Tagging Clones for identification Writing on MJ with Magic Markers

LolaGal · Oct 21, 2009

I have tried putting them in little rows, making little flags out of toothpicks and stickers, rubber bands.. nothing works too great.

I finally decided to write on the leaf of the clones with a magic marker. Will this work? Has anybody else tried this?

I don't know why I never thought of writing on the leaf, but I don't see why it won't work, and it's easy to do.

What do ya'll do when you have several strains in the same basket?

krunchbubble · Oct 21, 2009

plastic plant tags, 1000 for $10.00. you can write on them.....

medi-useA · Oct 21, 2009

plastic knives or spoons....write on the handles and slide the blade into the pot along the edge...with spoons, write on the bowl and slide the handle into the pot...
instead of writing, use colour coding...dip or paint the ends of the plastic cutlery using different colours for different stock...this way you can tell @a glance what is where without twisting ones neck sideways trying to read labels...

muA

happyherb · Oct 21, 2009

i use twist ties or string to attach things...

i use flat plastic...like ice cream containers...

cut into strips...say...6cm long x 1cm wide...put a hole in one end for string/tie...(i use the scissors tip and push through.. keep band-aids on had for ya fingers that you stab ! )

a strip with one hole pushed through it at the bottom is strain "a" (write it down)...2 holes strain "b"..ect

if the strip is only big enough for say 6 holes...i start a 2nd line of holes e.g..6 holes up one side one(then 2 ,3 ect) starting at the bottom opposite side...

now if ive got even more strains ...at the end of the tag i cut one corner off...so one corner off....1,2 ,6 holes = "?"

need more? cut both corners so its now a point...or square end with a slit in the end....(just making each one different in some way...easy to see with the eye)

need more tags? (wow you grow alot

) ...use a different colour plastic.

so i just keep notes/ diary with the list of strains and a drawn pic of the tag...

hope makes sence and helps you or others...been doing it for years and it works...when some pens rub off...sticker type tags fall off or get wet and cant be read.HH. =]-~

exploziv · Oct 21, 2009

happyherb said:
need more tags? (wow you grow alot ) ...use a different colour plastic.

Great info happyherb. :joint:

If I'd grow more than 4 x 6 strains I'd implement barcoding. :laughing:

LolaGal · Oct 21, 2009

Nobody said anything about just writing on the leaf with a marker. Much easier than making tags and stuff.

Also I use peat pellets to clone, so they are not very big, and plastic spoons are way to big to use.

Will let ya'll know how just writing on the leaf works out.

Milwaukee · Oct 21, 2009

Making a key, a piece of paper with the different strains mapped out how they're arranged is easy.

geopolitical · Oct 21, 2009

happyherb said:
i use twist ties or string to attach things...

i use flat plastic...like ice cream containers...

cut into strips...say...6cm long x 1cm wide...put a hole in one end for string/tie.

I actually do this but I use very thin copper sheeting (craft store sale ftw) with a bit of copper wire to attach it. I use the same system on garden plants. The tags last for YEARS outdoors and are nearly as cheap as plastic tags if you're making them yourself.

grow1620 · Oct 21, 2009

I've used a black sharpie to make a little mark on my stems to indicate where I've pollinated. I've also used red and blue

also I think the colored frill toothpicks would work great...the kind they use to mark steaks in restaurants. or just color your own toothpicks...

natrone23 · Oct 21, 2009

I'm don't see why this wouldn't work.

good idea

LolaGal · Oct 21, 2009

My first idea was to use a paper map on the lid of the plastic tote. This did not work, cause the tub fell, and all the clones were moved around.

I used colored stickers, but they fell off when they got wet, so that did not work.

I am glad to hear somebody has used a magic marker on a plant, and it did not rub off or kill the plant. Thanks.

I like the copper tag idea, but doubt it would work on my little clones. I don't have very big ones, ususally under 4 inches tall most of the time. I get my clones when they are young.

