Propagating with Capillary Mats

Written by
Sustainable Village
Published on
November 23, 2022 at 10:48:49 PM PST November 23, 2022 at 10:48:49 PM PSTrd, November 23, 2022 at 10:48:49 PM PST

Propagating with Capillary Mats

A Key to Regenerative Agriculture, Cost Savings and Higher Yields


The less soil in a pot, the more important keeping up with irrigation becomes. Plants in big pots can go long times without water, those in rockwool cubes or small containers can need water many times a day. Capillary mat systems represent one of the most effective, time and water saving solutions for seedlings, clones, and starts.


If you are germinating seeds in trays or rooting clones in cubes, capillary mats eliminate guesswork. Our surface Blumat works just like our traditional carrots, but instead of monitoring soil moisture, it monitors the moisture level of the mat. When it begins to dry out, the valve opens and rehydrates the mat. This maintains a static moisture level in the capillary mat that is available to wick up into the grow medium.


While most commonly used with smaller containers or rooting cubes, this technology can be effective in pots up to 5-gallons. Proven successful and popular in Europe for decades, it is only slowly becoming known in the USA. We offer the capillary matting itself for do-it-yourself, cost-saving growers, as well as top-of-the line complete systems.


Use Capillary Mats, Surface Blumats and BluSoak to irrigate many starts or clones all at once. Or use the Capillary Mat and a Surface Blumat for a smaller amount of plants.


Complete Systems

Our multi-layered capillary mat systems have a layer for the ground (no trays necessary), then the standard cap mat, then a layer with a thicker fabric that stops water transmission when no containers are pressing down, and finally, a perforated foil layer to prevent algae.

Mother Stock

Mother plants - especially rooms full of them - might just be the best use of Blumat technology. Every strain, every phenotype, has its own moisture requirements. When you start taking cuts from them, they begin to vary even more. With a simple Blumat system in place every mom gets exactly what she needs. Give your propagation plants what they really want- consistent irrigation that is never too wet or too dry.