I’ll be the first to admit that I do a poor job of tracking what I put in the ground. I’m a bit like Johnny Appleseed in that regard. I’ve been gardening long enough that I recognize most seedlings as they pop up, but still. I could be a bit more organized, so I decided to make some DIY garden markers. (Making these plant markers is a great garden project to tackle during the off-season!)
DIY Clay pot garden markers
These fun little garden markers are super easy to make and a fun addition to the garden, too! What I like about these is that they’ll last for years. Plus, they’re inexpensive. Small clay pots are just a buck or two, but they’re often readily available at garage sales.
To make these clay garden markers, simply write the crop name (and variety, if you like) directly on the clay. I used a metallic Sharpie marker, but you can use any color you like. You could also use a paint pen, too. Just be sure the clay pot is clean and dry before starting this project.
Related: Plant perennial vegetables to harvest for years
Related: Winter Gardening Tips: 50+ Projects to Tackle in the Off-Season
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Wine cork DIY garden markers
I’m from the school of “use what you have” and well, I had wine corks and chopsticks. It took me five minutes to make several markers. Trust me. You can handle this.
You’ll need
- Corks
- Chopsticks or wooden skewers or straight sticks
- An ice pick or large nail
- A permanent marker
Instructions
Carefully push an ice pick or nail about 1″ into the flat end of the cork. Insert the chopstick into the pilot hole you’ve created. Use the permanent marker to write the names of your favorite herbs and vegetables on the side of the cork. That’s it. Could making plant markers get any easier?
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More DIY garden markers to make
- Brick herb markers
- Chalkboard paint garden markers
- Clothespin vegetable markers
- Recycled can lid markers
- Twig plant markers
- Plant and herb markers from broken terra cotta
- Wine bottle markers
- Juice can garden markers with bling
- Upcycled canning lid plant markers
- Stamped spoon DIY plant markers
- Scrabble tile garden markers
- Chalkboard style pebble plant markers
- Wooden spoon markers
- Recycled plant markers from mini-blinds
Related: The easiest veggies to grow in your garden
Image used with permission.
Paint stir sticks work really well. And even if they have dried paint on the. Best if it’s light coloured paint.
Great idea and better than throwing them away 🙂
+ 1 idea, use your old plastic yoghurt/icecream/butter, or the dreaded non recyclable tetrapak containers, cut them into stripes and write on them with a sharpie. You can use this also for small, single plants in a pot to add the Latin name.
Another one you can add to your list is plastic forks. I buy them like at a Dollar store, use a marker to write the name of the seed on it and push the tines into the soil. Easy Peasy!
I wonder if there’s a way to utilize this idea without contributing to the plastic problem? Thrift store utensils/Sharpie markers?
Save the plasticware that comes with a fast-food purchase… but then I would never have enough to mark my garden rows.
I made some cute row markers with scrap wood left over after a project (that was made with larger pieces of scrap wood, lol).
I made the cork makers, loved them, but so did the squires. Within 2 weeks they were gone. I did find some scattered throughout my 5 acres. LOL! I guess they like a good thing. Not sure what they thought they would do with them.
1. That typo – squires – is hilarious. I was picturing knights in armor in your garden. 2. We don’t have squirrels here so this is news to me. Thanks for the alert!