What did you do in the garden today?

[akroberts1085]

Oh yes I almost forgot my soup/stew failed

 

[gtaus]

Anyone have a suggestion for low cost plant labels that won't fade out before the end of the summer?

I was using a Sharpie to write labels on popsicle sticks, but they wash out or fade away in no time. Are the UV "garden markers" on Amazon any better? Like these...

Another option I was considering was using my P-Touch label maker to print out labels and stick them on something. I tried one P-Touch label on a popsicle stick, but it did not adhere very well. I think it would fall off in the first rain.

I had an old vinyl blind that I cut up into many plant label sized pieces. The sharpie marker on the vinyl fades too fast. I put those plastic vinyl labels away, but I'm going to dig them out and see how well the P-Touch label adheres to the plastic.

But I am open to any low cost idea. Thanks.

 

[akroberts1085]

Dollar Tree has white plastic tags that go in the ground. They hold up very very well. I have found some from last year that laid in the ground and water and are still legible this year. I used a sharpie to mark them and I can still read them clearly.

Anyone have a suggestion for low cost plant labels that won't fade out before the end of the summer?

I was using a Sharpie to write labels on popsicle sticks, but they wash out or fade away in no time. Are the UV "garden markers" on Amazon any better? Like these...

View attachment 3650191

Another option I was considering was using my P-Touch label maker to print out labels and stick them on something. I tried one P-Touch label on a popsicle stick, but it did not adhere very well. I think it would fall off in the first rain.

I had an old vinyl blind that I cut up into many plant label sized pieces. The sharpie marker on the vinyl fades too fast. I put those plastic vinyl labels away, but I'm going to dig them out and see how well the P-Touch label adheres to the plastic.

But I am open to any low cost idea. Thanks.

 

[gtaus]

@Sally PB, I'm going to prep a raised garden bed for my EWO tomorrow. But I'm not sure of the spacing requirements. When I plant regular onions, I plant them 16 per square foot for the greens, but only 9 per square foot if I plan on harvesting eating the main bulb.

I looked online and it said the EWO should be planted 1 per square foot. That is a really big difference from the regular onions I have planted in the past. What is your recommendation for spacing of EWO when planting? Does it make a difference if you plan on eating only the greens or the whole onion?

Just want to make sure I'm giving them enough room to grow, but not more than they need.

Also, just to make sure, I think I am supposed to plant the bulbs before winter, about 2 inches deep, so they grow early in the spring next year. Some YouTube videos I watched said you cannot keep EWO bulbs very long because if they dry out, they die and will not grow.

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

 

[gtaus]

Dollar Tree has white plastic tags that go in the ground. They hold up very very well. I have found some from last year that laid in the ground and water and are still legible this year. I used a sharpie to mark them and I can still read them clearly.

I have seen those Dollar Tree plastic tags. I thought the sharpie would fade on them as fast as the popsicle sticks or the vinyl blind markers I made. Just to be clear, were your Dollar Tree plastic tags outside in the sun and rain all summer?

 

[saysfaa]

I adore the currant tomatoes. They grow wildly, produce prodigiously, I believe the Wild Foods book that they are more nutritious than larger varieties, they breed true, and volunteer easily, the miniature plants are much easier to keep in pots either as starts or all season (the vines don't stop growing so they get really long; the miniature is the leaves, stems, ...). I like the pop of flavor and the look when I add a handful of whole ones to a dish (fresh or frozen), they freeze very well, can well, the seeds are so small they don't need to be seeded. Not that I seed the large tomatoes either, most of the time, but the larger seeds can detract.

There is only one downside. The time consumption once they are ready to pick.

I spend four hours picking clusters since it was obvious I didn't have time to pick individual tomatoes. Then about 26 hours separating the tomatoes from the vines/clusters. It could have gone a bit faster if I didn't also divide the ripe, half ripe, and green. Or if I were less obsessive - like willing to let more of the smallest one go or let more good ones go if they were mixed with bad ones. Then about five hours cleaning them, getting the last of the stems off, sorting bad ones out.

So four pretty long days. To get about 14 quarts that are ready to do something with. I'm planning to put the ripe ones and almost ripe ones in the freezer. I might can some of them later. I'm planning to try green tomato relish and a green tomato pie with the green ones. I'm not sure about the half ripe ones. I could let them ripen, or try them in a recipe that is sometimes for green tomatoes and sometimes for ripe tomatoes - like salsa.

I knew all the stages took a long time but it wasn't nearly so obvious when doing a quart or two at a time. This is the third year, so I'm past the steepest part of the learning curve - I think.

In many ways, it isn't worth it. But the same could be said for most of gardening.

I plan to plant more currant tomatoes next year.

Oh, for what it is worth. This is from the third picking of one plant. The first picking, I got all the ripe tomatoes, picked individually so the tomatoes/flowers lower in the cluster could keep developing. The second picking, I took what I had time to get - much, much less than half of them - also picked individually.

The other plant is a week or so behind. The volunteers are beginning to produce.

 

[saysfaa]

Also this weekend, I watered. Dh watered and weeded.

And I:
picked the butternut squash, the squashes are curing in the garage, the vines are in the burn barrel.

Picked the last of the beans from all plantings except the last one. And took the bushes out.

Harvested broccoli, peppers, peas, zucchini, and radishes.

Made a plan with dh for the rest of the harvest. And maybe transplanting some the strawberry daughter plants.

 

[saysfaa]

Anyone have a suggestion for low cost plant labels that won't fade out before the end of the summer?
...
But I am open to any low cost idea. Thanks.

I had the same problem. Next year, I plan to try aluminum foil. The indentations will be harder to read but can be traced with a marker and retraced as needed.

Marks-A-Lot markers are much better than sharpie. They don't last all season either, though. At least, not on wood. I tried that on wooden popsicle sticks this year.

I'll experiment with how much protection a single layer (or how many layers) will need to keep from ripping. I think simply wrapping a popsicle stick will be enough.

Or, I might try paint or stain on the Popsicle sticks. Or larger wooden stakes if I come across some.

 

[CNJ]

Oh yes I almost forgot my soup/stew failed

I also failed, but I used small test batches, so I can try something different tomorrow.

 

[Acre4Me]

But I am open to any low cost idea. Thanks.

We’ve used paint markers (oil based) with good success -they don’t fade, but can get scratched up. Of course the medium you use (popsicle stick, or other) will impact that. Paint markers take a few min to dry, so I usually have my list to make and do them in one session for those markers.

We’ve used blue painters tape to quickly mark tomato and pepper cages using black sharpie - this held up last year and this year better than expected. The marker fades but can still make it out. So next year I may try some tan masking tape with sharpie to see if that any better.


We’ve cut up yogurt and cottage cheese containers to use as white markers- nice aspect is that it’s cheap but, also bc the markers are slightly curved, so we write on the inside curve and it’s easier to read, and can be slightly protected from the sun.