The eco friendly chimney draught excluder manufacturer, #ChimneySheep, has launched a range of all #natural #gardening products in time for summer. The products are made with a variety of natural materials such as #jute and #wool; Chimney Sheep has worked to repurpose wool to create several products that allow consumers to make sustainable gardening choices. The new gardening products include jute mulch mats, jute chipping garden mulch and horticultural felt.
The jute mulch mats in the range have been designed to suit both single trees and plants. The mulch mats are made from #recycled hessian coffee sacks, producing a 5 mm thick, dense jute mat. The mat is then cut into discs of either 40 cm and 35 cm in diameter which are designed for use as tree spats and is also cut into three standard plant pot sized discs of 10”, 8”, 4”, to be used as plant mulch mats. Chimney Sheep can also cut the mat into bespoke sizes according to a customer’s requirements.
The discs are designed to slot around the base of the tree or plant, immediately acting as a protectant. The 100% biodegradable matting creates a chemical free way of reducing competition whilst also retaining moisture and airflow. Due to the coarseness of the material, the mulch mats also act to deter both snails and slugs. This dual functionality ensures plants are adequately protected against competition, increasing the chances of survival. Off cuts during the production of the mats are then cut even smaller for use as jute felt chippings, which can be used over larger areas, such as flower beds, with similar properties.
The company has also added a versatile horticultural felt to the range, made with mixed sheep wool that has been felted onto a jute carrier material. The product is 100% natural and biodegradable, cut to size according to a customer’s requirements. The felt has a multitude of uses, both commercially, such as a bed protector for growing organic crops and on a smaller scale within home gardens or allotments, such as being used as a ‘no till method’ of starting a vegetable bed. Other uses include, protection for delicate plants during the winter, a root protectant when planting out trees to retain water, and as a natural capillary matting within potted plants.
Herdwick wool felt ‘chippings’ are also included in the range – reminiscent of the traditional slate chippings, the wool chippings are made up of off cuts produced during the manufacturing of The Chimney Sheep, reducing the company’s waste output. The Herdwick wool felt chippings are a great mulch for gardens, naturally killing weeds and grass by depriving them of light. Due to its biodegradable properties, the wool chippings will also slowly decompose, releasing nitrogen into the soil, without the use of further chemicals. The product comes in 1 kg bags, covering an area of approximately one square metre.