Plant markers

Thanks for the update.

Old Wrangler, I just ordered a set of those Sharpie oil-based paint markers in different colors. I'm going to use them for decorating my tomato tags and also for refurbishing a sign I painted several years ago that hangs in the entry to our garden. I definitely appreciate your information!

Another update. Now the Pilot is gone and has been, The Garden Marker is also gone. The Sharpie industrial is faded to almost a shadow. But the Oil-based Paint pen looks exactly like when I put it in. It is definitely superior to everything else out there. Make sure it is oil-based and not water-based. I haven't tested that one but being water-based makes me think it will fade fast.

This test is almost a month old. Plants are 1/2 way in dirt with the writing up. They are in a cutting bed in nearly all day sun. They get watered every day with sprinkler system or like today, a good rain storm.

Another update in about a month
.

Thanks for keeping us updated. It's good info to have.

My Sharpie oil-based paint markers arrived a couple of weeks ago and I used them for my tomato tags and my sign. They were hard to get going at first, and I don't know how much paint is left in the ones I used, but they apply easily and I'm hopeful that I'll now have easily legible lettering at least all season!

Amazon links:

Sharpie Oil-Based Fine Point Paint Markers, 5 Colored Markers(37371) by Sharpie
http://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Oil-Based-Point-Markers-Colored/dp/B000GOYAPQ/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1370639199&sr=8-9&keywords=Sharpie++oil-based+++paint+pens


Sharpie Oil-Based Medium Point Paint Markers, 5 Colored Markers
http://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Oil-Based-Markers-Colored-1770458/dp/B003YDYO1Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1370639199&sr=8-3&keywords=Sharpie++oil-based+++paint+pens


Sharpie Oil-Based Opaque Paint Permanent Marker, White, extra-fine
http://www.utrechtart.com/Sharpie-Oil-Based-Opaque-Paint-Permanent-Marker--White-MP35531-i1011272.utrecht?utm_source=amazon&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=35531


Sharpie Paint Marker Extra-fine Black (oil or water-based?)
http://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Paint-Marker-Extra-fine-Black/dp/B00396ZPO8/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1370639199&sr=8-7&keywords=Sharpie++oil-based+++paint+pens

Yes, I got mine from Amazon, but I bought the larger set - 12 or 15 colors.

To get them started, shake the pen well to mix up the paint. You will hear a ball banging back and forth like in a paint spray can. Then press down hard or tap the point on a piece of paper until the paint flows. I like the extra fine point as it makes a finer line and is easier to control. The fine tip is like a felt tip marker and as it gets used the line gets thicker. It uses paint faster.

Still got my test going in the garden. As of now, the only marker that still shows up is the Sharpie oil based paint.The Pilot is completely gone, The Garden Marker and the At-A-Glance has been gone since the second week. The Sharpie Industrial is too faint to read and the Sharpie Permanent marker is just a faint shadow. In fact, I can re-use the plant tags again as they are clean.I'll leave the Paint marker for a little longer and see how it fairs. I think it is a major improvement over all the previous markers.

Thank you for being diligent in reporting your results. It's helpful.

Here's the sign I refurbished with the garden markers - so much easier than using a brush and I hope it will stay bright longer, too.

That looks very good, greenhouse. I like it. You are right that markers provide more control than brushes. I can make such a mess with the brushes.

C'ville, I can do it but it takes forever. I'm a portrait painter and I HATE lettering! So this is a real break for me.

I am trying graphite pencil for my seed starting purpose.

Some wonderful information being shared. Sorry, I had kept it pending since I posted in April.
Thanks Bonnie for showing the Jumbo craft sticks. I have to venture the shop where I bought my Coin Album 3-4 months ago. They seem to have a lot of varieties of pens, stationery etc.

greenhouse-gal, thanks for the image. Wonderful board there. Very nice!

Hope people have started to observe my new avatar.

Yes. Did you take the photo yourself? You look very happy. :)

Ha ha. Cv_G. It's a photo of me taken sometime in 1981 or so. Imitating my favourite comedian Stan Laurel. My friend had bought a box camera. He had the first roll of film and wanted to try. So there I was at his house to play a few games of Chess. He took a couple of shots of me. It was a fun moment. I still cherish this.

lol. I got a good chuckle out of that, Dinu. It does resemble Stan Laurel. I just looked at your member page and I see there is an older version of you there. ;) Good memories of times with old friends are priceless.

