Friday, February 19, 2010

Recycling Project


Tomato babies and proof I do laundry

There are over 100 tomato seedlings on top of my dryer under my grow light sewing light. I put paper labels on each container of seedlings and covered those with tape to keep out the moisture. Obviously, I cannot do that when the time comes to pot each little plant in individual containers.

Every year, I struggle to label my seedlings. Popsicle stick markers fade and wax pencil markings smudge. I cannot afford am unwilling to pay for those fancy metal markers. As I was putting away dishes this morning, I realized I have saved a lot of cottage cheese containers. Instead of throwing some of them in the recycle bin to make cabinet space, I took a few and cut them into strips leaving one pointy end. I marked the names of my tomato varieties on them with permanent marker and stuck them in the plants. Instant, free plant labels.

Your Welcome.
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7 comments:

  1. BeccaFebruary 19, 2010 at 10:33 AM

    very nice. we picked up LOTS of window blind from the side of the road and now I use the slats for markers. They are actually easy to get down to size (simply bend and break where you want) I love them!

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  2. Meadowview ThymesFebruary 19, 2010 at 4:17 PM

    Good idea. I used those stick things that come in caramels (we buy tons of caramels at work in fall) I used a permanent marker and marked all my bulbs, and the cold, wet winter weather totally destroyed them. Arghhhh!

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  3. GingerFebruary 19, 2010 at 4:50 PM

    Smart idea! Wow, what are you going to do with 100 tomato plants?!

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  4. lisaFebruary 20, 2010 at 1:04 AM

    Fantastic idea! I re-use all of the plastic tags that come with annuals too, and save my fancy metal ones for perennials outdoors. I bet the thicker plastic from the containers will hold up better than my re-used ones as well.

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  5. lisaFebruary 20, 2010 at 1:06 AM

    Your plants look great, BTW!

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  6. Monica the Garden FaerieFebruary 20, 2010 at 7:30 AM

    I only winter sow and I found the permanent marker whereas off the cottage cheese plastic due to the high moisture of winter-won containers. Try pencil on cut-to-size old miniblinds (vinyl or metal). Will not come off. I also make my own impressionable tags by taping foil tape over the top of the mini-blind tags and writing with a ballpoint marker. W00t! P.S. Tomato seedlings soooo cute!

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  7. our friend BenFebruary 20, 2010 at 11:50 AM

    I save my store tags and reuse as appropriate, too, Debbi. (It's amazing how many there are.) But I've heard the miniblind markers recommended many times. (Never seen any on roadsides up this way, though.) Good luck with the cottage cheese container markers. Let us know how they hold up!

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