Does Wool Make a Good Mulch + Kickstarting the Compost Pile

Welcome to episode 82 of Growers Daily!
We cover: Kickstarting the Ornery Compost Pile + Does Wool Make a Good Mulch + what size cell trays to use based on the crop
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[@MoCrochet]

knitting as i'm watching this and I love that you brought up spinners. i'm part of a wave of younger people who have picked up fiber arts and within that group i've noticed that as a response to fast fashion there has been growing interest in people looking to make their own clothing out of sustainable materials like wool, cotton, linen, etc. Sustainability has become a big topic in the community so hopefully we see that many of these wool farmers are able to maintain their operations at least to a certain degree! Also, I really appreciate this format and the research you put into answering these question!

[@sqwunk]

I was thinking the same thing, we've gone to the NY Sheep and Wool festival the past two years and I would think there is no decline in people taking up this craft based on the attendance of that one festival.

[@billybowen3023]

Hello. Thank you for your time in making these. I watch every morning with a coffee from my home in Scotland. I love wool. I try to buy and wear it. It is massively under rated. I also own a plaid witch i use to sleep in when I'm out and about. Very cosy vs a sleeping bag. I have used wool for 4 years in the garden. Around plants and apple trees. And in the poly tunnel in summer. The white fungal life that threads in it is amazing! Last about 3 years under cover. 2 year outside. I tend to cover in winter with compost from are animals (3 goat's 2 horses). I have expanded my growing area this year, i am just a simple gardener that sells surplus. But to step away from cardboard and plastic i have used wool on the bottom with compost on top.....see how it goes. I try to get wool from farms that are organic or regenerative. Thank you so much for your time.

[@WesternMONo-TillGardening]

Bri at Regenerative Gardening talks about wool a lot, not as mulch but for nitrogen and moisture retention for seed starting. She puts wool pellets in her soil block mix, and I think last year she put a sheet of wool at the bottom of her trays under her soil blocks and got good results. I wish I had wool just hanging around that I could use.

[@catreeves963]

My family are sheep farmers, I’m a flower farmer and I use wool extensively. I don’t use it in paths but on top of beds - pros are all the things Jesse mentioned and it does stop annual weeds germinating but if you have not dealt with the perennial weeds they will grow through and it’s super annoying to weed. Also can be annoying/slow to plant into if doing tightly spaced plants but larger plants that like even moisture would be perfect for wool like dahlias, squash, tomatoes etc. I’ve found slugs all over the wool so not sure that is a thing. But overall I dig the water retention and soil preservation properties. I’m also trying an under bed layer of wool for a newly broken area so will see how that goes :-)

[@helenobrien60]

Quick comment on the wool! I worked 15 years on a small farm in the PNW. We used our extra wool to mulch some of the perennial beds. 1) it did not break down quickly at all even in our great rotting climate. Every year we patched the areas that got much organic matter on it but that was minimal. 2) it worked great on annual weeds but some of the perennial ones were harder to manage in it. We struggled with Canadian thistles growing right through it (no matter how thick) and because the wool is dense and fibrous it is hard to get in and remove weeds that can grow through.

[@wildalentejo]

I move it to the side, weed and then put it again in place.

[@blankenmom]

Also currently on the wet side. We know someone with Alpacas that toss the fiber in the compost. I may contact them to see if I can collect it for a better purpose. Maybe I exchange for some food. Excellent info -- thank you!

[@axefairy7868]

Do you know if it’s much of a slug deterrent? I’ve heard it said but I’ve heard a lot of things are slug deterrents and they turn out to either not really be or may be in specific circumstances, this will be my first year with access to it for mulch and I’m hoping I can save my strawberries!

[@Chrissmithers9]

So glad to find you here on youtube 🌿

[@abydosianchulac2]

I'm surprising myself, but as neither a farmer, grower, or rancher, I actually have a comment to make on the wool segment. A non-profit I volunteer with recently received bundles and bundles of wool from a worsted spinning mill that was downsizing, and the owner mentioned in passing that anything we weren't able to find homes for would have to be thrown out instead of composted because it was superwash. Apparently during the processing of that wool, according to him, it not only was descaled to prevent felting but had some sort of coating added to it that resisted or prevented decomposition. So, using this wool as opposed to untreated, natural wool may have benefits in terms of not needing to be replaced as often, but it could possibly pose problems for organic growers. So if anyone is interested in trying this, make sure you know as much about the wool you're getting your hands on as possible. In addition, I observed at this mill that there were literal bags of trash wool from fleece and fiber that had gotten caught or jammed in the various machines. So if you have any woolen mills, or one of the last worsted mills, in your area they might also be a source of mulch quality wool.

