Save water in your summer garden by using sheep’s wool on your veg & blooms  

– Sheep’s wool has natural water retention –

Worried about parched patio pots, limp hanging baskets and sun-baked veggie beds? Dalefoot Composts’ Wool Compost is made from sheep’s wool and bracken and so an ideal summer solution for eco-conscious gardeners who want to water less.

The peat free Wool Compost range ingeniously harnesses the natural ‘hydroscopic’ properties of wool to trap water and keep compost moist for longer, whilst releasing a steady steam of nitrogen and other must-have nutrients to feed the plants over the growing season. Perfect for those who want to garden more sustainably, save on water bills and grow fabulously healthy plants.

With composts for container growing, flowers, vegetables, shrubs, seeds and ericaceous plants, the Wool Compost range is made on a Lake District farm from totally renewable British resources. The compost has a similar soft texture to peat and has a wide range of naturally occurring trace elements for good plant health.

“Use our Wool Compost and you’ll definitely see fewer trips to the water butt or hose-pipe. Cleverly the wool traps moisture but the compost is free draining. Wool is also packed with the most fantastic nutrients, so our compost has a double growing whammy!” said Simon Bland from Dalefoot Composts.

The range is available online at www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk and also a growing list of stockists including 40 Wyevale Garden Centres, The National Trust’s Morden Hall Park garden centre, Petersham Nurseries, Charlies Stores in Welshpool, the Burford Garden Company, Alleyn Park Garden Centre in West Dulwich, Potash Garden Centre in Essex, The Herb Farm near Reading and Hayes Garden Land in Ayrshire.

Wool Compost is made on a 120-acre family farm at Dalefoot in the Lake District fells by farmer Simon Bland and environmental scientist Jane Barker, using wool from their own flock and the Herdwick ‘wool-clip’ of neighbouring hill farmers, including National Trust tenants. As well as helping the growing number of gardeners who want to switch to peat free, the compost finds a novel use for British wool – good news for struggling sheep farmers.

The use of bracken in Wool Compost is also beneficial. The spread of this aggressive, waist-high plant in the Lake District makes grazing difficult and impacts upon native species. Composted it boasts high levels of natural potash, essential for fruiting and flowering. A win for nature lovers and gardeners alike.

Dalefoot Composts also makes a clay-buster compost Lakeland Gold made from bracken and a good sprinkling of farm manure, packed with rich organic matter, great levels of potash and trace elements – perfect for mulching in high summer and even better worked into the soil.

As well as making peat free compost, Jane and Simon also help save Britain’s ancient peat bogs. They run a leading peat bog restoration contracting firm responsible for re-introducing peat forming sphagnum across hundreds of hectares of degraded upland and lowland bogs of Northern England and Scotland for clients such as Yorkshire Peat Partnership, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Scottish Natural Heritage and Natural England. So they are real peat free champions!

Tel: 01931 713281   Email: info@dalefootcomposts.co.uk @DalefootCompost

ENDS