DIY Simple Plant Markers

As I started collecting more and more plants, I realized that my brain may not be able to hold all the identification information I was forcing into it. To prevent my forgetting what plant was where, I would have to mark them. I was going to buy plant markers but realized that I could easily make some from supplies I already had. (Plus, the ones I envisioned were cuter in their rustic simplicity than the mass produced markers I found for sale.)

DIY plant marker made from a waiawi branch

Simple is the right word. It's almost rediculous to post a "tutorial" for these, but since our busy lives don't always allow room for thoughts of the obvious I thought this worth posting.

Once you have a dried branch of waiawi (strawberry guava) or other overly abundant wood ( I usually use a diameter of about 1/2 inch),  takes about a minute to make a few of these. All you need to start is a dried stick and a clippers.

basic materials: stick and clippers

Using the clippers, cut the wood into pieces that seem to be the right length. I make mine about 8 inches long, but I don't bother measuring. I generally use straight pieces, but a little curve at the top end won't hurt, and even can look cute.

shaved marker sticks

Next, shave off an inch to 1.5 inch of bark at the top end to expose some lighter wood. I hold the clippers open and use the top blade to do this, but you could also use a pocket knife or any professional whittling tools you may have.

labels added with a permanent marker

At this point, I used to wait a few days to make sure the inner wood was dry, but now I skip that step and immediately write the labels with a permanent pen - a micron pigma type works great. I briefly entertained the idea of using a soldering iron to burn in the labels, but that just didn't fit in to my need for immediate gratification. I bet it would look cool, though, so if you do that please send pix.

These have held up well for me, even in this wet climate. And none have grown into happy waiawi trees in the middle of the garden, so all is good. Best of all, my brain needs to keep track of fewer things.

PotMaker: a clever, low tech gadget

As soon as I came across the PotMaker, I knew I needed one. This two-piece wooden toy helps the eco-conscious gardener roll small pots out of newspaper. The pots are quite small, but they are big enough to start seeds. An added advantage is you can transplant the entire pot, since the newspaper will soften and degrade in moist soil.

Perhaps the main attractor for me was that the newspaper pots are much cuter than the boring plastic pots.

bean seedling in a PotMaker pot

Making pots with the PotMaker is definitely craft-time of the Third Grade variety. In other words, it feels completely satisfying. The easy directions are clearly stated on the box. First, the newspaper needs to be measured and cut. While the length of the newspaper can vary from 10 inches or more, the width of 3.5 inches should be adhered to. I was quite pleased to come up with an adaptation to the basic protocol. I started adding an extra flap that can be tucked in the pot at the end to keep the end from unraveling out.

pots from the PotMaker

At first, striving too hard for perfect pots, I rolled the newspaper strips too tightly on the wood dowel. The newspaper should be wrapped loosely or it will take some effort to pull it off.

This would be a great project for kids. If I had one, I'd certainly keep him or her busy making me cute, re-purposed, DIY, biodegradable seed pots.

I love how many more of these newspaper pots fit in my seed germination area than of the larger, plastic pots I was using. I have noticed that they do dry out more quickly, so best to check moisture more often. That's no problem for me, since I love to moon over my seedlings.

All in all, a satisfying project and a good product.