It ’s true : you would n’t put your sheep in your garden unless you wanted the entire matter to be eat to the ground . But ( after it ’s sheared ) your sheep ’s wool is honestly just the thing to put in the garden !
First things first : My husband and I shear our own flock of 15 North Country Cheviots . We just do n’t have a full-grown enough raft to guarantee a shearer coming to our place . And so , after hang a super “ Shearing School ’ at Purdue University , we decided we could do it !
We buy the shear ( recommend by our instructor at the schooltime ) . Andthree years later on , we are — sort of — proficient . At least this year we were able to get off the wool in almost one piece .
A professional shearer might take the woollen and sell it for you . But we have had several provender bags full of woollen from last yr . And this year we really do n’t need to throw it out .
Sheep Wool In the Garden
of late I saw an article from a shepherd in the UK outlining all the benefits of “ barren fleece ” in the garden . Waste wool , by the way of life , is the wool from the stomach , legs and other place that come off in small , usually soiled , chunks .
The UK sodbuster post pictures of his tomato plant with fleece wrapped around the theme of the plants . He did this mostly to keep weeds at bay and to keep wet around the plant .
I was intrigued !
Jana Wilson
show more : These 7 materials make great garden mulch !
Wool Gone to Waste
Overall in the sheep shearing industry , about 20 percent of all wool is considered “ waste . ” This leaves a lot of wool that ca n’t be used in establish sweaters , blankets and other things .
After doing some research , I decided : I ’m all in ! Like most mulch , woollen is great at keep weed down and moisture in . grass are just not operate to get through that wool .
Unlike other mulches , though , wool does n’t burst down nearly as tight . As an organic product , however , it will break down eventually .
Jana Wilson
But an additional benefit of woollen mulch is that it can keep the ascendent cooler in the summer and warmer as the conditions turns cold . This could possibly extend your growing season!Jana Wilson
Other Benefits
There are some other benefits to using woollen as mulch , too :
I have bug out using woolen to trace the bottom and sides of my pots in hopes that I wo n’t have to water my flowers as much this summertime . And I ’ve gotten so unrestrained about the exercise of fleece in the garden I offered a local grower a dish of wool from my sheep to try out in his organic field .
I ca n’t wait to listen what he thinks .
Do n’t have wool sheep ? You actually can bribe commercially produced woollen pellet and matte square to use . I ca n’t guarantee that wool will have the marvellous manure and bits of hay that mine does , but I think it ’s definitely deserving a effort .
If you want a more in - depth look at why wool in the garden is such a great idea , check out this article from theAmerican Wool Association .
