Automatic Plant Watering System, Capillary Mat, Approximately 3 Foot by 4 Foot

Capillary Matting, also known as wicking fabric or spreader mat can evenly dispense moisture to the bottoms of plant containers that rest on it. This can be a terrifically easy way to keep seed starting media properly moist while the seeds germinate and until it is time to plant them out. All one needs is a water proof surface to place the wicking fabric on and a container of water that is a little bit lower than the surface the capillary matting is on. For example, one might cover a counter top with plastic to protect it and then spread out a piece of pre-moistened wicking fabric on it, hanging one edge down into the sink. Fill the sink with water and place your seeds on it and they will stay moist as long as there is enough water in the sink to be wicked up by the fabric (the capillary matting must be touching the water.) I don’t expect the matting to wick up much more than a few inches. I have been using it to lift water from a rain gutter up through a slit in a plant saucer sitting on top of the gutter with a fabric pot sitting on top of the matting and that has been keeping the pot moist enough that I have not been otherwise watering the pots beyond what rain falls (aka Rain Gutter Grow System.) Do not just place a container of water next to the fabric on the counter top and lift an edge of the spreader mat up into it. Gravity would cause the spreader mat to siphon the higher container dry and the capillary matting would not be able to hold all the water so it would likely leak off the plastic and then leave the plants to dry out once the water held in the spreader mat was used up. I’ve tried this and it is amazing how well the capillary matting does at siphoning but this doesn’t really help keep the plants watered. The capillary mat can even be used in a bath to keep plants watered during a vacation. Wet the capillary matting and then spread out on the bottom of the tub. Place plants and then set the tap so it just drips on the matting.