TerraFibre Grow Mats and blocks give you the moisture retention and root support you rely on — with no pre-soak, no mineral dust, and no disposal problem. Made in Drayton Valley from Canadian hemp.
Three reasons growers start looking for an alternative
It never goes away
Rockwool is spun from molten basalt. It can't be composted, can't be recycled, and won't break down in landfill. Every flat you use is permanent waste — and at commercial volume, a standing disposal cost with no end date.
It's uncomfortable to handle
Dry rockwool sheds fine mineral fibres. Most growers learn to wet flats before handling and to avoid working with them in an enclosed space. Manageable — but a daily annoyance that doesn't need to exist.
It needs conditioning first
Rockwool is alkaline out of the bag, typically pH 7.8 to 8.5. Before seeding, it has to soak in pH-adjusted water. That's an extra step, extra water, and extra pH-down on every single batch.
Side By Side
| Rockwool Cubes | TerraFibre Hemp Grow Mats | |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-soak and pH conditioning | Required before every batch | Not required |
| Handling precautions | Wet before handling | None — no dust |
| Harvest | Roots grip the flat; residue in the cut | Clean lift, no residue |
| End of life | Landfill only | Compost, roots and all |
| Chemical binders | Varies by brand | None |
| Formats | Fixed sizes | 10x20, 5x5, or cut from a 120ft roll |
| Manufacturing | Energy-intensive, imported | Mechanical, Drayton Valley AB |
| Water retention | Excellent | Excellent |
Why It Works
No. Rockwool arrives alkaline and has to be soaked in pH-adjusted water before you can seed it. TerraFibre mats are mechanically separated hemp fibre with no chemical treatment, so there's no conditioning step. Saturate the mat and seed it.
For anyone running a lot of trays, that removes a prep stage from every batch — and the pH-down that goes with it.
Yes. The needle-punching process interlocks the fibres mechanically rather than binding them with glue, which is what gives the mat its structure. Hemp is one of the strongest natural fibres available.
Roots anchor into the fibre as they develop, and the whole mat lifts out of the tray in one piece at harvest. Breakdown happens in compost — where moisture, microbial activity, and no living root system work together.
In most cases, yes. Our 10" x 20" mats fit standard 1020 trays, and 5" x 5" suits smaller trays and retail displays. For fodder systems or custom tray dimensions, the 10" x 120' roll cuts to whatever size you need.
They work with bottom-watering trays, stacked blackout setups, and vertical racks. If you're running something unusual, get in touch — we manufacture in-house and can often cut to spec.
Hemp fibre is a natural material rather than an inert mineral, so it isn't identical to rockwool in how it interacts with solution. In practice, growers running standard microgreens and fodder programs report no meaningful change to their routine.
If you manage EC closely in a recirculating system, trial a single tray alongside your usual setup and watch your readings before switching the operation over.
Compost them. The mat goes in whole with the root mass still in it — nothing to separate, nothing to sort, nothing to landfill.
For commercial growers this is often the largest single difference. Rockwool disposal is a recurring cost line with no end date. Hemp fibre removes it rather than reducing it.
No — and we'd rather say so plainly than have you find out on a tray.
Grow mats are a flat medium built for densely sown, short-cycle crops: microgreens, wheatgrass, fodder, and sprouts. They don't provide the rooting depth a cutting or a transplant-up seedling needs. If you're propagating cuttings, rockwool cubes or a coir plug remain the right tool.
Where mats replace rockwool is in flat and sheet applications — and that's where the disposal problem hits hardest anyway.
Commercial Growers
If you're running rockwool flats across a commercial microgreens, wheatgrass, or fodder operation, the switch is worth costing out properly — and disposal is usually where the numbers move most.
We manufacture in Drayton Valley and cut to spec. Bulk rolls, custom widths, and heavier 500 or 750gsm weights are all available on request. Tell us your tray dimensions, weekly volume, and what you're growing, and we'll come back with pricing and a recommended format.
