Rule of thumb - if you can see your thumb through it, it will work for winter sowing. Milk jugs aren't clear, they're translucent but they make excellent WS containers. I would say go for it.

thank you :) i wasn't sure if that would do something weird with the light or not.

went to the recycling center today to raid the plastic bins. first off, the people of waynesburg do no understand the concept of sorting their recyclables-- gross! i did find a lot of appropriate containers, though, so it was worth it. i was wondering, though, has anyone used containers from windshield wiper fluid or other chemicals? they seem perfect in theory but i'm wondering if they can ever really be rinsed completely.

i also went to walmart and bought pens. deco paint pens were recommended somewhere on this forum, so of course i couldn't find any LOL. i did find a few different archival pens that claim to be fadeproof and waterproof, so we'll see what happens. does anyone have a clever marking system for their seedlings? i like to recycle as much as possible. last year i cut yogurt cups into strips for the tags, but my sharpie faded. i guess i'll try that again with these new markers, but i'm open to ideas!

thanks again,
rose

Hey, Rose, Has anyone ever suggested plastic mini blinds for tags? I buy either the white or the off-white ones at Wally W. They are cheap and easy to write on. Not sure about the pens you bought, but I did purchase some garden pens from some "store" on the Web. They work great! A garden center might have pens also.

Rose, I would think a windshield wipe cleaner should be ammonia based or something similar to that, not a petroleum based product so likely would rinse (and rinse, and rinse, rinse again to be sure :)) clean.

what a brilliant idea! i think i even have an extra one up in the attic somewhere. thanks!

Now how cheap is that for you? LOL Don't have to buy a thing!

rosemctier - I get my Deco paint pens at Michael's. WM usually sells the Elmer's paint pens but when I tried one, found they don't dry as fast as the Deco pens. The paint pens are great for labels & WS containers.

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I use the plain old Sharpi black. Can't stand the smell, but it seems to work. Three ways I've been doing it - writing directly on the container, writing on a cut up piece of blind, or on a slip of paper with shipping tape over it. Cross my fingers.

The Sharpie will fade. Before I found out about paint pens on this forum last winter, I used Sharpie for my plant labels. They fade...fast. Good luck with your triple play labeling.

For all my marking I've resorted to cut up blinds and pencil. Yup, plain old pencil. I can write a lot of detail on the marker if I want and it doesn't fade one bit.
Of course I cannot see what is in the container unless I strategically place the marker.

just a warning-- i went to our michael's and the deco paint pens are on clearance and they will not be restocked. the associate did not know if it was just that michael's or all of them. on the bright side, the fat ones are now 2.49 and the fine ones are 1.99, but color choices were very slim.

grease pen aka china marker or dark-leaded pencil on mini blinds will not fade ... probably more economical than paint pens, which I have not used ... I bought a dozen china markers at Staples for cheap, cheap ... trust me, Sharpies fade

The first set of old blinds I used as markers had a coating that wouldn't take pencil and I found that paint pens worked best. The blinds I use now work well with pencil which I love as I can erase the pencil and reuse the marker. I have kept the paint marked ones but it is a pain to keep them alphabetized and in order so I can find the one I need.

I use a paint pen for the outside of the containers.