How about cutting them into plant tags and sticking them in the soil to identify plant?

Yes, they make wonderful plant tags.

I use cast-off vinyl mini blind slats to make re-usable plant tage for my winter sowing (see winter sowing forum). I cut small tags from the slats and cut small strips of plumbers foil tape and attach. Use an old ink pen to write/indent the name of plant, this way they can't fade over the years. They last several years with just a wipe in the fall with damp rag. This will be the 5th year I will use them in the milk jugs I winter sow in. I use them when I plant out too if it's a new plant. I imagine you could use your left over slats the same way. Another good use for a cast off item people set out in their trash!

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April

I saw a great idea on DIY's website. They cut the miniblinds into strips and then made chandeliers from them. check it out here: http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cr_lamps_shades/article/0,2025,DIY_13764_5000835,00.html

I use mine for plant tage.
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April,

Your idea is brilliant! After three years (or is this my fourth?) of winter seed sowing, I have never found a method of labeling that works 100% of the time. I love, love, love the idea of plumber's tape over the mini-blind tags and then indent-writing on that!

I've tried writing on them with Sharpies and pencils, covering them w/ duct tape and writing on that, and even covering the writing with clear packaging tape (inside the containers). All of these methods worked sometimes, but not always, and in no predictable manner.

I've always loved the idea of those impressionable plant tags, but they're expensive and the stakes are often way too tall to fit in WSing containers. So I'm eager to try your method--and still have lots of containers to sow!

Monica

Grease pencils/china markers don't wash off the blinds, even thru our summer storms.

Square Foot Gardeners use them to make grids in their square foot boxes. Mel Bartholomew, in his book, "All New Square Foot Gardening"writes "lay out the strips. Trim the ends with a pair of scissors so they fit your box, drill holes at the half and quarter points, and attach them together with some sort of screw, nail, or snap-fastener... (page 62). These are attractive, permanent, and well worth the effort.

Thanks for the great ideas!

These are 4" wide blind scraps-am not considering slicing them. Have all the individual labels I'll ever need. By the way, mini-blinds made before a certain date had some toxic chemicals and Goodwill does not accept them. Newer blinds are ok near food crops.

Am still planning a lath bed cover and also plan to let the grandchildren have a family art fair using the blinds as the canvas this summer.

For fruit trees, shrubs, other woody plants, I sometimes use the aluminum that comes with commercial baked goods. Fold the outer edgres inward, double and attach to tree/plant with plastic covered wire or copper wire. Electical scraps from #s10, 12, or 14, last forever for tag holders. Easy to write on these with a wooden skewer or 'dead' ball pen.

cella jane ky/6

I use old pieces of vertical blind cutoffs for paint shields when I am painting. Just toss them when you are finished, no time wasted cleaning a store bought paint shield which is the same thing with a handle riveted onto it.
I also used them for shims when installing some vinyl frame sliding doors.

What do I use to cut the blinds down for plant markers?
Thanks
Lynne

lynne, use cutco or kithen shears or tin/sheet metal shears to cut the blinds easily.
cella jane

Thanks Cella Jane