[sarah1983jane]

Hi All,
I am looking for a cheap and easy way of making some markers for my allotment.
My first thoughts were to get some aquamarine plywood cut into squares, paint it with blackboard paint, attach a stick/post and put these in the ground then use liquid chalk on them... worries are, marine ply, board markers and paints are not cheap - I dont have any DIY tools so would need to ask hubby to do it for me - could take a month and I am not sure if the chalk would withstand the rain.
Another thought was find some slate and use same liquid chalk markers or even some smooth river stones....
I need about 20 markers

Any ideas?
Cheap and easy to make
I want to avoid fiddly little bits of plastic if possible as I dont want them to blow away and me be forever trying to pick them off other peoples areas.
Any ideas would be gratefully received.
Thanks

[Lardman]

I have a number of short (18") lengths of tilting lath with numbers painted on, the key is in the greenhouse and on the PC.

I used little plastic markers one year - Im still finding bits of them now. 

[eli]

hiya :-)
keep an eye out whilst you're out and about for bits of wood in skips and bins and what not. write on them with pens you have around the house.
voila, free markers!
you definitely don't need to spend money on paints and wood and allsorts, unless you WANT to of course :-)
regards, eli

[bigben]

Got any bricks on your allotment? Give them a scub and paint them with masonary paint then put numbers on them. As Lardman suggest you could use them as part of a key system with a chart/ spreadsheet at home. If you have lots of different coloured paint leftovers you could even use the colour as the key.

[BabbyAnn]

What about using wooden posts - I cut a length of wood from a pallet and used a thick permanent marker pen to write the plot number on, then hammered the post in the ground.  The ink is fading slightly after a couple of years but no big deal writing over it again.

[RichardA]

scrap plastic guttering or plastic pipe and then use permanaent marker pen. Can sand off or wipe off with paint brush cleaner or nail polish remover etc.
I use canes with plastic plant labels taped to them for tall markers amongst potato rows etc but just use larger size plastic row labels usually.
They clean for reuse OK
R

[Goosegirl]

How about using empty plastic milk bottles - you can cut the lengthwise and use a permanent marker pen on them. If you need taller ones, I like Richard A's idea of tying them to canes.

[Babstreefern]

I use bamboo canes which I split at the top and place a bit of plastic and use a black marker pen, and then shove into the ground (you can even have your own sizes).  Can be used year after year, and you always have bamboo canes about the plot anyway.  Its called recyclable

[sarah1983jane]

love all the ideas guys.
I knew you would have loads of ideas!

I called by my mums house before and she has wood in every size and shape possible (she has a wood burning fire so people give her bags off offcuts of wood) so I going to experiment tomorrow with paints/markers/plastic bottles / plastic pipes / pens etc and see what works.
I think I just like the idea of pretty plant markers, in my head I had some kind of art work like a menu board at a restaurant - nice in theory but going to take too long and be too expensive to make.

Oh I thought of another idea I may try, black plastic plant pots, use white paint / chalk pens on them (probably to use as an index system) then can put a plant in the pot, something that grows like a little bush. if I still feel an artistic urge I could go arty on my index board.

Thanks for the ideas

[Coach]

Liquid chalk is not suitable for outside work!

[sarah1983jane]

Just returned from B&Q - I couldnt resist checking out marker making material.
Its going to be far too expensive to make fancy markers and as Lardman just pointed out liquid markers are no good.
New plan - make markers without spending any money!

[Lardman]

Just returned from B&Q - I couldnt resist checking out marker making material.
and as Lardman just pointed out liquid markers are no good.

You mean Coach ... Twasn't my officer 

[digalotty]

I use bamboo canes which I split at the top and place a bit of plastic and use a black marker pen, and then shove into the ground (you can even have your own sizes).  Can be used year after year, and you always have bamboo canes about the plot anyway.  Its called recyclable

i like this idea and will start to label my plot just like this 

[sarah1983jane]

apologies to Lardman and Coach, **note to self...pay more attention***

[mumofstig]

but make sure you write the note with a waterproof marker