(-: I'll change my avatar once some of my familiar friends notice it! Of course, I love to 'nostalgiate'. I take credit for coining this new word as well.

Good one!

Would love to hear some of your suggestions how to mark perennials that will be moved when I have to reduce the width of my flowerbeds come early Fall. Pirl, didn't you tell me once about some type of metal flags that construction people use. I don't want to use my good metal plant markers. Do you recall what those orange flags are called? Didn't you see them on Home Depot website? Guess I could take a wire hangar and cut it into 6 in. pieces and make my own flags using colored duct tape. I also have Landscaping spray paint that I bought and have never used it except to mark cable lines. I've been wondering if I could start digging some of the perennials up and potting them up in large pots for easy planting later. My problem is having the space to store the pots once I've dug the plants up. I know a friend says she'll take anything I want to give away, I may not get to digging up the existing scallopped brick pavers till early Fall, so that is why I am hesitating about digging up the plants now.

Try looking under sprinkler flags. :)

I think I found them a few years ago on internet and thought I had printed off the page so will try to find that printed matter. I think I know of two places I can look.
Seems like they might have been landscaping marking flags.

Home Depot has them as sprinkler flags, used for marking the layout of a sprinkler system. Other places might call them landscaping flags as well.

Okay, the red of the Sharpie oil-based paint markers is fading a bit on my tomato tags, although it's still obviously red. The sign still looks fine.

>> how to mark perennials that will be moved

Punch a hole in a mini-blind slat or other piece of plastic.
A paper punch makes a nice clean hole.
Write the name in pencil (I like thick lead, like 0.7 mm or 0.9 mm .
Thread a string through the hole.
Tie to some visible branch where it can't fall off. (But not TOO tight!)

Rick, great idea! Have plenty of mini-blind markers already cut and I have hole punchers. Maybe I will spray with landscape spray paint(orange)because I have it, so it's quite visible. Sometimes we forget to use what we already have because we forget about it! LOL!

C_Ville gardener from Tenn. I looked on HD's website and found them under irrigation flags, just like you said. Thanks for the useful information.

Great, Pippi. They are useful little things. :)

>> Sometimes we forget to use what we already have because we forget about it! LOL!

I agree. They say that New Yorkers seldom think to visit the Statue of Liberty.

Here is my 2 month update on the various marker pens. 6 yellow plastic tags were put in a seed bed on June 15 and left in rain and sunshine, wind and watering. My dog Merlin may have even lifted his leg on them more than once....it's a territorial thing with us guys.
Any how at the end of 2 months there is only one legible tag. It is the Sharpie Oil-based Paint Marker. 2 others show a shadow of where the writing was. They were the Sharpie Industrial Permanent Marker and the Sharpie Permanent Marker. They are just barely legible while the Paint marker looks like it did at the beginning of the test.
The Pilot, the At-A-Glance and the Garden Markers failed before the end of 3 weeks.....those tags are reusable.
My oil-based Sharpie has run out of paint after nearly 300 labels. I am please with this and their price has come down from original so they are even better. Hope this helps.

A friend is coming to India in less than a week. I just mentioned her to look for these permanent markers - weather proof. I only need a couple of pens, but the sites listed a set of 10 or so. So what to do? I'll have to cancel my request.

Checked the Sharpie on the web. How long can they be stored without using? Do they dry up fast?

Dinu, the one to use is the oil-based. The water-based will not hold up as well. They are available from Hobby Lobby craft store in a 2 pack or singles. I like the Extra Fine Point as it writes more cleanly. The Fine Point is like a felt tip and writes a wider stroke. These pens come in many colors but I am only using the Black. They come sealed in plastic so they last well until the plastic is removed. Even when open, I had no trouble using it during the 2 months I tried it. I am sure someone in the US can buy it and ship to you. Global Priority is not expensive and to India takes 7-10 days. If you can't find someone let me know and I will do it. Tell me how many and I'll get a price on product and shipping cost. If you can pay through Paypal that will work for me.

OldWrangler, Thanks for the 'fine tip' on fine tips!! :) LOL. I'll try to find if my friend has got it already - she has very less time now to pack up. Will let you know. My requirement of these is not much. One or two should last for 2-3 years... then let me see.