Container Question

Plan on making that better, ran out of time for now.
Thank you, to all you

Just remember the phrase.....Sow them and forget them. The only thing you will need to worry about is once they have germinated and have grown abit, make sure they don't dry out. That's all there is to it. Once they are bit enough, you can plant them out in your yard.

Here's mine. I decided to cut a hole just big enough to get the dirt in and seed it, then write the info inside the little lid,then either tape or melt the lid down. This is my first time so maybe it won't work as well as some of the other ideas here☺

posy -- the thing is... when it's time to get the plants out you will have to make that hole much bigger.

UhOH! Guess it might be more work in the long run☻Back to cutting them in half again.☺

And ditch the screw on cap and throw it away.

Karen

that is why i mentioned it.

I know what I was doing towards the end, and i saw others do too, was....

cut just about everything [all the way around] with the exception being at the handle.... leave that attached as sort of a "hinge"

I wish i saved most of my images from last year... though i know i have to have it some where, as i know i posted it. I'll see if i can locate it.

found it
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=3185118

I have some like that. So I will go back to that way. You are saving me a lot of work. Mostly it's fun though☺

Marking the milk jugs - many people have complained that there permanent markers fade in the sun.

I mark my jugs with a sharpie permanent marked near the bottom of the jug - and then I make sure that side faces north :-)

Can you reuse the milk jugs year after year?. I haven't seen any posting saying you can reuse them.

Lu, I think it would all depend on the condition of your used jugs.
Here's some thoughts of things to avoid based on my situation if you want to reuse your jugs in '09:
I had cut the hinge top off of mine when the weather warmed after the last frost date. So that's one reason I'm starting this year off with new ones. Also, some of mine actually served as planters way into the summer before I ever got the chance to plant out the seedlings. Because they sat out in the heat of the summer, the plastic became brittle. I had also marked mine with a permanent marker. Had I not cut the tops off, not allowed them to sit out all summer, and not marked the name of the plant on several places on the jugs, I may could have reused them.......

I mark mine with a paint pen - NOTHING takes that off. :) You can get them at any craft store.

I didnt save them because.... 1) they were quite a mess once i got the seedlings out and i didnt want to wash them all, plus some of them were cut to get the plants out and were unusable 2) I have no where to store all those containers til the following year.

Thanks Deborah. I seem to be doing my jugs as I go along. So after your post just now, the next ones I cut, I think I will do them with a plan to try to save some from year to year. Maybe I could reuse jugs next year that are already marked if I put the same kind of seeds back in them next year and just add a new date. I am up for trying all the different ways of doing it posted here. This is saving me from jumping all around from thread to thread and reading over and over "how to". I read here and then go try another jug while the information is still fresh in my mind.

I am having the best time here☺ I am going to take a pic of all my jugs as soon as I have them all planted for ws. I hope everyone can post pics here of how theirs are doing.

I will mark some of the jugs like yours too Seandor. I'm going back through all the posts above today and try all the differrent ways posted.

LU

tcs,
good points,I am just going to save a few to see if it is worth it. It does sound like more of a bother than just starting out new each year.

Anita,
If my perm marker doesn't hold up,I will get some of those Deco, sounds as though they work great.

Thanks, LU

I mean... ya figure, if you have say.... a garage attic and you dont mind that they are still a bit dirty [you're going to refill them with soil anyways] then I would do it. Save me from having to hunt new jugs down, and if they are marked with the name of the seed you are growing every year.

for marking... i dont use the name of the plant, but i just put a number on it, say #1, #2 and so one.... then in my notebook/spreadsheet, I keep track of what is in each container. It just took a bit more time when referencing to see what was going on... but when i was checking for germination ... i'd just look for the corresponding #, and mark when it germinated ... or died. I always had my notebook with me so it's wasnt that much more of a chore.

