Wool Mats for Ponds

Wool Pond Mats

We've been selling coir mats for planting marginal plants into for the last 10 years. They've been very successful, particularly laid on top of a butyl liner. We've only had a couple of reservations about them.

Firstly that the coir comes from Sri Lanka. We thought it might be nice to find an alternative product more locally sourced. Secondly, the really tough summers we're now having are really challenging for plants, and we wondered whether there wasn't a growing medium which might give them more help. 

We think we've found the answer.

We can now offer 2mX0.5m mats from Natural Dales Wool Products. Technically these are wool felt with a jute scrim outer and Swaledale wool felt filling. They cost more than the coir, but they perform better and offer a commercial yield for sheep farmers in the Dales. The Keratin in them has very high carbon content and is also a good source of nutrients, which seems to work well for wildflowers. They are amazingly water retentive too.

Please bear in mind that when they arrive they are white, before their colour settles down.   

Wool as a Landscaping Product

We're quite excited about horticultural and landscape uses for wool. We're now selling wool mulch for new tree planting and hedgerows, which works really well, and chunky rolls for wetland creation.

In summary, the advantages of wool:

• Excellent water retention
• Good aeration
• Slow release nutrients
• Biodegradable but durable
• Renewable British material
• Can absorb and release nutrients
• Deer deterrent

Pond Liners

These wool mats are a great growing medium in lots of circumstances, but if you're using the mats on a butyl liner it's very important that the mats are in good contact with the water. While this is less important than it is with coir, keep an eye on them and water if they dry out. 

Wool Mats with Plants

We offer unplanted individual 2mX0.5m mats, or mats with accompanying plug plants for you to plant. These come with an instruction leaflet and are what we sell online here. Ask us for quotes for larger projects. PLEASE NOTE that these are relatively small plug plants (110cc), so we supply 20 per mat. 

Supplier : Natural Dales Wool Products