[@gooser_33]

I take coffee grounds from a local coffee shop. It is a great source of greens/nitrogen for my mostly leaf based compost pile year around. This may not be ideal for organic certified growers if you need to source where the original coffee was organically grown, but the 25 gallons of spent grounds that I get work perfect for my compost and garden.

[@wildalentejo]

Been using wool for a few years, the best mulch I ever used in my semi arid environment, makes quite de good compost and for seed trays promotes aeration and root structure.

[@mariondunn6580]

Hi Jesse, loving Farmers Daily. I live in Wales, UK, where there are lots of sheep. I use the 15:44 dags (dirty bits of fleece from the back end) in my compost. The main fleece I use as a soil protector/over winter mulch. It makes a great weed barrier. I’d advise against using as a mulch around strawberries. I did this a couple of years ago and ended up with fleecy strawberries.

[@jeanmcginlay2363]

Wool: Here in the UK, the wool market has seen the same issues and whilst I haven't seen any direct information for using it as a mulch, I have seen some bagged compost makers using it in their mixes. I have also seen adverts for using it as insulation in walls and lofts (replacing fibreglass/rockwool) and as a filling for duvets! Hopefully, such ideas will ensure that there is a continual market for wool in the future? I cannot see a widespread use as a mulch as it will depend greatly on a ready access to the wool - it is a rather bulky product unless it can be compressed to a useful size. Great show!!!!

[@brokenmeats5928]

I love ALL No-Till Growers videos!

[@carochiqui1]

LOL I just heard “commoners feel free to jump in at the comments section” instead of what he actually said “commenters feel free to jump in at the comments section” 😂

[@lambsquartersfarm]

We've got 20 Shetland wool sheep... can't make the numbers work, so few processors and the ones left deal with huge operations and mix your wool up with other producers (not ideal). I'm saving mine up to insulate my house (half joking)... anyhow, love my sheep, they make lovely manure.

[@DaveK385]

I saw a Charles Dowding video where he was testing specialized wool batting for mulching or using bats to begin new beds instead of using cardboard. Never saw a video on if they worked out though.

[@cranberrypanic]

Really enjoying Gowers Daily so far! Wondering if you'd be able to timestamp or label different sections of the video though so we know what part of the video covers what topic? Either way, thanks for all your hard work and the great info!

[@chriskimber7179]

Kick start compost with pea! I keep a bucket of woodchips/compost/biochar next to the toilet in the shop that gets #1 until it is half full or starts to smell. That is pitched on the pile, rinsed out, refill and repeat. Not sure if this is organic?

[@moabite367]

Hey Jesse, big fan here, but on this video, I have a suggestion. Some of us have kitchen gardens, we do not sell our produce, but we can still get a lot out of your shows. However, "72 block" and "128 block" mean zero to us. I think of it as 1", 2x2", 3x3", etc. If you could include that info also next time it would be helpful. Thanks for all the wonderful episodes.

[@fourdayhomestead2839]

The higher the number of blocks, the smaller the size. 😊

[@StephenSachs-z1z]

We have used the 24 trays from Gardeners Supply for years, they are bottom watering. We have been very pleased with them over the years!

[@moabite367]

@@fourdayhomestead2839 Yes I know that, but what size are they?

[@Pinky-jz7om]

Totally fair comment I’m also a little confused by it but assume a 72 block will fit 72 cubes in a 1020 tray and likewise 128 would fit 128 blocks so must be smaller. I don’t soil block yet but when my 72 cell tray wears out in a couple of years I plan to convert :)

[@yeastybeastie]

Agreed, same problem for overseas folks. Went snooping on the Johnny's Seeds website though, and they do have a pdf of their cell tray dimensions (but the info is not on individual product pages!)

[@rachellemazar7374]

Hand ball training for the win.

[@Warrior-In-the-Garden]

So appreciate these info dense videos. You are actually hilarious.

[@theburnhams2925]

Actually!

[@BruceGlider]

Curious that you didn't mention free coffee grounds as a source of nitrogen. U don't like?

[@gregmartz5235]

I've started my pile with urine.

[@Cox-l9h]

Thanks for the breakdown! I have a quick question: My OKX wallet holds some USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (air carpet target dish off jeans toilet sweet piano spoil fruit essay). What's the best way to send them to Binance?

[@MrQueerDuck]

FYI: gro-smart link has a typo

[@craigmatheson2736]

Guinea pig or chicken manure for jump-starting.