seeing as plastic plant labels are ugly and bad for the environment i made a set of birch plywood. untreated they last about 6 months in the ground and if i preserve them (un-environmentally friendly) then they last for up to 6 years.
any thoughts?
Wooden plant labels.
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Nice one Charlie. A worthy experiment! I find the plastic ones go brittle very quickly too.
If it's new plywood which you've bought especially for the purpose, then there are those who would argue that that is itself a very "un-green" way of doing things - Plywood takes a lot of production. Then again, if it was scrap wood which would otherwise have gone to the landfill, then good on you!
I have a small willow growing at the bottom of my plot, and I habitually prune it hard before spring. From the cuttings, I chop off a 9" long chunk of thin branch, around 1" diameter, or thinner for pots, then give it a few strokes with a plane, to exposes an area to write on with a permanent marker or pencil. They look really attractive and rustic as labels in the veg plot (I think so anyway...). Next year, a single stroke with the plane exposes new white flat wood to write on. I've no idea how long they last, but around 20 mins total work, pruning, cutting and planing, gives me enough for that season. When they get too rotten, they go on the fire in the house.
If it's new plywood which you've bought especially for the purpose, then there are those who would argue that that is itself a very "un-green" way of doing things - Plywood takes a lot of production. Then again, if it was scrap wood which would otherwise have gone to the landfill, then good on you!
I have a small willow growing at the bottom of my plot, and I habitually prune it hard before spring. From the cuttings, I chop off a 9" long chunk of thin branch, around 1" diameter, or thinner for pots, then give it a few strokes with a plane, to exposes an area to write on with a permanent marker or pencil. They look really attractive and rustic as labels in the veg plot (I think so anyway...). Next year, a single stroke with the plane exposes new white flat wood to write on. I've no idea how long they last, but around 20 mins total work, pruning, cutting and planing, gives me enough for that season. When they get too rotten, they go on the fire in the house.
I made some by ripping down a few surplus bits of treated timber in a bench saw to 1/4" thick and 18" long and put a point on the end.
They should last years being treated and as such timber is not suitable for kindling or the home fire its a good use of it.
They should last years being treated and as such timber is not suitable for kindling or the home fire its a good use of it.
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charlieart66
- KG Regular
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 10:03 pm
GaGa wrote:Nice one Charlie. A worthy experiment! I find the plastic ones go brittle very quickly too.
If it's new plywood which you've bought especially for the purpose, then there are those who would argue that that is itself a very "un-green" way of doing things - Plywood takes a lot of production. Then again, if it was scrap wood which would otherwise have gone to the landfill, then good on you!
surely if there is the choice between plastic labels and treated plywood then the plywood labels are much more environmentally friendly, the better of two evils as it were.
Hi Charlie,
plywood more environmentally friendly? Well....Yes, and No. I'm not taking sides here by the way, but here's why some people would argue that plywood isn't very "green":-
When Plywood is manufactured, even "Birch" Plywood, it usually uses other timbers for the inner (hidden) plies. This inner wood is generally low grade, cheap tropical hardwood.
This means much chopping down of tropical timber, processing it, shipping it from whichever country it lived in, then converting it to plywood. The glue and laminating process is VERY energy intensive, lots of high temperatures, lots of resinous glues and fillers in the inner plies, lots of high pressure. Then processing of boards to size, needing more energy, then transport of what is now a relatively heavy product compared to natural timber.
All these are "green" costs, it's looking at the big picture I guess.
Hope you don't think I'm lecturing you, 'cos I'm really not....Honest! Plastic isn't much better of course! And yes, you may well be correct in that the plywood is less damaging...But I bet it's a close run thing when ALL the environmental costs are taken into account for man made board or plastic.
plywood more environmentally friendly? Well....Yes, and No. I'm not taking sides here by the way, but here's why some people would argue that plywood isn't very "green":-
When Plywood is manufactured, even "Birch" Plywood, it usually uses other timbers for the inner (hidden) plies. This inner wood is generally low grade, cheap tropical hardwood.
This means much chopping down of tropical timber, processing it, shipping it from whichever country it lived in, then converting it to plywood. The glue and laminating process is VERY energy intensive, lots of high temperatures, lots of resinous glues and fillers in the inner plies, lots of high pressure. Then processing of boards to size, needing more energy, then transport of what is now a relatively heavy product compared to natural timber.
All these are "green" costs, it's looking at the big picture I guess.
Hope you don't think I'm lecturing you, 'cos I'm really not....Honest! Plastic isn't much better of course! And yes, you may well be correct in that the plywood is less damaging...But I bet it's a close run thing when ALL the environmental costs are taken into account for man made board or plastic.