[SnooziSuzi]

Many years ago we used to use what were called "Chinagraph" pencils for marking on plastic sleeves when picking stock.  They were wax based and the ticks and crosses never budged until they were removed with an oily substance,  I would guess that something like WD40 would work.  I don't know if they are still available but I'm positive they wouldn't come off in the rain.

Yes, good suggestion.  I'll try that

[oldgrunge]

Like MOS, I use cheap plastic labels and a pencil, this lasts as long as I need it, I clean them with a bit of wire wool. For bigger labels outside, I use waste bits of timber with white emulsion, again written on in pencil.

[snow white]

I use the cheap wooden lolly sticks from that well known £1 specialist.   I also use pencil on them.  When I tried plastic labels and black marker pen, by the end of the season the label was unreadable and  the weathering meant I had to chuck the label away.  When my wooden lolly sticks are used I just add them to the woodchip path between my raised beds.  Pencil seems to last the longest.

[lettice]

I just use the cheapo white labels and write with a pencil, they get cleaned off and used again for a few years before the plastic gets brittle.

I do that too, the HB pencil stays on all season too and as you say so easy to wipe off at end of season.
They last about three years until some eventually become brittle.
Do chop them up into small pieces and scatter on the paths.

[SnooziSuzi]

I bought some of those china marking pencils.

I specifically went for ones that were advertised as 'fine point' because I could foresee not being able to use the ones that had a fat point. 

I paid extra for some Sharpie ones (£13 as opposed to £4) because of this but the ones that arrived had a 44mm (that's just under half a centimeter or 1/4 of an inch in old money) point which is impossible to write neatly on a label.

I'm going to have to find some wider labels or upcycle some horizontal blinds to get some use out of them.

[madcat]

I chop up old big yogurt (500ml) or cream pots into nice neat labels for a permanent marker. Then I can ditch them (usually onto the hearth so an extra use of the oil) at the end of the season with a clear conscience.

[Growster...]

I always infuriate Mrs Growster by cutting up a half-gallon milk bottle - taking just a three-inch slice around the waist, which then gives me a foot long strip of very resilient plastic...

She then gets even crosser as I carefully cut the stuff into three inch x halfinch pieces then make a point on one end of each piece.

She is then incandescent with rage as I mutter something about saving all this money for about twenty-five labels...

She then throws the Sharpie at me, which I can catch quite easily as I played full-back for many years!

On a good day, I can also get a few more labels from the off-cuts, but have to remember to keep my hand on the scissors all the time, as the fury sometimes bubbles over into a murderous threat...

(The labels last for years, and can be seen on most sections of The Patch and also the garden at home)!

[Dev]

Morning Growster. That's exactly what I do, although I do it in the greenhouse to avoid any consternation. I even have my own scissors there (how daring!). And you're right about finding them all over the plot - usually when raking.

[al78]

Magnum sticks and a pencil seems to work for me. It has the advantage that I have to eat quite a few Magnums to get a good supply of labels, which I am not complaining about  .

[Dantheman]

I use a labelling machine, plastic not paper, all good for the following year.

What labelling machine do you have please?

[Batesy]

First year with a plot for me, and I have been using the white plastic labels from the pound shop and a pencil (that came with them). If I have any issues then I will try something else next year. I like the idea of using lolly sticks and pencil, and then chucking them with the woodchip when no longer useful.

[madcat]

I always infuriate Mrs Growster by cutting up a half-gallon milk bottle....

Shock horror gasp!  How can you??     Milk cartons are reserved as netting weights.  Can't be cutting them up  ... and mixer/squash bottles are reserved for the tops of canes, CDs and crisp packets as pigeon scarers (not that they seem to be scared), plastic cups from the vending machine as plant pots, mushroom trays to support the loo roll inners...  Upcycling we call it ...

[Goosegirl]

The usual plant labels always get lost somewhere in the soil or blow away so I've just found a white marker pen that's weather-resistant and am going to find some slim 12" laths or similar, write on them and bang them in place.

[Growster...]

...am going to find some slim 12" laths or similar, write on them and bang them in place.

Be ye very careful, Goosy, you'll get the law after you..;0)