| Author | Content |
adinamiti
Bucuresti
Romania
March 12, 2009
02:28 AM Post #6255032
| Jill, another great article ! Your ideas for labeling are great, I'll have to do that too in the garden.
Adina |
DonShirer
Westbrook, CT
(Zone 6a)
March 12, 2009
06:54 AM Post #6255208
| I agree that regular Sharpie pens don't work for wintersown containers, but this year I tried using industrial Sharpies on the INSIDE of the container (old milk bottles) and it seems to be working fine.
Even using pencil, I don't seem to be able to write enough on a plant label, so now I am using just one name plus a reference number (which I record in a notebook with all pertinent growing info). |
LLMac
Mountain Grove, MO
March 12, 2009
07:59 AM Post #6255316
| Thanks for a great and timely article! I found out the hard way about "permanent" markers on plastic last year. |
critterologist
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6b)
March 12, 2009
08:28 AM Post #6255393
| I'm glad you found useful information in the article! Thanks for reading & responding. :-)
Don, I've been using industrial Sharpie marker for a couple of years now, and it holds up fine even on the outside of containers. Reference numbers or some way to keep track of additional information is a great idea! I've just started using my DG journal, and I'm wondering why I waited so long... it's easier to find information again there than by paging through a notebook! |
sallyg
Anne Arundel Co., MD
(Zone 7a)
March 12, 2009
08:55 AM Post #6255477
| Excellent topic handled very well! Kudos. |
critterologist
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6b)
March 12, 2009
09:09 AM Post #6255516
| Thanks, Sally! What method are you currently using? |
sallyg
Anne Arundel Co., MD
(Zone 7a)
March 12, 2009
10:08 AM Post #6255719
| Hmm...I have milk jugs with bad (kind of old dried up ) Sharpie, I must go over with new.
I have miniblind labels, mostly in pencil. As you say, pencil isn't really bold, but lasts pretty well. Eventually those mini blind ones get mildewy at times. (Wow, Red Sharpie fades in a week outside, seriously bad. ). Those silver Sharpies work well on anything medium to dark like nursery pots. I even kept the cut up flats that I got transplants from you in, in the garden two years later, crumpled but the lettering is there.
I sure 'try' to stick a label in, or label the pot itself. Sometimes plant something outside and leave the labeled pot sitting there with a rock in it until I eventually make a label...or not.
I have taken heavy white plastic mulch bags and made strips to tie on bushes, but regular sharpie didn't last especially well on them.
Then there's me on Monday, fooling around in the garden, moved a bush and the spot it came from now has an UNlabeled mini blind marker stuck there and I have no earthly idea why or what I could have put there, or not! |
critterologist
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6b)
March 12, 2009
10:09 AM Post #6255727
| Thanks for sharing what you're doing!
Hmm, maybe that unmarked tag is to let you know there's an "open" spot just waiting for something to be planted in place of the bush? I do that... |
Shirley1md
Ellicott City, MD
(Zone 7a)
March 12, 2009
02:09 PM Post #6256894
| Excellent article, Jill! I agree with all the points you raised in your article. Labeling and having it still legible after 1 full year can be challenging and it effects all people who garden outdoors in one way or another.
In the past I've used mini blinds, but eventually the writing faded due to weather conditions. I've tried both a Deco permanent marker & a pencil. The writing did fade a bit, but before it totally vanished, I re-wrote the label.
I've used the metal markers that are available through DG Co-ops with good success. However, they too needed to be re-written after a couple of years and re-staked in the garden. Due to my dog running around the yard, the metal markers have come out of the ground. I just try to be conscienous about re-marking and making sure they're firmly "planted" in the ground.
Another good habit to get into is marking both the front and back of the label with the name of the plant, where or who it's from & the date. If one side fades, hopefully you can still read the other side.
|
critterologist
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6b)
March 12, 2009
02:11 PM Post #6256900
| Good point! I've been trying to mark the back side of my metal markers in pencil... seems to stay forever! |
Gitagal
Baltimore, MD
(Zone 7a)
March 12, 2009
02:56 PM Post #6257106
| I have heard that the Craft Stores (Michaels--AC Moore) sell pens with acrylic paint in them.
