2025 Little Easy Bean Network - Growers Of The Future Will Be Glad We Saved

[heirloomgal]

sharpie ink? doesn't that come off with rubbing alcohol?

i don't like extra stuff in the gardens to have to work around so i do all my plantings in rows and then try to space them so i can tell by looking at them as to where i've planted what. the other thing is that any extra stuff runs the risk of being moved, lost, buried (i have gremlins here...).

so far i've not had to resort to measurements and triangulation but if needed i could also do that.

Nope. I had bought a set of markers at Home Depot that were probably for marking lumber and other industrial uses so the chemical formula for removal that typically works, like acetone, are not working. This really is my fault as I wanted tags that would last. And now I'm in an episode of Fantasy Island.

 

[heirloomgal]

Fresh Sharpie ink comes off well with rubbing alcohol. Once it sits for a few months or even a year, not so well.

I usually have a crude map and/or notes of my garden as stakes have a way of getting moved especially with a little helper in the garden. I can't tell you how many times I've bought plants at the garden center only to find out they weren't the variety I was expecting. That's why I started writing variety names on the pots themselves as I don't have to worry about stakes getting switched around.

I have noticed that if I make a writing mistake on a tag even with a powerful marker, it will come off right away pretty easily. So I think your totally right that time has worked against me. That was my first thought when I realized how impervious these tags were to cleaning - oh no I waited too long!

I've had the same experience with purchased pepper and tomato plants. So much so that I don't buy them if they aren't freshly trucked in because I know the tags will have been mixed. One greenhouse operator got smart to this problem and instead of sliding the tag inside the edge of the pot he is actually stapling them to the outside with some kind of gadget.

 

[heirloomgal]

Post #9, 760 for today. I got the Brother label machine ordered and 40 metres of ribbon!

 

[Decoy1]

Post #9, 760 for today. I got the Brother label machine ordered and 40 metres of ribbon!

I hope that really works for you as a long term solution.

 

[flowerbug]

Not a fun task, Heirloomgal. Tags are an important piece of the gardening puzzle. I've tried multiple methods and found myself frustrated as well. So far my recycled slats of aluminum blinds, cut to size, are functioning well for at least a couple of seasons. After trying multiple pens including expensive 'garden markers' I have settled on labeling with graphite, aka pencil. At the end of the season the aluminum tags are washed, dried, and then the old writing is erased with a white eraser. So far so good-- and cost free.

i was thinking aluminum and black grease pencil type writing. if that pencil grease has graphite in it that would not fade in the sun. grease markers can wipe off. just trying to think of ways of doing this that don't involve more plastic bits or extra gadgets.

 

[ruralmamma]

When I participate in seed trials the pre-printed stakes are usually included. I've found if I have the writing facing towards the north, there's a better chance of it not fading before the trial is over. Of course I usually have a map and pictures of the planting area to refer to also.

 

[flowerbug]

i didn't think i had this much to do, but i'm going back through all my bulk beans i harvested last fall and making sure they'e checked out before i put them in their jars for longer term storage. so far i've found at least a few lbs of Purple Dove beans that i thought were already gone through pretty well and for some reason they aren't.

this past fall and winter were surely a time of distractions and being taken away from what i really wanted to do and now again i'm in the middle of even more distractions that can't be ignored - i'm not getting done much at all what i really want to do.

yet i also have to admit that i do like seeing all these beans yet another time.

 

[heirloomgal]

i was thinking aluminum and black grease pencil type writing. if that pencil grease has graphite in it that would not fade in the sun. grease markers can wipe off. just trying to think of ways of doing this that don't involve more plastic bits or extra gadgets.

The grease pencil is probably a good idea for being able to remove when needed. It's the smaller type tags that I'm trying to avoid at this point. They work great in the beginning of the season, when plants are small, and then they disappear under foliage. With all the different types of tags I've tried, I've found the best is these large 1 foot long ones, that sit up high off the ground. Not even the pole bean/tomato foliage will cover them if placed far enough out and the large tags are easily readable from standing height. That is a very important quality to me, and there are no 'where's the tag' riddles. The bigger labels are never going to be the most economical route, but given that I love to grow a large number of varieties, those good tags are pretty central to what I do. So I splurge on them.

 

[heirloomgal]