Writing on those little white plastic pot stakes?

[JerryHaskins]

Every time I plant something in my raised beds, I write what it is and when I planted it on one of those little white plastic pot stakes.

I use a Magic Marker with "permanent" black ink.

A few weeks or a month or so later, the water has washed off all of the writing.

I tried a common graphite pencil, but it was too faint to read, and the surface is so slick, it was hard to write on.

Has anybody found a good (more lasting) way to write on these things?

These:

[aftermidnight]

Grease pencil, stands up well, it can easily be removed with a bit of cleanser if you want to reuse. There are a few permanent markers that work but you have to look for the ones that say waterproof and sunproof, these you find in garden centers.

Annette

[pmcgrady]

Use a permanent marker then spray a coat of clear paint/polyurethane over it and let dry. I use wooden clothes pins and clip to my tomatoe cages. The clothes pins can be recycled for next year by spraying a coat of white paint over the old lettering, and repeat. I Get 3 years out of a clothes pin usually.

[brownrexx]

I use a Sharpie marker and the markings are still there the next year. I usually write over the same ones to make the names darker again but they are still very readable.

[Labradors2]

I use pencil .

Linda

[BigVanVader]

I use china (grease) markers. Last forever it seems. Then I mark out and reuse; writing on the other side.

[oldman]

Normal sized black Sharpie works best for me.

When starting seed I use popsicle sticks from a crafts store and fine point Sharpie. A pack of 500 is around $4 and they aren't plastic. I do use the plastic for plants I give away. One's in the house garden get plastic for varieties I'm watching closely, but most just get put on "the map" which is a piece of the stuff used to line shower stalls which has the same coating they use for whiteboards. Buildings and fences and such are in permanent marker and plants are written in in dryerase markers with color coding by expected harvest date. It's not perfect, but no raised beds here so it saves bending over or having tags eaten by the mower.

And I'm going to steal the clothes pin idea ;-)

[JLJ_]

I also find Sharpie markers to last well through a season, and also find them not too difficult to at least lighten the writing enough to facilitate reuse by doing end of season cleaning soaking in a mild chlorine solution.

One reason this *might* not work as well for you as for those in some other areas is that water doesn't fall out of the sky here in the summer -- not often, at least -- and I suspect that may not be true where you live.

I do usually carry a Sharpie marker with my garden tools -- mostly to add new labels or info if needed, but I also darken any labels that I notice might be fading a little. Might work for you.

Generally, Sharpies seem to be one of the best I've tried.

[BigVanVader]

I think the heat fades more than the water. My perm sharpie tags would be almost invisible by mid-summer, no issues with the china markers. Customers were complaining about the fading so I switched.

[Salsacharley]

I just got Sharpie Industrial Super Permanent Ink markers. We'll see how well they stand up to a season. So far they are still really dark and readable.

[GrowingCoastal]

Clothes pins also help save my back. I pin them up high on the cage or string, write on both sides with a sharpie and that lasts long enough because it soaks into the wood of the pin.
I also use cut up pop cans and write hard on them 1st with a regular pen to deboss and get an imprint and then go over them with a sharpie. Those go into the pots, a fail-safe.

Both those ideas I got here at Tomatoville, Thank-you all!

[clkeiper]

Go to the contractor section of home depot or lowes and buy the red industrial sharpies by Milwaukee? . they do not fade.

or Sharpie does make an industrial black marker... it says industrial on the barrel. GardenMarker is another brand you will find in gardening departments or garden centers.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Labradors2

I use pencil .

Linda

You can still get darker softer pencil leads at some office supply places for drafting and art too.
The higher the number the darker it is all the way up to 9B.
Worth

[Hatgirl]

I write in pencil on one side and in permanent marker on the other side. They fade in different patterns so I can usually work out the name

[Hairy Moose Knuckles]

I had trouble with sharpies for the first time this year. I bought 2 different kinds and both washed off the plastic. So, I bought some craft sticks that are just oversized popcycle sticks and it doesn't seem to wash off as bad.