After the mats have been watered they can be taken into use.
How to use capillary matting on holiday.
I was surprised to find it s really thin like fabric paper really.
Get a big bucket fill it with water and place it on the bench.
If the plants are in hot sun the capillary matting will dry out more quickly.
Lead it up and out of the bucket down the side and then tucking the other end of the matting strip securely under the main sheet of mat on your bench.
Now cut a long strip of the matting and weight one end down at the bottom of the bucket of water.
This improvement is due to the way some plants may use more water than others and completely.
The longer your away the bigger the bucket it works for me.
You soak the capillary matting before you go away and the plants take the water up.
Many growers are now using this system and generally the findings are it helps even the plant growth giving a better overall yield.
One way of sorting holiday watering is to use watering spikes or globes.
Place a sheet of capillary matting on the kitchen sink draining board or a suitable surface next to the bath.
Drape one end of the matting into the sink or bath which is filled with water.
Following on from a previous post where i asked about the best way to water a few compost based cuttings whilst on holiday i got some of this capillary matting stuff.
I use capillary matting i stand my pots on the matting in a tray with a piece of matting trailing into a bucket of water on the same level making sure all the matting is presoaked the plants will take all the water they need.
Use this method for collections of smaller pot plants.
You can buy spikes that fit onto the top of plastic water bottles.
It may not work with pots that have broken crocks in the bottom.
So please know that the results of new mats are not entirely stable and optimal in the beginning.
New capillary mattting need some time to stabilize completely.
The matting holds the moisture until it is taken up by the plants through their bottom roots through capillary action.