By Wool Pots founder Graham Hull
Hi, I’m Graham Hull, creator of Wool Pots – award-winning, sustainable plant pots. Recently, we’ve been chatting with Fulham Palace and I was lucky enough to meet with Erin from the team. Erin asked me how I came up with the idea for Wool Pots and this got me thinking. I was born and raised in West Sussex and have always been a country boy, having always worked on farms in the school holidays and spent many hours gardening, growing vegetables for my family and flowers for my gran.
I moved away from the beautiful rolling chalk hills and up to London for work – I still pop back whenever I can to see my family but it’s just not the same. Living in London can be difficult at times, especially for someone who was used to being surrounded by trees and countryside. So, when I need a fix of peaceful greenery I head to the fabulous garden at Fulham Palace – sometimes a quick wander and a cup of tea is all you need!
Wool Pots originally grew out of a conversation with my friend who is a farmer. Our conversations always start in the same way: I say “Hello, how are you doing,” and she then starts with a series of expletives about her sheep. Apparently their one reason for being here is to try and harm themselves. They are creative escapologists – if there is a tiny hole to be found anywhere they will get their head stuck in it and they are always falling over. On top of this, it costs British farmers around £1.50 per sheep to shear them and the fleece isn’t worth anything, so a lot of smaller farmers burn or bury their fleeces.
I was shocked when I was told this and decided I needed to do something about it. A couple of days later I read an article that said in the UK we send 500 million plastic plant pots to landfill every year and this set me thinking. Would it be possible to use this unloved wool to make plant pots? After several months I had found a solution, but I needed a business partner to help me, so I bought a nice bottle of whisky and went to see my friend Tom who I have known for many years.
I said, “Tom! I have had a brilliant idea that I want to discuss with you,” and he looked at the whisky, rolled his eyes heavenwards and said, “You had better tell me about it, then.” A couple of hours later and with some disbelief Tom admitted that I might be on to something. Being a huge supporter of British farmers he agreed to join me and thus Wool Pots was born.
My daughter will be the first to tell you than I can talk for many hours about sheep and wool but it really is a magical material, so before I outstay my welcome here I will leave you with a few reasons why Wool Pots are great!
- The way the pots are knitted allows more oxygen to get to a plant’s roots, promoting better root growth which then leads to better plant growth.
- Wool traps moisture so you use less water when using Wool Pots.
- By leaving the leave the rim above the ground when planting out with Wool Pots the wool will act as a natural slug and snail deterrent.
There is much more to share but a final thought is that once in the ground the Wool Pots break down in 7 weeks, with all the nutrients in the wool going on to feed the plants, leaving behind no plastic and no waste. Welcome to the plant pot revolution!
You can see Wool Pots in action and find out more at this years’ go green fest on Sunday 3 May. Go green fest is our annual springtime celebration of gardening, community and sustainability, with over 30 fun activities, a thriving market of food and drink and showstopping entertainment all packed into a single ticket price.