OGDEN, Utah — Utah State University researchers are looking for ways for gardeners to save on their water bills as the Summer gets hotter and drier.
Ogden's Utah State University Extension assistant professor of horticulture, Andrea Pettit, heard from the community for solutions to keep their gardens this summer.
"We hear so many people asking about water conservation and we're trying to help find solutions for it,” said Pettit.
That was when some colleagues, like assistant professor of agriculture and natural resources Maggi Mathews, saw if they could use the wool sheared from sheep by a Weber County 4-H group could be put to good use.
"4-H sheep wool and those were getting thrown away, and that also its going to be a really hot summer with no water,” said Mathews.
"There has been some research that it will hold that moisture, so then you don’t have to water as much, and it’ll keep that in the soil,” said Mathews. “And the wool is also used as a fertilizer, inside of the soil.”
And so the "Fleece to Field" research program was created, intended to help educate kids, like 10-year-old Mary Whitlock, on how wool can help with water retention and how to maximize the water they do use for their plants.
"I like how we're testing things to see if it actually really works,” said Whitlock.
She joins the club with fellow attendee, 12-year-old Nathan Erickson, every Thursday morning to tend to the garden beds at the Ogden Botanical Gardens. They water the plants, measure soil moisture, temperature and pH levels.
"We’re trying to find out if the wool will actually contain the water, or make the plants die from it,” said Erickson.
According to Pettit, two boxes are used, one of which uses wool in the soil.
By the end of the summer, the researchers and children alike will be able to determine if wool ought to belong in their own home gardens.
"I love seeing their passion and it feels really good knowing that you’re teaching the kids and they’ll do it again later in life,” said Pettit.
