In an effort to help cut down on the weeding we are looking at different kinds of mulches. Daryll Alt a Yamhill County Master Gardener Volunteer and local small farmer came out to the garden this Saturday to share with us how to use waste form the wool shearing process as a mulch. He and his wife Kim raise sheep among other things on their small acreage outside of Amity.
Daryll started out by introducing us to the properties of the wool.
It lies down thick and blocks the light and it breaks down slowly. It helps hold the moisture in the soil during the dry months to cut down on watering and the parts of the wool being used are considered waste, so by using it we keep it out of the land fill. (Daryll uses wool on the farm as mulch also)
Here we are concentrating on the pathways between the beds.After raking back the mostly decomposed straw from the pathway onto the rows Daryll is laying a thick layer of wool down in the rows to suppress the weeds. The wool should last 3-4 years before needing to be replaced. The cardboard or newspaper we will have to replace next year.
Then he put down a layer of straw. The straw will be replace as needed. The only potential draw back to the wool is that it can be hard to get a wheelbarrow over it. We are hopeful that the rains will help pack it down.
Most of the rest of the morning was spent preparing for next Saturdays work party by cutting up cardboard and continuing to weed. The Slow Foods of Yamhill County will be out to help us put several layers of cardboard or newspaper in the paths and then cover them with straw.
While we were learning about mulching with wool Miranda learned how to spin wool onto yarn from Kim Alt. She loved it!
Thank you so much Daryll and Kim!
