plant label ideas?

This is a photo of my plant markers for my herb garden.  I made them when I was doing pottery and they are mounted on a galvanized heavy wire.  These ones are more than 5 years old and have stayed outside in the winters for that time as well.  I did have the bottom of one marker rust and break, but now it is just a shorter marker.

I also made some for my tomato plants so I know the different varieties.

Tami 

in my gardens I have found that paint pens seem to last longer and are more easily read than the pencils, etc..but i'd love to find some that write in a more fine point, most of the ones I've used have quite a wide point on them..

I find the zinc markers do last quite a while, the venitian blinds didn't last so long, the plastic cut up containers last a little longer, ever try painting on rocks or secitons of slate?

I also like tin labels but they might possibly be a little sharp edged and could cut you if they get knocked down and lost among the garden plants

dont forget stamped spoons. I got the letter stamps from harbor freight for about $4 and you can stamp all sorts of neat things with em.

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/antique-spoon-plant-markers

If you have a wood burning kit, get a box of Dr's tongue depressors (about $6-8 per hundred).  Nice project for when you're snowed in, or internet is down for the evening.

Another way (even cheaper) is to cut up your used soda/beer cans.  Fold them over, and seal sharp edges.  That old ballpoint pen that no longer writes is perfect for "engraving" plant names onto them.  The ones with metal (not plastic) refills are best.

This site has some interesting ideas for plant labels - 20 Creative And Stunning DIY Garden Markers And Labels

Here's one of them.

I try to keep up on the goings on at Kinship Urban Farm in New Port Richey, FL.
Here's an example of their signs.

paul wheaton wrote:As for a page or more:  I've had success with getting some plastic buckets for free (with lids) and putting stuff inside the buckets.  A sort of log.  I would prefer being able to keep a page in view, so if you stop by, you can look at the message without having to fish it out of the bucket.  But that solution seems to elude me so far.

Going all the way back to Paul's 2009 original post, well, I grew up in gold mining country in Alaska. The era of "staking your claim" was recently ended when I was a kid, but there were 100 years of staked gold claims all over the territory. A properly staked gold claim has blazed edges, marked corner posts, and documentation affixed to one corner post about the person making the claim. The traditional solution to keeping that documentation legible and "out of the weather" was to put the paper records in a screw-top jar, like a baby food jar or an Avoset (olde-tyme liquid non-dairy creamer) jar. Then bailing wire the jar to the post. I think if you used a wide-mouthed quart canning jar, you could get most of a page of larger print quite easily legible through the glass of the jar. Or scale up and put your whole manifesto on a paper wrapped around the inside of a gallon pickle jar?

The best way I have found to keep track of a plant collection is through assigning an accession number to everything you plant. This how botanical gardens keep track of extensive living collections. That way, all you need on the actual plant is the accession number; your software holds all the other data regarding that plant, and as has been pointed out can be looked at from a smartphone or tablet in the field. BG-BASE software, developed by Kew Gardens in the UK, is the international standard, but most any spreadsheet-type program can be adapted for the types of information you might want.

As to the tags, there are many small hand-held embossing tools that use rolls of stainless steel tape. These last for many years.

I use canning jar lids written/engraved into with a ball point pen and then also sharpie over that for legibility from a distance. The lids are just steel inside, so won't last forever, but are plated on one side and coated with an acid-proof plastic or enamel on the other. A nail is used to punch a hole for wire.

Obviously, what was written above about embossed stainless steel is the way to go if its very serious, but this works for me to know what variety of garlic I planted where the next summer.

I tried old venetian blinds and sharpie it does not work! Old plastic packaging is even worse and fades in a matter of weeks.
Double is better the map or simply write diary style.
I like the woodburning idea, however a lot of work if you want to include the latin name.

Angelika Maier wrote:I tried old venetian blinds and sharpie it does not work!

It does fade in less than the 9 month growing season I'm dealing with.  I tend to use long pieces and write on them four times, once on each side of each end.  The two writings below the soil last much longer than the writings above, and the redundancy makes it easier to rewrite the tags after writing is getting faint but not yet completely gone.  

Someone on here recently suggested using an old-fashioned grease pencil instead of a sharpie.  I'm trying that this year and it appears much more durable, but I have many months yet to go.

Sorry if anybody else already mentioned them:

Utility flags

Go to a work gear/PPE store buy bulk utility flags.

They are color coded for electric/telecom/gas/sewer etc.


But you don't have to adhere to those codes in your garden.
Get blanks label them with a sharpie.


I bought orange ones, but they were Chinese so they went to shit real fast. That's all they had.

I recently bought some welding soapstone to use for teaching kids about medieval runes, and had some left over. I realized these would make great, non-rotting, durable, non-polluting plant ID sticks!

I bought mine here on amazon. Beware, many soapstone pencils are very different sizes, and the sales page can be deceptive. One set that I ordered came half the size that it said. The sizing was correct in metric, but not in inches. You can also pick these up at most hardware stores, too, from what I understand.

For fun (and because they're naturally easy to carve in), you can carve the plant ID in runes.

This says, 'Pearl's Walking Onions. I wanted to always remember she gifted me these!'

Of course, runes can be a bit hard to decipher, especially if you're in a hurry. So you can carve the plant name in whatever written alphabet you want. Or, for more fun, write in runes on one side, and your alphabet on the other. These stones can last centuries, so who knows, you might confuse help some future archeologist in translating between runes and your alphabet!

I paint old PVC pipe and write the names in construction black sharpie. They have weathered through the winter and summer well so far. I cut them about 16 in long to stake in the ground.

