What did you do in the garden today?

[jerryse]

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.

Try paint pens. Find them in the craft area.

 

[jerryse]

Yesterday was sunny and 82. Tired and achy as I did a lot outside.

 

[Sally PB]

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

I gave up on markers. For my tomatoes this year, I did this: make a map of what is in the garden on the computer, and print it out. Then I take a picture of map with my phone so that I always have it.

The problem with that is: map made, stuff in garden. Late frost takes out a bunch of stuff, here and there. Replant with purchased plants that are NOT the same variety. I had to redo the map, and instead of having all the Ace 55 in a row, I had some Supersteak interspersed. Yeah, it got confusing.

With raised beds, I try to have it laid out in sections. In the bean bed, the west end is Dragon Tongue, the east is a purple bean. Once they start growing, it's easy to tell which is which, as the purple beans have a purple cast to the leaves.

I don't know if this would help, but how about coating the sharpie marked marker with clear nail polish, or polyurethane?

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?

Yes, 1 per sf is about right. The first year, it may look a little sparse, but my EWO bed is jammed full, and has been since the second year.

This is from summer 2022. My 3rd (?) year with EWOs.

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.

Yes. You can plant them now, if you're close to frost. They need to be in the ground before it freezes. They get roots started, "get used to their home," so to speak. 2-3" deep, and then cover the bed with 3" of mulch. I did that the first year, and when they started to sprout in the spring, I pulled the mulch (compacted by the snow over winter) away from the leaves poking up.

Our late freeze last May wilted the leaves that were up, but everything bounced back just fine.

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

Instead of thinking of it as failure, think of it as learning a way that didn't work. Adjust, adapt, retry.

 

[littledog]

Do any of you know if it’s okay to use the pumpkin if it still has a little bit of green inside near the skin?

I process pumpkins like I do butternut or other winter squashes - cut in half, scoop out the seeds, rub with oil inside and out, place skin side up on cookie sheet for 1.25 to 1.5 hours depending on the size, at 375-400 degrees.
When you take it out of the oven, the skin is blistered so you're supposed to be able to peel it off easily and process the rest. When my pumpkins or squashes are not quite ripe all the way out to the skin, the skin doesn't peel off as easily, it takes the non-ripe layer with it when you peel, so you're left with the good parts.
It's easier when your squashes are at ripe perfection, but when they're not (most of the time in my case) this method

Isn't purslane edible?

Yes! It grows as a weed here, and I add it to my salads - supposed to be healthy, and it tastes kind of lemony, or a bit like cilantro.

 

[Dadanga]

Hearing about currant tomatoes makes me want to try some out myself. Are they like the tiny toms? Amazing to think of a tomato even smaller than the cherry varieties. Today I finished getting mulch to all give garden beds and the small square bed in the chicken run (gotta build some sort of mesh platform so they can eat the greens that come out but leave the roots.) Back is a bit meh; need to start working out more.

Tomorrow I'll be finally getting the seedlings out. I shudder to think of the big heirloom tomatoes and all the pests that might come with it but I've gotta try them at least once. The idea of a toastie with heirlooms sound good. Bought a new watergun at bunnings. The chunkiness attracted me and I haven't seen the orbit brand around...maybe for fitness gear LOL. Thinking about using leafy greens as borders/ground cover in most of the beds. Basically fill in the blank spots. The kratky peppers continue to do well with the caysan variety being the tallest.

 

[jerryse]

Had mushroom in my omelet. DW will only eat button mushrooms and morels. So she passed on my mushrooms.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I've used regular Sharpie on the tags. Then I cover it with clear tape.
Some got left outside all winter and I picked them up in the spring and I could read them clearly.

 

[saysfaa]

Hearing about currant tomatoes makes me want to try some out myself. Are they like the tiny toms? Amazing to think of a tomato even smaller than the cherry varieties....

I've never grown tiny toms or tiny tims. I found descriptions of tiny tims; they sound quite different.

Current tomatoes grow as big as a cm, 3 grams. Many are smaller. This seems to be about half as big as the tinies. Also, the vines are finer, longer, lankier in the currents. And far, far, far more numerous but that might be because the pictures I could find of the tinies are pruned - I couldn't tell how much they are pruned - maybe also young.

Tiny Tim

Currant

The fruit grows under the mass of leaves and vines, and less sparce than the above picture shows. More like the picture of a hand holding them (not my hand - the picture is from a search).

The first year, I tried picking them from the top and sides - through the mass of vines and leaves. It works better to lift the whole mass up like a curtain or skirt. Then the fruit pretty much hangs free and clear of most of the mass of greens.

 

[gtaus]

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

I watched a YouTube video where the guy said his best method was to spay the wood 2-3X, with polyurethane spay then write the name of the plant on the stick using a #2 pencil, then giving that another spray 2X. According to him, there is some kind of chemical bond between the polyurethane spray and the pencil lead which preserves it much longer than any marker he has ever used.

Problem is that a can of exterior polyurethane spray is about $15.00 at Menards. Considering the number of plant labels I want to make, those would be very expensive markers for the garden.

As far as wooden stakes, I am thinking of using paint stir sticks which you can get at the big box store paint departments for free. I just picked up 3 free paint sticks yesterday at Menards. They have advertising on one side, but the other side is bare for plant labeling. Those paint sticks should be easy to cut down to any size you want for your garden. Having said that, I don't expect my sharpie marker ink would last any longer on the paint stick wood than the popsicle sticks I used.

That's why I am still looking at getting a UV garden pen marker or using my P-Touch labels on the wood. I really don't care, just want something that won't fade away before harvest time

 

[gtaus]

I've used regular Sharpie on the tags. Then I cover it with clear tape.
Some got left outside all winter and I picked them up in the spring and I could read them clearly.

Did you use regular packing tape? I have rolls of that wide packing tape I could use.