Can Wool Pellets Help Your Plants?

The use of Wool Pellets in horticultural applications is gaining interest.  The pellets are typically made from waste sheep wool by running it through a pelleting machine.  They are 100% natural and renewable as sheep grow a fresh set of raw material every year.

The Wool Pellets are added to the soil either by mixing it in, or using them as a mulch on top.  The pellets have low moisture content and absorb water similar to peat moss.  As water is absorbed, the pellets expand.  This helps increase the porosity of the soil and allows the soil to increase its water holding capacity.  This can reduce the need for some additives like perlite.  Some report being able to reduce watering frequency by 25% when Wool Pellets are added to gardening soil or pots. 

Wool Pellets are a natural source of Nitrogen.  They take about 6 months to fully break down if mixed in the soil, making the pellets a slow release fertilizer throughout the growing season.  Tests have shown that wool pellets typically have a minimum nutrient value of 9-0-2 (Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potassium) plus they have small amounts of Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, and Sulfur.  

Wool Pellets are also a natural pest repellent.  Barbed wool fibres are uncomfortable to slugs and snails.  The lanolin oil in the wool has a slight odor that can also help to repel deer and rabbits when placed around the base of plants.

As a mulch, Wool Pellets can help to moderate temperature extremes on the soil surface.  The layer of Wool Pellets can also help reduce the amount of weed growth around the plants.  Mulch layers tend to last 12 – 14 months before completely breaking down.

Wool Pellet products are starting to show up on Saskatchewan shelves and at trade shows.  There are already two cottage-scale pellet mills running in the province adding value at the local level for what has typically been considered as a waste.  With increased awareness, the potential for increased use of Wool Pellets is looking bright.  For more information, contact the Ewe Shoppe at the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board office.