Easy & Cheap Labels-

18 years ago

I've been growing many seedlings.. And many of my plants are blooming. I've been cross polinating in an attempt to create some hybrids. It's been fairly easy so far, but things have begun to get a bit complicated.. I'm having trouble remembering who I polinated with who..

Yesterday while in the post office I was hit with an idea.. So I grabbed a couple "Extremely Urgent" envelopes.

They're made of Tyvek- It's like slippery paper, but impossible to tear, and takes "laundry pen" type ink quite well.

I took some "twist ties" I'd bought in bulk- A whole roll was a couple bucks in the garden section, and stapeled short lengths to some strips of tyvek. NOw I can write the polinator on the tag, and wrap it around the flower stem. 'Cource it can still fall off, but I've a better chance now.

For seedling labels I picked up a couple feet of 24" aluminum flashing (aluminum won't oxidize & harm the plant, galvanized might) at the hardware store- It's rather thin & can be cut with scissors. It also takes "laundry pen" type ink rather well, or you can use a nail to scratch in the name(s).

So after having spent under $5, with a little time & some scissors, I now have a couple hundred tags & labels. Here's some I made while having morning coffee:

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Comments (8)

flicker
18 years ago
Kudos!I, too, am always on the lookout for cheape tags. Let us know if the ink washes off of the tyvek.
Krstofer
Original Author
18 years ago
It won't if you use a "sharpie" or one of those laundry pens-
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elmtree
18 years ago
It's just as easy and no cost to cut strips from pop cans and write with a ball point pen on a semi-hard surface.
tdogmom
18 years ago
Great ideas! :) You can probably punch a hole using a hole punch, tooÂinstead of stapling. Craft stores sell smaller-diameter hole punches.
alex_z7
18 years ago
I took a cheap shower curtain liner from the dollar store and cut out strips like the wrap-around tags you can wrap around a plant trunk, branch, etc. I cut a small notch in one end so I can tie it.

I have been using a paint pen. It doesn't fade in the sun and doesn't run.
grittymitts
18 years ago
Good ideas!!!!
tiresunltd
18 years ago
when I was in art school, shim stock (thin alunimum strips to make molds), were to kill for. We used old alunimum cans cut into strips. two years later later someone was working in a print shop and started bringing in the alunimum sheets they used for dies. Can't remember what they were called or if they are still being used. nice 10x14 sheets. you might check around and see if they are still in use, I think they just through them away.
cincinnata
18 years ago
Krstofer, I note you are making the labels for your cross-pollenation experiments. I used to have the same problem remembering what I had done to what, and writing labels is fine when there are only a few but a drag when you have to do a lot. I use colour coded embroidery threads (the fast dye sort so they dont loose colour). Each plant has a colour (the hanks are labelled!) but then as I pollenate all I have to do is tie a piece of the corresponding thread to the flower. If it falls, no great loss, if seed sets the thread is there til the fruit falls and I know what the pollenator was by the colour of the thread. Equally where I have plants close that have similar fruits I can put two threads on the flower - one for the flower and the other for the pollenator. That said, I still have a lot of fruit forming that has been open pollenated and I have no idea who the 'father' is!!