the growing season.
- Be careful with the following plants
Blueberries, heather, rhododendrons, azaleas and other plants that require acidic soil do not tolerate wool as fertilizer or mulch.
- Important tip
Unprocessed raw wool, which is vulnerable immediately after sheep shearing, must not be added to the soil. (Source: Federal Information Center for Agriculture)
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