Thanks for ya'll's ideas.

medi-useA · Oct 21, 2009

LolaGal said:
Also I use peat pellets to clone, so they are not very big, and plastic spoons are way to big to use.

plastic keytags with labels...those cheap translucent coloured jobbies, 10 for a buck, on a piece of coathook wire with an 'O' bent on one end for the keytag... Write in pencil, it won't fade as much, and will pretty much last forever in the keytag sleeve...

If you're gonna tag the cuttings themselves...perhaps dip them in food dye?...use a pin to hold a button in the jiffypot/cube/medium?...number the buttons or colour code them...

muA

EDIT: Wax Pencil! Makeup pencil...Squid ink...paint on mascara...RAID that old makeup drawer!..clean it out!

muA

h^2 O · Oct 21, 2009

does this work/is it safe?

steppinRazor · Oct 21, 2009

you know those plastic spears for martini's,, 6 colors in a pack. 100-200 for like 3 bucks. leaves ya with 7 ways to mark strains, i dont use them jiffyplugs, just grodan rockwools but shouldnt be a prob. then jus tape a corresponding color spear to the mother pot.
way easier than magic marker i would imagine, if it doent have toxic disadvantages wouldnt the marker start to fade as you mist your clones?

LolaGal · Oct 21, 2009

We will see what happens!

biggertom · Oct 21, 2009

I'm curious about this as well LolaGal. I have learned the same lesson as you, that all the charts and 'this row is this that row is that' can become mixed up in an instant.
I thought of the martini swords too, but this ink marking has right on the plant has me intrigued.
It looks like one person other has done it without an issue. As I sit here and rack my pea brain, the only thing I can think of is you may want to be sure the pen's ink is non-toxic. I wonder if it may slightly change the process of photosynthesis.
Hmmm.............. you gots me thinkin'.

Bretonston · Oct 21, 2009

get rid of the peat puck and use 16oz plastic cups write on the cups... those peat things suck its takes to long for roots the start

LolaGal · Oct 21, 2009

biggertom said:
I'm curious about this as well LolaGal. I have learned the same lesson as you, that all the charts and 'this row is this that row is that' can become mixed up in an instant.
I thought of the martini swords too, but this ink marking has right on the plant has me intrigued.
It looks like one person other has done it without an issue. As I sit here and rack my pea brain, the only thing I can think of is you may want to be sure the pen's ink is non-toxic. I wonder if it may slightly change the process of photosynthesis.
Hmmm.............. you gots me thinkin'.

I am sure it would change the photosynthesis in the one leaf that I write on, but I don't anticipate big problems with toxicity. The leaf will come off eventually, and then the toxins will go with it.

The writitng is staying on very well, does not fade, in 48 hours anyways,. I think this is the way to go. I am using a black sharpie.

Bretonston said:
get rid of the peat puck and use 16oz plastic cups write on the cups... those peat things suck its takes to long for roots the start

16 oz cups are too big for the style and amount of clones I am doing. I like to use peat pellets. They work super great for ease of use and they are really cheap.

I usually get 98-100% rooting on my clones, usually rooted in 10 days.

I would recommend peat pellets to anybody! The best ones are those big pellets, but regular size works great too.

I usually put all the small clones inside a plastic tote, put the lid on and stick them on a shelf in veg with 24-0 lights. With all the clones in one tote, it is EZ to mix them up.

In fact, right after I had marked all this batch with magic markers, I accidentally knocked them all into one corner of the tote, by dropping it.

Well, it don't matter none, cause they all have their names wrote on the leaf! First time I did not go SHIT, now I will have to bloom em to know which is which. This time, I just sat them back up.

But like any good idea, I wonder why nobody else thought of it first. So I figure somebody has likely already tried this somewhere out there.

Bretonston · Oct 21, 2009

the size is a plus you can fit 100 clones were only 20 cups would fit...i still think cups are better

PazVerdeRadical · Oct 21, 2009

if you are going to use a marker to write on a leaf, I would try it for sure but only and only if the ink is 100% non-toxic. there are some good markers with non-toxic ink out there.

another good way to tell strains apart is by getting sets of pots/planters of different sizes and colours, so you have a colour code for strain and the same colour set for each stage of growth.

no need for tag, just write down that x strain was planted on the brown pots, and y strain in the black ones, and white ones etc...

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