Ewe Should Mulch Your Garden: Using Animal Wool as Garden Mulch by Kara Olyowski

Wool mulch in my garden: Kara Olyowski

Mulching is a key practice in any garden, providing numerous benefits from moisture retention to weed suppression. While traditional mulches like straw, wood chips, and leaves are commonly used, there's an unsung hero in the world of mulching: animal wool. This season I intertwined two of my passions, gardening and fiber arts, and I’m experimenting with wool mulch in my herb garden. Let's dig into why you should consider this natural and sustainable material for your garden.

What is Mulch?

Mulch is “any material that provides protection and improves the soil when applied to the soil surface.” There are many different types of mulch from organic (wood chips and grass clippings) to inorganic (gravel and rock.) Using mulch in your garden helps in many ways. By applying a thick layer of mulch it helps suppress weeds. It allows the soil to stay moist longer by slowing down evaporation from the sun. Mulch also helps combat erosion by providing a barrier to hard soil for rain to fall on and cause runoff. Lastly, mulch will break down over time and add to the soil’s nutritional capability and texture. These are all great reasons why spending time now will pay off dividends later in your garden!

What is Wool Mulch?

Wool mulch is essentially the fleece of sheep or other wool-bearing animals, like llamas or alpacas, that hasn't been processed into yarn or fabric. It can come in various forms, including raw fleece, felted wool, or wool pellets. Every year farmers and ranchers shear their wool-bearing animals and have what is called waste wool from the process. This is less desirable wool for yarn that comes from the animal’s belly, neck, legs, and backside, but is perfect for use in the garden. You can find waste wool on Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, Craigslist, and talking to local producers at 4-H events and county fairs. 

Llama; photo by Kara Olyowski

Benefits of Wool Mulch

Wool mulch has all of the same benefits as typical organic mulches. In addition, wool can hold up to 30% of its weight in water making it an excellent choice for retaining soil moisture in our dry climate. Wool takes a long time to break down and as it does, it slowly and steadily releases valuable nutrients, like nitrogen, into the soil for your plants. When you look at the texture of wool under a microscope, you will see tiny scales. These scales look like barbs to slugs and snails and deter them from crawling on the mulch and onto your plants. Lastly, using wool makes use of a renewable resource that might otherwise go to waste.

How To Use Wool Mulch

I am using raw llama fleece in my herb garden. First, I made sure the fleece sections didn’t have any vegetable matter or twigs in it. I spread it around each of my plants, creating a layer about 2-4 inches thick. Some companies are realizing the benefits of this resource and are creating wool pellets. These wool pellets are being marketed as a fertilizer and not as a mulch.

Incorporating animal wool into your mulching routine is a great way to promote healthier plants and more efficient water usage. Its unique properties make it a good choice for gardeners seeking sustainable and effective solutions. Give wool mulch a try, and your garden may just thank you for it!

For further information you can check out:

4 Reasons to Introduce Wool into your Garden

The Use of Wool in Compost and other Alternative Applications

Mulching: CMG GardenNotes #245

These are my photos:

A picture of my herb garden with wool mulch

A picture of a llama before he is sheared.

Preparing Your Soil for Winter by Nancy Shepard

 

Photo by Lukas. Pexel.com

By November you’ve probably pulled out your dead vegetable plants, pulled out plant stakes, cleaned up your perennial areas, and mulched the leaves over your lawn. But what about your soil? We usually think of our garden soil in the spring when we get ready to plant and want to amend it. But you can do some beneficial things for your soil before winter arrives.

Planning for Spring: What Kind of Mulch Should I Use? by Donna Duffy

 

Gravel mulch at Kendrick Lake Gardens in Lakewood

[This blog was originally posted on March 18, 2014 and has been updated with new research-based information.]

The benefits of mulch are so well known that the question no longer is “Should I mulch?” but “What mulch is best for my landscape?” For die-hard gardeners, mulching is one garden task you can do any time of year – even in the winter.

A mulch is any material that provides protection and improves the soil when applied to the soil surface. Mulches can:

• reduce surface evaporation
• improve water penetration and air movement
• control soil temperature fluctuations
• protect shallow-rooted plants from freeze damage
• improve soil structure and nutrient availability

Small wood chip mulch around roses

Your first decision will be deciding between organic and inorganic mulch. According to PlantTalk Colorado, the most common organic mulches in Colorado include wood chips, chunk bark, pole peelings, pine needles, lawn clippings and straw. Organic mulches gradually break down and add nutrients to the soil. Decomposition of fresh wood mulches can create nitrogen deficiencies, so you’ll need to be prepared to supplement the area with a fertilizer and replenish the mulch occasionally.

Gravel mulch at Kendrick Lake Gardens in Lakewood

Inorganic mulches are stone-based and include rock, cobblestone, pea gravel, lava rock and crushed rock. They store and radiate heat, so avoid putting large areas of unshaded rock next to your house.

Regardless which type of mulch you choose, resist the urge to install plastic sheeting or landscape fabric underneath the mulch. Air and moisture don't penetrate plastic or fabric, so plant roots won’t develop but weeds will still come through.  

