Understanding the Wool Pellets
At the heart of Wild Valley Farms’ sustainable approach are their wool pellets. These are made from 100% natural wool, a renewable resource. The wool undergoes a meticulous process to be transformed into user-friendly pellets that are ideal for gardening purposes. The inherent properties of wool make it an excellent medium for retaining moisture, thus directly benefiting plants.

How Wool Pellets Help in Water Conservation

• Moisture Retention: Wool has a natural ability to retain water. When you use wool pellets in your soil mix, they can absorb and hold a significant amount of water. This not only reduces the frequency of watering but also ensures that the roots of the plants get a consistent supply of moisture. Over time, this can result in significant water savings.
• Slow Release: Wool doesn’t just retain water; it releases it slowly. This means that instead of the water quickly draining away or evaporating, it’s held in the wool and delivered to the plant roots over a more extended period. This minimizes waste and makes every drop count.
• Temperature Regulation: Wool pellets act as natural insulators. By regulating the soil temperature, they can prevent excessive evaporation on hot days. This means your plants can thrive with less water, even during peak summer.
• Organic Matter: As the wool pellets break down over time, they add valuable organic matter to the soil. This improves the soil's structure, allowing it to retain moisture better, further amplifying the water-saving effect.

Additional Benefits of Wool Pellets
While water conservation is a significant advantage of using wool pellets, they offer several other benefits:

• Weed Suppression: When mixed into the top layer of the soil, wool pellets can act as a deterrent to weeds. This makes maintenance easier and ensures that unwanted plants don't compete for the water intended for your desired plants.
• Natural Fertilizer: Wool contains nitrogen, which is a vital nutrient for plants. As the wool decomposes, it releases this nitrogen, serving as a natural fertilizer.
• Eco-friendly: Wool is a renewable resource, and using it helps in reducing the carbon footprint. Also, choosing wool pellets supports sustainable farming practices, as no chemicals or artificial products are involved.
• Pest Deterrence: Some gardeners have noticed that wool pellets can deter certain pests, making them an added line of defense in an organic gardening strategy.

The story of Wild Valley Farms began over a century and a half ago, when founders first set foot in the U.S., they were driven by their Wild Valley Farms faith to the rugged terrains of Utah. Settling in the quaint town of Croydon, they embarked on a humble journey with chickens, a handful of cows and sheep.🐄🐑
With the evolving time the modest chicken farm evolved into a sprawling sheep and cattle ranch. Today, the farm, managed by Albert Wilde and his two sons, boasts over 200 cattle and a staggering 2,600 sheep. Their partnership in 2013 with Woodscape of Utah, a landscape product manufacturer, marked the beginning of a new chapter.  This collaboration gave birth to a premium compost, and as demand grew, so did their vision. Recognizing the increasing desire for natural gardening products, Wild Valley Farms was officially established in 2015, bridging the gap between conscientious consumers and all-natural farm products.
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Wool has long been cherished for its warmth and versatility in the textile industry. However, its application extends beyond clothing and blankets. Wild Valley Farms has introduced an innovative use for wool in the form of wool pellets, a sustainable solution for garden enthusiasts.
What are Wool Pellets?
Wool pellets, as introduced by Wild Valley Farms, are a product derived from waste wool. This technology transforms wool, which would otherwise be discarded, into valuable pellets for gardening. The concept of using wool in gardens isn't new. Gardeners have recognized wool's potential as a fantastic fertilizer and weed barrier for years. Wool's inherent properties allow it to retain moisture, deter snails, and slowly release nitrogen as it biodegrades. With wool pellets, instead of placing wool on top of plants, gardeners can now integrate wool directly into the soil, enhancing its quality and fertility.
Benefits of Wool Pellets
1. Moisture Retention: Wool's natural ability to retain moisture ensures that the soil remains hydrated, reducing the need for frequent watering.
2. Natural Fertilizer: As wool biodegrades, it releases nitrogen, enriching the soil and promoting plant growth.
3. Pest Deterrent: Wool pellets act as a natural deterrent for snails, protecting plants from these common garden pests.
4. Eco-friendly: By repurposing waste wool, these pellets offer an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional fertilizers.
Product Specifications
Wild Valley Farms' wool pellets are graded as a 9-0-2 fertilizer. This means they contain 9% water-insoluble nitrogen, 1% available phosphate, and 2% soluble potash. The company claims that using their wool pellets can reduce watering by up to 25%, all while maintaining soil porosity. For those interested in purchasing, an 8-ounce bag of these wool pellets retails for $13.99 and is estimated to cover about 15 square feet of soil or nourish 6 gallons of soil.
A Sustainable Choice
The production of wool pellets is not just about gardening; it's about sustainability. During the wool processing phase, known as skirting, certain parts of the fleece, like the "bellies and tags," are set aside. These parts, which come from around the sheep's belly and rear, are usually discarded or sold for a minimal amount. By transforming these parts into wool pellets, Wild Valley Farms is ensuring that every bit of the sheep's fleece is utilized, reducing waste and promoting a circular economy.
Moreover, gardeners should note that these pellets carry the authentic fragrance of sheep. While this scent is noticeable when the pellets are fresh, it becomes discreet once blended into the soil.
In conclusion, Wild Valley Farms' wool pellets are a testament to the endless possibilities of wool. They represent a fusion of tradition and innovation, offering gardeners an eco-friendly solution that benefits both the environment and their gardens.