I have a root cellar I am digging out in the basement and I think I will store them in there. It is producing what I hope will be a lifetime supply of dirt and will probably take me a lifetime to dig out anyhow. I think as I am digging down there next year, I will just fill the jugs as I go along.Wow! This could work and if I journal by #, this could be a super duper way to do, it,gee tc, this is great☺ Only thing is, a Mommy Woodchuck is living under where I excavate and she might decide the seeds are up for grabs. I will have to relocate her if she won't leave them alone☻

Paint craft pen is the way to go...by the time you notice the fading of the permanent marker...you will have several jugs of No ID seedlings... Just my little red cent from experience, so mark those jugs with the paint pens soon! ;0)

I am convinced. Paint pens are on my "go to the store list". It may seem like "little red cent" now, but will be BIG ,MEGA info when I go to try and figure out what in the world is that plant growing out of those jugs if no name is left. I shudder at the thought,it would make me ashamed to be in the ws♣☺if I was back in here trying to ID my plants.

Posy~ LOL! I was there last year..trying to ID blooms, seedlings and foliage..I learned the hard way, even though others were encouraging the paint pen! ;0)

I just hate to go to the craft store for a paint pen, I know I'll end up buying a whole lot off other treasures!

Cathy -- I found mine at WallyMart, in the craft section. I know heading to a place like Michaels or Hobby Lobby can be dangerous.

I will just get the paint pen, I will just get the paint pen, I will not look at anything else. I will,I will, I will,BAH! I know I won't☻

tc, you may have just saved me from becoming flat broke. I am leaving here shortly to try Walmart☺

yes the craft centers are dangerous, but wally world has cheese doodles and chocolate. Will someone buy me one and mail it to me? haha! Maybe I should only take enough money for the paint pen, and no charge cards.

well, even wallyworld can be dangerous... yesterday i had about 4 things on my list... things like qtips and popcorn... spent $88 !!

>>wally world has cheese doodles and chocolate.

ROFLMAO!! no doubt about it!!

Ugg..i gotta get cleaning the carpets.....

Yikes! Well, I do need some Chocolate for energy to winter sow.Yep, I can do it.......

Okay, so basically we can use anything that will hold dirt. I was up till 2:00 this morning looking for stuff I can use.
My daughter and her husband spend half their life at McDonalds and Sonic. So maybe I'll get her foam cups. I wanted to try to do all this without having to buy anything, but I know I won't be able too.

I try to use my water bottles, the liter ones, but the plastic is so hard I can't get holes in the bottome. How do you do it. Milk jusgs are easy, but these things are really hard plastic,.

I use a portable drill with a small bit and put several small holes instead of one or two large holes. Make sure you put them in the lower parts if the bottom is uneven, as in the parts that will touch the ground.

Someone recently said they used the hot tip of a glue gun (without glue). Brilliant!

last year i started saving those #2 deli containers with lids.... the 1#'s are not deep enough
and those also work well

Grumble.....grumble... I'm back from Wallyworld $66 poorer☻but,I have a Krylon Bright Green Paint Pen,fluorescent was all they carry in paint pens and they are not cheap. It was over $4 with tax. I was trying to do this without spending anything too,just using what I have,but I don't think come Spring I will regret the pen if I can really see what I write on the jugs.

It's snowing and blowing right now and the jugs I have outside planted with seeds look pretty pathetic. I am trusting the ws♣ that the seeds won't freeze to death out there☺

posy, what did you spend the other $62 for? chocolate and cheese doodles? lol

Or did you buy more SEEDS?? ;0)

I do think we should get a few years out of the paint pen. Since i'm only on my first, i'm not positive.... but you'd think so.

Did you buy any soil while you were there??

HAHAHA! Now why would garden6 think I would buy seeds, well I did look a little bit at the few seeds they have,but I admit to nothing. I believe I was lead astray by this thread once the word chocolate was mentioned..........I added the real killer word, GHIRARDELLI

Good girl! You need to have your energy up for wintersowing and marking all those containers!

TC, They tempted me so badly with these huge bags of soil,the biggest I have seen yet. They were unloading them right in front of me as I was checking out. I might take the truck back up and get a bag. I should have asked the price but I was too scared☺

Hey McGlory☺I find that to be a perfect excuse☺☺Thank You☺