Soil Comparison: Water Retention

Soil Comparison

The most important need that anyone wanting to grow plants has, is water.  In Utah and throughout the Southwest, soil make-up is often sandy, and/or also clay.  These two types of soil can (or any mixture of the two) make havoc for water retention.

Complicating the matter further is the fight over water rights that has emerged throughout that area. This has led to areas in California and Arizona where many people are forced to give up on gardens, lawns, or even farming.

One of our most innovative products is one we have named Wool Pellets.  That is because it is comprised of the wool that normally would be nearly a complete waste from shearing our sheep.

When we initially set out to see the possibilities of using wool as a fertilizer, we weren't sure how it could be effectively used.  Yet with the unique pelletization process we found a way to intensely compress the wool into tiny packets that opened up doorways to process and ship wool in a way that previously had not been possible.

When we first saw the preliminary results of our own home made tests we were stunned at how effectively it aided in plant growth, production and root strength.  In order to better to understand this phenomena, we sent our product out to two different labs.  The results were astounding to say the least.

The process we put the wool through was able to retain in the product 9% Nitrogen, which is 9% insoluble nitrogen!  Also 1% phosphate and 2% soluble potash.

Whereas we had originally set out to make a product that would help in water retention, what we received is a product that not only helps preserve nearly 41% more water in the soil, but also an incredibly potent slow release fertilizer!

Because it lacks the ability to quickly release the nitrogen, it does not burn plants like typical high nitrogen possessing fertilizers (which are chemically produced in order to only be able to give half the nitrogen injection that our fertilizer possesses) do.

We will later demonstrate the fertilizing capabilities of this amazing, revolutionary product, but for now we have posted the picture above to demonstrate the water retaining capabilities that Wool Pellets immediately offers to your soil.

The soil on the right is a sample from a competitor of ours composed of Peat, and the soil on the left is a mixture that we have made from 60% Peat, 35% of our All-Organic Compost and only 5% Wool Pellets.
At the beginning both jars were filled to the same level, but after adding 1/2 cup of water, you can see that the soil sample on the right has allowed the water to pass into it, seeping to the bottom, leaving the rest of the soil, largely unchanged except for a small amount of dampness that will quickly fade out.

Yet the soil sample that includes our mixture (the one on the left), absorbed the water in a way that forced the soil to expand.  You can see how the soil level has heightened above what the other sample started at.

This effect was noted almost instantaneously.

I will produce a video demonstrating this effect in time (I'm kind of technologically illiterate, but I am improving...) but for now, I challenge you to put our product to your own test.  You can order it at:  http://www.wildvalleyfarms.com/store/p4/Wool_Pellets.html