I save used canning jar lids and paint them a bright color so they are easy to see and read. I write the names with a construction black sharpie. I punch a hole in it and tie them with wire.

Casey Halone wrote:I have seen mini blinds cut up to give you lots of tags that stick right in the ground. i have some broken sets i am planing on using for this.

Yup, been there, done that! In fact I just cut a 32" wide Venetian blind into 3 sections, pulled the string out, trashed the hardware, and "presto" I have Garden Markers!!
To make the Sharpie info on those last longer, I type out those names in large bold text then using the 2" packing tape I tape the names lengthwise onto the vinyl strips. IF you allow enough tape at the top and fold it over that helps with the moisture problem too!

Of course, if you want permanent markers, you could always buy a CNC System and CARVE the info onto wooden stakes. That would only last a couple of years unless you heavily spray a clear coat over the stake. Any thing you put into the ground will eventually (meaning soon) rot. This stakes really do stand out though. I spray paint around the text and then sand the flat surface bare again and then clear coat them.

One year I collected fallen branches about thumb diameter, cut them to size, whittled down a flat area near the top, and used permanent sharpie to write labels.  The sticks lasted fine, but the sharpie had faded by the end of the year.  (Plus it tended to soak into the wood and "fuzz out" the letters.)  We're in the middle of a move right now so I don't have any around to take a picture of.

If you used a paint pen instead of the sharpie, and/or carved the letters into a bigger stick, this idea should work better.  Although, being sticks, they are not as permanent as plastic or some metals.  But they are free and abundant!  Maybe not the best idea for folks with dogs though... 😁

I use sticks, take photos, use a dedicated email to send the photo to myself, add a subject (common name) and a description to the email, such as which saved seeds they are, year, etc., or additional attached photos of seed packet) and it is time stamped simply in sending it so I know when they were sewn.
I can easily find the email by common name, add a reply to add updated photos and comments.
If I am going to write a label anyway, I will use whatever is handy, written with indelible laundry marker which endures rain, or waxed pencil / garage sale quality eyeliner (which I keep with my art supplies), but rarely label these days because the emails are sufficient in keeping things organized, and I am the only one maintaining the garden.

Get a PEA BB for making metal plant labels, or see how other made theirs:

This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEA curriculum. Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Metalworking.

In this Badge Bit you will make 6 pop can plant labels.  These are a way to make semi-permanent labels for your plants.

https://permies.com/wiki/168925/Pop-plant-labels-PEA-BB
 

I use the miniblinds with a UV resistant marker (mine is called "garden marker").  I find pencil too light and hard to read from a distance.  I use the miniblind markers for pots of plants that sell within a year or two.  For garden plants I use 4X5" steel garden markers with an 18" stake.  I print laminated cards for the label that fit in the steel holder.  They last about 10 years and then the cards need replacing.  I just use them for plants that are unusual or rare and it is great when people tour the garden and can read the history and other information about the plant.  I usually put where the plant is from, date it was planted, Zone, and other unusual features like color, Height, Deer resistance, and uses.
I don't use plastic label holders because I destroy them when I weed whack...

Brenda Groth wrote:i bought zinc labels from wayside garden in the spring, i got several packages and they are going to be enough to last me a very long time..they are permanent..they come with a oil based pencil but i bought a paint marker..

they are a long double looped wire with two holes in the labels that slide down the wires..

go to  www.waysidegardens.com

That is very cool! Thank you!
Now to find something to mark them that won’t fade! Sharpies are out, even black ones. They fade.

Embossing would be great. Especially if it could be melted over a bit when I need to change the info!

Really like soda cans cut into 3/4" strips for my plant markers.  Tried the 'embossed' method using ball point pen to emboss the name.  Great for longevity, not so great for being able to read it from standing height.  Now I use a grease pencil/china marker/wax pencil.  Lasts many seasons....I'm on 5 or 6 years? without fading.  Score!  Since I tend to plant the same things year after year, I save the plant markers and use them again and again.  I keep them stored in a 6pack starter tray.  Alliums, Greens, Brassicas, Herbs, Peas & Beans, Peppers & Eggplant...you get the idea.  I can write the specific variety on each marker and find it again next year.

carla murphy wrote:Really like soda cans cut into 3/4" strips for my plant markers.  Tried the 'embossed' method using ball point pen to emboss the name.  Great for longevity, not so great for being able to read it from standing height.  Now I use a grease pencil/china marker/wax pencil.  Lasts many seasons....I'm on 5 or 6 years? without fading.  Score!  Since I tend to plant the same things year after year, I save the plant markers and use them again and again.  I keep them stored in a 6pack starter tray.  Alliums, Greens, Brassicas, Herbs, Peas & Beans, Peppers & Eggplant...you get the idea.  I can write the specific variety on each marker and find it again next year.

Really?! Does the regular China marker (any color?) last through both heavy rains and high heat?

tuffy monteverdi wrote:
Really?! Does the regular China marker (any color?) last through both heavy rains and high heat?

Ay yup!  Altho I've only tried black.  We get some rain...not torrential much... and up to 110 in the summer...uggh...  

And I mis-remembered my measurements....I use 1/2" wide strips for my starter trays and 1" wide strips to go into the garden.  I flip up the bottom on one side to create the point to make it easier to insert into starter cells or soil.  End of season, I drop them into a tray of water to soak a bit, then wipe them clean and store for next year.

We have been doing a lot more with cut up pop cans.  We have also added in some thick aluminum wire to be the "stake".