I have never bought one--but it seems that it would also be very permanent.
Great article--Jill! Many "newbies" will benefit--for sure...
Gita |
critterologist
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6b)
March 12, 2009
03:01 PM Post #6257125
| I'm not sure acrylic paint is what you want... seems to me a water based paint wouldn't be as permanent as an oil based one (craft stores should carry both types of paint pens).
I'm glad you liked the article! |
georgiagarden3
Arlington, GA
(Zone 8a)
March 12, 2009
03:42 PM Post #6257269
| Great article!
May I add one more label that I find works great in our hot summer sun?
I found these great fun to make and I left them all thru summer, I went out to be sure they are still doing good and they are STILL in great shape... http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/820015/ |
critterologist
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6b)
March 12, 2009
04:20 PM Post #6257415
| Shrinky Dink labels! What a nifty idea. It looks like you shrunk them and then used a paint pen... I wonder how they'd do if you lettered them before shrinking? |
Gitagal
Baltimore, MD
(Zone 7a)
March 12, 2009
05:38 PM Post #6257757
| Jill--
Acrylic paint is NOT oil based paint...I guess you are NOT a craft person????
It is water based--BUT--permanent once it dries...Cleans up with water before it dries,,,
Gita |
critterologist
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6b)
March 12, 2009
05:42 PM Post #6257773
| Gita, I AM a craft person, we're just miscommunicating. :-) :-) :-) :-)
To rephrase what I said above... acrylic paint, being water based rather than oil based, might not be as permanent outside as oil based... at least, on other threads about labeling, the oil based paint pens have been recommended, NOT the acrylic ones.
I've used acrylic paints for painting outdoor stuff from pots to rocks, but I've always sealed it afterward so it would withstand weathering. |
georgiagarden3
Arlington, GA
(Zone 8a)
March 12, 2009
06:31 PM Post #6257953
| I use the paint pen first, write or draw my information, then in the oven they go.. |
aspenhill
Leesburg, VA
(Zone 7a)
March 12, 2009
08:42 PM Post #6258621
| Jill, I recently was looking at a thread about a company that prints weather proof labels and claims that they hold up without fading. For the life of me, I can't refind that thread (can't even remember what forum I was in), so I googled plant markers and one of the hits looked familiar. I think it was garden fonts http://www.gardenfonts.com/. I'm wondering how it compares in quality to the method you mentioned in your article for laser printing labels.
If I REALLY want to splurge for special areas, check this out: http://www.plaquemaker.com/Garden_Markers.html?gclid=CPn0_vj... :-) Terri |
DaylilyDiva219
Falls Church, VA
(Zone 7a)
March 12, 2009
08:42 PM Post #6258623
| GREAT article, as always, Jill. You've really explained all the options, and their pros and cons, very well.
I think I'm going to keep my eyes open for a EON co-op - I think that's what I need for my daylilies - right now, it's the little white plastic marker "cemetery" out back. LOL.
Thanks for all the info...Barb |
DaylilyDiva219
Falls Church, VA
(Zone 7a)
March 12, 2009
08:48 PM Post #6258651
| Wow - Terri, that gardenfonts.com site really looks interesting - I haven't checked their prices yet, however! It'll be really interesting to see if anyone has had any experience with their product.
|
critterologist
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6b)
March 12, 2009
09:07 PM Post #6258740
| Wow, those engraved labels would *never* fade!