The selection of a mulch depends on its intended use. If appearance is the main goal, inorganic or inert mulches may be the best choice. If the main objective is soil improvement, consider an organic mulch that gradually breaks down. If the area is used primarily for annual flowers, it often is more practical to use a temporary organic mulch, such as composted leaves or grass clippings that can be turned under each fall.

Mulches used to enhance appearance and control weeds may be applied at any time. Apply most mulches to a depth of 3 to 4 inches. Straw, dried leaves and similar materials can be applied to a depth of 4 to 6 inches. Around woody plants, push the mulch away so it isn’t touching the woody bark.

Organic mulch from chipped Christmas trees

On the next visit in your garden, take a stroll through your landscape and consider where you can add mulch and take advantage of all its benefits.

Mulch can also be used for pathways

For more information about mulches see the following:

Mulches for Home Grounds:  https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/mulches-for-home-grounds-7-214/

Xeriscape mulches: https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/water-wise-xeriscape/1905-xeriscape-mulches/

Organic mulches: https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/soils-amendments-composting/1609-organic-mulches/

Garden Notes: https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/Gardennotes/245.pdf

Gardening Power to the People: The Power of Mulch

It's time to mulch! In this short video, Jill Knussman, Jeffco Master Gardener, gives you tips for using mulch in your garden.

The Myth of Paper-based Sheet Mulch

Photo courtesy doityourself.com

Note: This information is excerpted from Horticultural Myths, Linda Chalker-Scott, Washington State University Extension. See link at bottom of article.

In their quest to create more sustainable landscapes – those that require fewer inputs of fertilizers, pesticides, and other resources – gardeners, landscapers, and restoration ecologists have focused on mulches. The use of mulches to suppress weeds and conserve soil water has a substantial agricultural history. Newspaper mulch, either as intact sheets or chopped and shredded, has been successful in reducing weeds and increasing yield in some row crops. Cardboard sheet mulch, often used in tree plantations, has been less reliable. These paper mulches are increasingly common in urban landscapes, especially restoration sites. Are they effective in suppressing weeds, maintaining soil water, and aiding plant establishment in this context?

Christmas Tree Disposal by Carol King

Bottle Tree photo by Carol King

If you used a cut tree for your Christmas tree, chances are you are now trying to deal with disposal! There’s always the landfill of course; most trash companies pick them up without a thought. However, there are several options for your tree other than the landfill. 

Humane Society

Consider these:

• Recycle your tree. Most municipalities in the Denver area have recycling available. Contact your own city or county; many use chippers to convert trees to landscape or garden mulch. Never burn your Christmas tree in the fireplace (the pitch content in the bark and needles can cause them to burst into flames from the intense heat).
• Do something whimsical: right after Christmas, move the tree outside and decorate it with popcorn, fresh cranberries, peanuts in the shell, pine cones with suet and birdseed; apples, rice cakes, dried corn bundles. Use natural string, ribbon and raffia for hanging. The birds will use this material for nesting in the spring, after the food is gone. 
• Call your favorite conservation group. They often will place trees in gullies and arroyos to slow soil erosion.
• Trim off the branches, mulch those in the garden and use the frame of the tree to create a bottle tree. Place colored bottles of all kinds on the stub ends of your tree. Put in a location to glisten in the sun and enjoy! Tradition says that bottle trees protect the home from evil spirits by trapping spirits inside the bottles, where they do no harm. 

With a little imagination, dear gardener, your tree can provide enjoyment all year: the traditional tree at Christmas; a home for birds to gather and feed, garden mulch and finally a wonderful piece of folk art created by your family.

Cheers to Your Plants! by Carrie Garczynski

Photo courtesy Horticulture magazine

Have you experienced hints of raspberry, swirls of lily, or essence of grass? Yes, in your yard, and perhaps in your favorite bottle of wine. Anyone who drinks wine probably has oodles of wine corks! What do you do with all of them? And what do corks have to do with gardening? 

Well, corks are hand-harvested and made from the cork oak trees Quercus suber from Spain and Portugal. They don’t soak up water, do not rot, are impervious to air, and can mold into the contour of any container. 

The Myth of Paper-based Sheet Mulches by Donna Duffy

Photo courtesy doityourself.com

As the days slowly get longer, many of us start thinking about our planting beds for the next growing season. The use of paper-based sheet mulch has gained attention. But is it effective? Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D., Extension Horticulturist and Associate Professor, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Washington State University, is known for her myth-busting horticultural research. The following is excerpted from her response to the myth: Newspaper and cardboard sheet mulches are excellent ways to reduce weeds and maintain soil health in permanent landscapes. 

All Those Leaves! What to Do? by Donna Duffy

Leaves, leaves, leaves!! Photo courtesy Donna Duffy

Special thanks to Alison O'Connor, Larimer County Extension agent,  for sharing the following article.

Ugh. Dealing with leaves in the fall. It’s almost like nature mocks us. We work hard all summer to grow tomatoes, mow the lawn religiously and fend our garden from insects and disease. Just as we want to take a break and watch some football, the trees decide to drop their leaves and landscape maintenance continues.

I’ve been asked this question a lot—What should I do with all the leaves that drop? There’s a lot of great ways to use them, including composting, tucking them around newly planted plants, throwing them in the veggie garden to till in next spring or mulching them into your lawn.