It’s a Fertilizer? Really?
This past year has been a whirlwind of activity for our new mill. We have learned a ton about manufacturing, packaging, and selling Woolly Belly Pellets. We have also heard similar questions repeated over to us and with that we are starting our monthly newsletter! A newsletter we hope you will find helpful and not just noise in your mailbox.
Our number one question this past year has been, “It’s a fertilizer? Really?”
Really!
Wool and other hair typically contain over 9% nitrogen. Our testing has shown well over 9% Nitrogen, 3% potassium, almost 2% sulfur plus other micro and macronutrients. These plant growing nutrients slowly break down over 6-9 months in the pellet form but do they compare to fertilizers? Yes!
There have been multiple studies proving the fertilizing capabilities of wool. A recent study was finished at the University of Vermont in 2022 by Bradshaw, Terence and Hagen entitled, “Wool pellets are a Viable Alternative to Commercial Fertilizer for Organic Vegetable Production.” (https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/5/1210). In this study they compared different amounts of wool pellets to commercially available fertilizer. They found both were comparable. Crop yields increased with increasing fertilizer. Using the 1/2 cup per gallon of soil is comparable to commercially available fertilizer.
Another study by European researchers Ordiales, Gutierrez, Zajara, Gil and Lanzke published in 2016 entitled “Assessment of Utilization of Sheep Wool Pellets as Organic Fertilizer and Soil Amendment in Processing Tomato and Broccoli” found similar results to the above mentioned study. http://www.academicstar.us/UploadFile/Picture/2017-3/201732623146792.pdf Their study summarized wool pellets working out better overall than the other fertilizers they used!
Multiple other studies have repeated these findings with wool pellets. New exciting research is piecing out how wool pellets, soil bacteria, soil fungi, and the roots all work together. Watch for a discussion of those studies in a future newsletter.
Wool pellets are a fertilizer!
Woolly Belly Pellets are listed by OMRI (the Organic Materials Review Institute) for use in organic gardening. Using wool to fertilize also adds all natural materials to your soil, holds water, and improves soil.