I'm not sure there's a lot of difference between the gardenfonts labels and the laser labels I've been using (we'll see how mine are doing in another 5 years LOL)... it might be more convenient to have them do the labels if you don't have a laser printer, however. |
DaylilyDiva219
Falls Church, VA
(Zone 7a)
March 12, 2009
09:26 PM Post #6258868
| Jill,
I think a lot of people on the Dayliles Forum swear by the EON labels with the Avery laser labels applied. I do have a laser printer, so this is going onto my ever-growing "List of Things I Must Do"! ;->
|
elsie
Lafayette, NJ
(Zone 6a)
March 12, 2009
09:29 PM Post #6258888
| Jill, great article. Lots of great ideas from you and everyone. |
critterologist
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6b)
March 12, 2009
10:17 PM Post #6259121
| Thanks! I've picked up so many great tips here on DG; it seemed good to try to compile them. :-) |
russelltdog
Kenner, LA
(Zone 9a)
March 16, 2009
10:39 AM Post #6274935
| I see people recommending the INDUSTRIAL Sharpie to label plants. I use plastic miniblinds cut into appropriately sized labels. I have used the INDUSTRIAL Sharpie, and it fades just like the rest of the markers. In the last 10 years, I have not found any marker that survives UV light-except aluminum markers with engraved lettering. I live in the deep South (New Orleans, LA area) so outside plant labels are subject to intense heat, intense sunlight. water, high humidity, and hurricanes (LOL). I think to best way to label plants in my area is to use a Sharpie on mini blind material, and bury one label in the pot and place one label on the surface of the pot. If I really need the information on the label, then I go to the label buried in the pot. |
DaylilyDiva219
Falls Church, VA
(Zone 7a)
March 16, 2009
11:37 AM Post #6275209
| My long-time next door neighbor was a horticulturalist by trade, and had worked at almost every national park you can mention, plus managed our local park here before he retired. As you might imagine, I learned a LOT from this dear man.
One of the things was when using plastic markers, that oddly enough, pencil worked the best in terms of lasting a long time. It erased easily so you could re-use a marker, but never faded or wore off. One year I did an experiment when I added some daylilies - on one side of the white plastic tag, I labeled them in pencil, and on the other, I used a Sharpie. The writing with the Sharpie was gone by the following year - totally undecipherable, while the pencil information was still there and legible.
I hope to eventually move up to the EON/Avery label combination, but for now, white plastic and a pencil (just a regular #2) work surprisingly well.
Unless the blasted squirrels (or raccoons?) pull the labels UP... Now that's another problem! LOL. |
PrincetonCarl
Princeton, NJ
March 16, 2009
02:22 PM Post #6276059
| Hmmm, I must be missing something in the description of laser printed labels stuck to zinc garden markers (but then I am pretty dense). All the Avery labels I've seen are simply paper with adhesive on the back; surely the paper must weather quite speedily. Do they really last two years with nothing (plastic, cellophane, clear nail polish, etc) between them and the weather?
I've got a laser printer and would love to try this labeling method out.
|
elsie
Lafayette, NJ
(Zone 6a)
March 16, 2009
06:54 PM Post #6277175
| I have found that writing on the back of the label so it is in the shade makes the ink last longer. Also if you write on the bottom that goes in the soil it will last longer. I bought some craft outdoor clear sealer. I used a paint pen to write on the mini blind, then coated it with the sealer. That seemed to do the trick. That is until they vanish. I think they either get stepped on and vanish or the flying groundhogs hide them. :) |
critterologist
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6b)
March 16, 2009
08:23 PM Post #6277664
| Russell, I'm sorry the industrial sharpies don't hold up for you... they do surprisingly well for me, even in my very sunny garden, but MD sun is probably no match for LA sun. I'd suggest trying the Avery labels...
And I'm not talking about paper labels. Avery makes a CLEAR laser label that's like clear sticky tape when you peel it from its backing.
LOL Elsie -- I think I have flying groundhogs, too. |
OneToughCookie
Baltimore, MD
March 17, 2009
09:13 PM Post #6282634
| Thanks - This has given me a lot to think about. After some major house remodeling, we started relandscaping last year (and replanting the stuff I managed to save before the digging began). At the time I replanted things I wondered how people kept track once all those little goodies were buried in the ground - draw a picture? Duh!
Since I have a laser printer, I'll be off to the office supply store in the a.m.
Thanks again! |
critterologist
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6b)
March 18, 2009
12:26 PM Post #6285229
| I hope the Avery labels will work well for you, too! Good luck with your relandscaping... you'll have to post photos on the MidAtlantic forum... :-) |
