I water from the top down or the bottom up, usually depends how much of a hurry I'm in (LOL!) and whether I'm fertilizing. Watering from the bottom up is preferable and faster than hand-watering. I don't use a capillary mat; rather, I keep my seedling pots in Perma-Nest trays (high quality and super sturdy -- worth the $$) and just fill the trays with water; the growing medium in the pots pulls the water up, no problems. If I fertilize, I water from the top down.

I don't know how well this type of capillary mat would work, but downside would be that if the roots grow out of the bottom of the pots, they will grow into the capillary mat, and that can be a mess to untangle and might possibly damage the mat. But, since you already bought it, give it a try and see how it works.

Link: Perma-Nest Trays

Humidity domes are also available for the trays; they come in handy when germinating seed in the trays.

Thanks for the detailed reply mxk3.

but downside would be that if the roots grow out of the bottom of the pots, they will grow into the capillary mat

Good observation for sure

(There is the instruction that comes with the kit suggesting one rotate trays every few days to prevent the roots from growing into your wicking mat)

in our winter zone.. when you have an 1/8 of an inch of ice.. in the inside of the window ... it might strike you that your humidity is a bit high in the house.. lol ...in the house ... i mean it was like a tropical rainforest.. lol ...

..but i had four 4 x 2 foot shelves on top of each other.. so im not sure if this little setup would have the same impact ...

in our winter zone.. when you have an 1/8 of an inch of ice.. in the inside of the window ... it might strike you that your humidity is a bit high in the hosue.. lol ...

with the caveat that i refuse clickbates and couldnt see the actual mat in your link.. but only read the words ..

anyway.. lets be honest.. we are all so into this stuff.. you are going to be looking and playing with the trays of seed multiple times a day ... so just hand water them .. lol ...

also .. once sprouted.. i used a very weak water sol fert every time i watered.. and im not sure that will transfer with wicking ... or perhaps.. just clog up the wicking material over time ...

ken

anyway.. lets be honest.. we are all so into this stuff.. you are going to be looking and playing with the trays of seed multiple times a day ... so just hand water them

Sometimes you do know what you are talking about! :)

yeah.. right .. lol ...

and if you start your seeds.. then remember you had a 2 week vacation planned.. well... thats on you ...

and if you need a little more precision on watering very tiny babes.. think turkey baster ... or even just a spray bottle that you can trigger very gently ... [actually i recall something in high school chemistry ... where you had a glass tube.. and you just put it in a beaker of whatever.. and then put your thumb over it.. and transfer the liquid ... but i dont recall the name .. just the concept ...] ....

ken

then remember you had a 2 week vacation planned

Vacation? What is this thing you call "vacation"?

or even just a spray bottle that you can trigger very gently

Yup. That is my choice for applying moisture.

For seedlings, I always water from the bottom. They're delicate, easy to disturb, and I have 850 of them. I use flats, so I just remove 1 of the sets of 6 cells from each flat and pour water into it, enough to go 3 days or so at a time (which won't drown the plants or overwater them). The whole task, including hauling water downstairs, only takes 20 minutes or so.

If you wanted to mist them as well, great! I never have, but there's sure no problem with doing so.

Later on in the season as we get closer to moving them out, it really wouldn't matter, I guess. They're large enough and have the root systems not to move or have issues with it.

"Sometimes you do know what you are talking about!"

BWAAAHAHAHA!!!

(it's all in good fun Ken :0))