Wool Pellet Fertilizer

Waste wool is considered any wool not suitable for textiles or wool that doesn't sell. Most waste wool is either composted, sent to the landfill or burned. A few shepherds like ourselves have discovered its many uses in the garden.

Wool regulates temperature, maintains moisture, and breaks down slowly. Wool is mostly keratin, a type of fiberous protein made up of various amino acids, along with some lanolin, a substance made from a combination of high molecular mass lipids. As a keratin based fiber, it differs structurally from cellulose (plant) based fibers giving it its unique qualities, especially when wet.

When added to the soil, the amino acids in wool will break down slowly releasing its nutrients over the season. Our wool pellets have a N-P-K of 11-0-5. They are rich in nitrogen and potash; and contain trace minerals such as calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron and zinc. Nitrogen is the nutrient that encourages green growth in plants while potash is the nutrient that makes fruit sweet.

Wool has almost no phosphorus, making it an ideal solution for gardens dealing with a build up of phosphorus due to years of manure use. However, phosphorus is the nutrient used for plant blooms. So if you are planning to use wool pellets to fertilize your flowers, do a soil test to make sure it has enough phosphorus already.