Label Ideas

[Gardeneer]

For me tags are only good up until some point. I already know most of (up to 70%)my plants/ varieties ( Total of 45) without looking at the labels. They don't even have flowers yet . Once they start fruiting I will know 100% of them without looking at the labels. So durability is not a concern for me. I also have a chart , what I have planted in each bed. That is also aback up just in case. EG. I have DETS in one bed, darks in one bed, reds in one bed, misc. in one bed...
Gardeneer

[Lindalana]

The tricks with blinds is to tie it up to the top of the cage. It does not loose coloring for most of the season. I also make detailed map of the garden as well as a back up

[AlittleSalt]

I thought I lost one of my backup maps today. I looked throughout the hard drive on this PC for Excel and Word Documents. Emptied the box that Worth sent seeds to me in, looked through pages of handwritten notes...It wasn't there! And then I found the handwritten page on my clipboard 2 feet behind me.

Have you ever felt like these two emoticons at the same time? I did, and then I went out and wrote the names of the plants on painted white 1x2 stakes and put them in place.

[clkeiper]

I also have a poster paint pen I picked up off a clearance rack somewhere... it does a great job being "permanent". once it is dry you have to scratch it off to remove it. I use it in the high tunnels to write on the ground cover what is in each row (last years labeling was still legible). I wrote on the stakes above the foliage) in my potted (all for sale) tomato plants yesterday to label them for easier id for my customers.

[Chapinz8]

I don't have as many tomatoes as most of you. I diagram my raised beds garden on an Excel spreadsheet with the name of each tomato. I then have the sheet laminated and post it on the garden gate. Always handy and I never lose it.

[clkeiper]

My husband needed markers at Lowes last week and I always wondered what kind he used because the writing always was legible, never faded. I never thought about it much before this, though.... he uses Milwaukee brand INKZALL markers. They will write on anything and never fades. I see markings on pipes, materials and tools that never rub off. they even have a hardhat clip incase you are wearing yours in the garden.

[Urbanheirlooms]

Originally Posted by berryman

I have quite a few trees that I have grafted and it pays to have a more permanent method of making tags.
My multistep process is to go buy a 12 pack of cheap beer in cans, and while drinking the beer, using scissors or tin snips, cut up the empties into the tags shown below. Use a blunt nail or a scribe to "write" on the label and it's good for at least 10 years. I have also wrapped them around the trellis on a bigger plant.
I have a big pot full of blanks in the greenhouse to use when convenient.

I like it!!!!

Multi tasking at its best. You can accomplish so many things at one time using this method. First, you can enjoy drinking few cold ones. Second, you can recycle. Third, you have what I believe to be the best way of labeling your plants which will last for a long time.

I tried laminated sheets and index cards, but the water did penetrate them and they faded out. Fortunately, I had mapped my garden using Autocad. I think I will definitely drink a few this weekend and make new labels for my 40 varieties. Lets see, I guess you can get maybe 5-6 labels per can divided by 40 = 8. 12 pack will do it!

I use a china marker (it's like a waxy type pencil) for writing on the inside rim of buckets, it hasn't faded or wiped away at all. I also made some tags I have been really pleased with so far - I used a dried up ballpoint pen to engrave the names on aluminum ducting tape and put them on plastic strips cut from milk jugs.