This will provide your gardens with the support needed to create healthy and productive gardens with each passing year.

• Start by removing all summer annuals that will not last through the winter and old plants from the garden area. Once the remaining fruits and seeds are removed from the plants you can add them to your compost pile. Any plants that show disease or mold place in the garbage.
• Remove all support stakes and cages from the garden area and clean with alcohol to disinfect and prevent diseases during storage. Once the garden area is clear you will be able to see if any weeds were hiding under your plants and can easily remove them.
• Perennial plants need proper nutrients to survive the winter and flourish the next spring. The basic rule for perennial vines is to cut them back leaving six of the healthiest, strongest canes on each plant and trimming the others to the ground. Perennials and ornamental grasses should be cut back to the ground. Cut back any thin or weak stalks and deadhead the wilted buds. It is important to fertilize your perennials for the winter add a layer of slow-release fertilizer like Wild Valley Farms Wool Pellets to the soil around the plants. This will hold the nutrients close and help support the root system during the winter months.

Once the garden plants are trimmed and the old is removed, it is the perfect time to replenish your soil. The herbs and garden plants that just finished their season relied on the nutrients that were in the soil leaving it depleted at the end of the season.

• Creating and maintaining proper soil nutrient levels is vital in next year's growth and ability to produce. Compost and mulches are ways to replenish nutrient levels, retain moisture content and reduce weeds taking root in your garden

Compost is decomposed organic material derived from two main components: "Greens” & “Browns.” It is made up from the layering, mixing- to provide oxygen for microorganisms to breath and break down the materials, and heating over time to kill seeds and pathogens of these two component categories. Studies show that using compost improves color, helps tomatoes and other plants stand up to common diseases. While considered a soil conditioner rather than a fertilizer, compost helps feed soil with a slow release of beneficial nutrients over time. It is best to add compost to soil each year to improve the overall soil structure increasing fertility and nutrients for growing.

Mulch can be any matter, organic or inorganic, that you put down on top of your soil. Materials used for mulch include everything from crushed rock and plastic sheeting to wood chips, discarded newspapers, pine straw, grass clippings, leaves, and straw. Mulch can be laid down on top of compost or topsoil 1 to 2 inches deep, usually in late fall & early spring. Mulch can help to cut down on your gardening chores by helping suppress weeds and hold moisture in your soil. This sheltering layer also protects tender plants from frost and cold in winter, and from evaporation and heat stress in summer. In addition, mulch helps moderate soil temperature, keeping a porous surface to allow water to get to roots and prevent soil erosion.

There are two main categories of soil porosity: micropores and macropores. These categories are based of the pore size or spaces. Depending on the size we can predict the levels of oxygen, nutrients, and the ability to retain water. The optimal porosity for plant growth is a ratio of both micro and macro-pores.

• Micro pores are smaller in size but are not affected by gravity and can retain water and nutrients longer. Due to the smaller pore size the movement of air and water is sometimes restricted making it difficult for the roots to extract both the nutrients and water. Clay soils have a greater ratio of micro-pores.
• Macro pores are a large pore size which allows air and water movement enabling optimal oxygen for root growth. The larger pore size also creates an environment for gravity to decrease the nutrients more quickly. Sandy textured soils, have a greater ratio of macro-pores.​ 

Understanding the role that porosity plays in creating healthy soil will impact what we add to our garden soil. Porosity is vital for optimal growth. The plants will degrade and die without a combination of both micro and macro pores. Leaving the ground dry and depleted of nutrients or waterlogged and stagnant. Assisting the porosity of the soil can be as easy as mixing in organic material such as wool pellets, worms, and planting annual lettuces into your gardens. 
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Wool pellets expand as they absorb water creating a space. That not only increase oxygen but holds the nutrients in the soil for root development. As they begin to biodegrade that space is replaced by air, increasing soil oxygen levels.

Introducing worms to the soil will increase the porosity of the top inches of your soil. As they create deeper tunnels in the soil it will also help with drainage preventing root rot.
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Consider adding lettuce that can be harvested at ground level and the root system left. Once harvested the roots will die off leaving spaces for water, oxygen, and other nutrients to fill their space.