Why You Should Use Raw Wool In Your Garden

Spring, with its delicate shoots and budding roses, can be a busy time for gardeners.

Now’s the time to cover tentative seedlings, fertilise hungry soil, and keep slugs away from tender baby plants.

Luckily, Ellen Fletcher, an expert gardener from MyBuilder.com, said a bag of untreated (raw) sheep’s wool can help with all three tasks.

“Spring is here, and millions of gardeners are getting ready to roll up their sleeves and get to planting for the summer season. An issue for many is slugs and snails, but wool has the ability to act as a barrier, which copper tape, egg shells, and coffee grains aren’t able to do,” Fletcher told us.

“The lanolin in the wool keeps them away, making it a simple and natural way to protect plants.”

Lanolin is a waxy substance naturally produced by sheep, which helps to keep their wool waterproof. It’s also called wool fat, wool wax, sheep grease, or wool grease, and is largely removed from wool when it’s processed into yarn.

But raw wool is packed full of the stuff, which slugs don’t like.

Farmers have previously burned raw wool in protest, as they say the cost of transport and time needed to sell it to manufacture it wouldn’t be worth the pay they get from processors.

It’s sometimes possible, the MyBuilder experts said, to get bags of raw wool for £10-£12.

Additionally, “Sheep’s wool acts as a slow-releasing natural fertiliser by gradually breaking down the soil.” It releases nutrients over time, rather than in a single burst.

It “has great insulating properties, allowing it to regulate the soil temperature throughout the whole year,” preventing both drying and freezing.

Sheep’s wool also “acts as a sponge, retaining a large amount of water, keeping plants hydrated as it slowly releases this stored moisture back to the plant root during dry periods”.

It works as a natural mulch, too, the expert added, suppressing weeds and deterring pests.

“Fibres from the wool improve soil structure and increase soil porosity and aeration, allowing air and water to move freely through the soil. Improved aeration supports beneficial microorganisms and earthworms, both of which contribute to the overall soil health,” too.

“Sheep’s wool isn’t just cost-effective, it serves a variety of purposes in the garden, since it decomposes and releases its natural benefits over time,” Fletcher said.

“It’s also an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic products and fits in perfectly with the growing demand for greener gardening methods.”

Not a baa-d (sorry) deal, right?