Wool Pellets Trap Moisture, Supply Nitrogen To Plants

Wool Pellets Trap Moisture Supply Nitrogen To Plants CROPS New Techniques Karen Wilde didn’t know what to think when her husband Albert poked bits of sheep wool around her potted plants before they left on a week-long vacation But when the couple returned and the pots weren’t dried out she admitted that maybe he was on to something Since that first experiment the Croydon Utah farm couple have figured out how to pelletize wool to sell to gardeners greenhouse operators and other growers And they’ve learned that wool pellets do much more than hold 20 percent of their weight in water and then release it slowly They also have a whopping amount of nitrogen at 9-0-2 NPK “We started running tomato trials and were amazed ” Albert says Tomatoes take 76 days to produce with most organic fertilizers With the high nitrogen wool pellets they produced in 38 days A Utah State University study showed that wool pellets provide nutrients from the first day through the whole season While the pellets swell with water to hold moisture during dry periods they also help in areas with too much water as they wick away moisture and increase porosity The Wildes are part of a family operation that raises beef cattle and sheep Albert notes that only waste wool from the belly and tags is used for the pellets Good wool is sold for outdoor clothing He works with a friend who has a pelletizer to run dry wool - at 10 to 14 percent moisture - through the equipment one week each year Modifications to the equipment are required to pelletize wool The pellets are sold in 8 oz bags $11 99 22-lb bags $135 and 2 lb bags for the retail market as well as 1 000-lb totes for commercial markets Currently most customers use pellets in potted plants and around garden plants Albert is working with the University of Vermont on a row crop study to see if wool pellets protect against runoff He would also like to see if wool heats the soil enough to protect plants from late and early frosts to extend the growing season The pellets are sold online from Wild Valley Farm and are available at independent gardeners - many of them on the East Coast “We’ve found that it’s good for everywhere ” Albert says whether the pellets are holding moisture in arid climates like Utah or protecting plants in water-saturated fields in British Columbia Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Wild Valley Farms 2775 N 7000 E Croydon Utah 84018 ph 801 940-1436; www wildvalleyfarms com; customerservice@wildvalleyfarms com

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