I'm getting my starting pots ready. I usually plant four tomatoes/peppers/eggplant/etc. to a pot/cottage cheese carton/ deli container/etc. Later, I separate them into containers made from large soda bottles ( a nickle each,I guess, since I lose the deposit, but they work well). The main problem is finding labels that don't disappear. Writing on the pot with marker is only good for two or three seasons before I run out of writing space.I find that masking tape usually sticks, but last year I used red pen on some of them and the writing washed away, so I had mystery tomatoes. I usually use whatever pen is handy, but now, having learned the hard way, I'd like to know: what brand or style of pen do you use for labeling? Is there a better type of tape? I tried duct tape once, but its hard to write on, won't hold ink and is murder to remove.I also don't like to put those icecream stick type labels in the pots. I find them annoying.Thanks for your help.!

I cut plastic markers angling down to a point from large plastic soft drink glasses. I stick them right in the desired pots & later into the individual 2 liter bottles. Black permanent sharpies show up fine on the white plastic. You get several out of one cup. I cut them while winter was on us & had them ready to mark with the information for each plantling. You can make them as wide at the top as you need. I also punched a hole in the top. When I was ready to plant them outside, I tied the marker through the hole to the cage around the particular vegi. Sometimes I would have to look a bit to find the marker but being long & white, it was usually easy to find.

Venetian blinds are what I use. I pull them out of trash on the side of the road, cut them into appropriate sizes and then write in pencil The pencil doesn't fade or wash off, but can be erased if needed.

For a permenant plant tag I cut the top and bottom of a coke can, cut up the side and fold it in half. Then I use a needle nosed pair of pliers to roll the cut edges under and use a stylus to imprint the name of the plant on it. You can either mount this to a wire to wrap around a branch, or you can put it on a stick.

Hmmm, pencil. Why didn't I think of that? We use pencil in the lab to mark labels. I have about a zillion "venetian blind " labels but I use them outside. Somehow, indoors, they disappear from the pots. Probably the phantom label snatcher (or one of the kittys).

I use plastic venetian blinds cut into markers of various sizes and width then label with a pencil. The sun will not fade the pencil markings and the plastic stays pliable for many years.

Peace

this year i finally found a system that i like. i cut good old address labels in half or so to make two narrow, long strips. wrap it around a toothpick such that it sticks to itself, making a little flag. then write on your flag (i use the fine point sharpie or ball point, whichever is laying near by) and pop it in the pot!

cheap, easy, doesn't get wet/soggy, and its kinda fun having little flags everywhere!

-adam-

okay it sounds like you cannot use tags because someone is moving them.

I have used duct tape and black sharpies to mark flats of seeds and have several trays with 5+ year old duct tape still attached to plastic trays that is highly readable.

Sharpies, IMO are the best permanent marker there is. Used them a lot for IDing archaology samples in the field.

Thanks. I just lucked out and found a sharpie in the junk drawer (sometimes I think they're all junk drawers).

Help! any of you really organized people want to come ID and label the pan of little green sprouts I have? I know I put several things in there, was in a hurry and stressed out and forgot to label things!

Usuallywhen I'm actually thinking, I use the old mini blind labels too. I have lots and lots of them, but I guess you gotta actually get out that marker and then poke them in the pot before they do any good. Sigh, groan. Well, at least there are only about a dozen little pots of mystery plants.

We do the V. Blinds too. They work great. I even use them to mark the rows in the garden. The Sharpies work real good as they don't wash away with the rain or fade in the sun. I even keep them for next year if I plant the same type seed again.


Feather

Who else but a gardener is yelling "Yippie Skippie" when their window blinds go belly up??!!! "Alright! Free plant markers!!" That's what I use too!!

I like the venetian blind idea. Since I hate venetian blinds, though, I don't have any in the house.

I also like the plastic drink cup idea. I think I'll use that one.

For labelling, I use a Sharpie (and I have to hide it from the kids). This year, I planted my seeds in McDonald's apple juice cups, sour cream containers, disposed-of-but-salvaged coffee cups... So I just labelled the cups themselves. They can't go in our blue box, so if they're badly beaten up by the time I put the seedlings in the ground, I just toss them in the garbage, or use them to cover the drainage hole in a clay pot. I am secure in the knowledge that my supply will be replenished over the year.

In the garden, though, I don't usually label anything. I draw a rough map, and fill in my plant names on paper. There are people who remove labels, after all, and creatures who take popsicle sticks for their own domestic purposes (who probably yell: "Yippee Skippie! Free wood! No chewing necessary!").

Last year, I used the sticky label "flag" method for my seed pucks, and the popsicle stick method. Sharpie ink will fade from popsicle sticks out of doors.