Permanent Marker . . Ha!

[CalicoFarm]

I saw somewhere online where someone took sticks/small branches about a foot long and about the thickness of a finger and whittled down a 3-4" section at the top until they had a smooth surface. They then used a wood burning tool and wrote the name of the plant on it. I will try to find it and post the link later.

 

[digitS']

I use aluminum foil. I just fold it over several times about an inch wide and cut it so that it looks like sticks of gum. Using a ball point pen, I write down the type of tomato. It will write on the foil, but you know that the ink will wear off. What matters is the indention it makes.

I poke a hole in the end and hang them off the cages or plants themselves with a twist tie. They last for years!

I saw somewhere online where someone took sticks/small branches about a foot long and about the thickness of a finger and whittled down a 3-4" section at the top until they had a smooth surface. They then used a wood burning tool and wrote the name of the plant on it. I will try to find it and post the link later.

We are getting good, practical, and artistic ideas here on this tread . . .

Welcome to TEG !

Steve

 

[simple life]

Good ideas!
I got tired of the whole thing too.
I bought some pretty flat copper hanging tags online for all the trees and vines.
You just write with a regular pen on them to engrave them.
The pen doesn't show up but it leaves a decent engraving.
They came with wire to hang them too.
Those were well worth it to me, they look nice and they aren't going anywhere.

For the vegetable gardens I painted some pretty stones with the names of all the vegetables that I grow and place them in front of the beds.
I got some nice large, flat, smooth stones at the beach last summer in all colors and bought some exterior craft paint.

I don't need to keep track of varieties in the beds because I keep that in my notes so usually the stones are basic.
I save all the empty seed packets of the things I planted until the season is over and I can take notes.

So mostly its just carrots, broccoli etc. some may have a small design, but if I need to add a variety or change a name its no big deal since rocks are free and paint is cheap and I could paint another stone.
This I may do because I planted a few different types of garlic last fall as a test of what will do well in my area.
After I pick a couple of keepers they will get their own stone, I hope they appreciate it.

The ones I painted last year and left out in the garden all winter look as good as the day I painted them.
No sign of wear, you can lay them flat or stand them up in the soil, they look like a natural part of the garden and they can't blow away.
It works for me and its something I can do with the kids too.

 

[insiderart]

We have chick "grave markers" (don't ask) that are made from round river rock and paint pen. Seems to be holding up great so far. Cheap and easy.

I think they would make great plant markers too.

 

[ducks4you]

I've been marking my inside plants with a stack of wooden ice cream spoons that I had laying around. Wonder if you wrote on them, then water sealed them? I had just intended to throw these on my burn pile when I was finished with them.

 

[elf]

DecoColor paint markers (from Michael's) on chunks of venetian blinds last about forever, but if you freerange chickens, good luck finding them. I've used these pens to decorate birdhouses and earthenware flowerpots also, and it's still there 5-10 years later.

 

[seedcorn]

"Oh sure, I used to drive a stake in the ground and "dangle" a seed envelope on it."

To make seed envelopes "permanent", layer them between two pieces of clear contact paper. It's easy to do a bunch of these at a time, and then cut them apart into individual packets again. What I do is: lay out a strip of contact paper, sticky side up ( a little bit bigger than the seed packets) . Then put the seed packets, face side down, onto the contact paper. Put whatever you are using as a "post" (plastic plant label, popsicle stick, etc) onto the back of the seed packet, so that the top of the post is an inch or so below the top of the seed envelope, and the bottom of the post is long enough to place in the ground and still have enough sticking up above ground so that the seed packet is high enough to see without laying on your soil! Now place another strip of contact paper, sticky side down, onto the row of seed packets and posts. Firmly press the contact paper around whatever you are using as the posts, as well as onto the seed packets. Cut the row of seed packets apart, and there you go.

I use the contact paper that has one-inch grid marks on the backing paper, so it is really easy to make these to a uniform size. They look pretty sharp in the garden.

really like this idea.