On my containers, I mark the variety of plant, date sown, source of seed (name of nursery, trade, etc.) and anything special, such as "needs light" [to germinate]. I also keep a paper copy of the same info., and any other germination notes, such as # of days of cold/moist needed for stratification, whether there was very low or very high germination rate, etc. I didn't number my containers this year, but I'm thinking that it would be a good thing to do for next year. A little bit of organization ahead of time helps a lot in the long run. Hopefully it will make it easier for me to look after all those containers and make sure the seeds that need light will get it, etc.

I number each container, and then on paper write down container number, type seed sown, date sown, how many, and any notes. I also make a note as to what day the first sprout appears.

I do the same as gardenluv - I number each container, and then keep a ledger by number.
I also put a plastic plant marker (I use pencil) in each container with #, date sown, and name.

Yesterday, after the deluge, I removed the plastic I had thrown over them, and moved them under the boards that they normally sit on. So they can dry out a little but still be protected from rain.

Sup'd to rain all day today, and then yippee Tues part sun.

I have a whole bunch of containers ready to sow, decided to wait til after the monsoon, so can do them today.

ellen

I'm wishing now that I'd numbered each container--hindsight is 20/20 so I'll know to do that next year. This is my first WS year as well--appreciate you posting your ideas and suggestions for what to do different next time. I did mark the date WS on some jugs when I had multiples of one type of seeds--18 jugs of lupine for example. Plant name is on each one plus a label inside but it would help if I had a more accurate count on # of containers. I'm keeping a journal of date WS plus a list of how many containers of each type I WS. I made up a sprout chart that lists botanical name, common name, date WS and date sprouted. So far only lupine and peony poppy have sprouted.
It was too cold & windy to be outside much yesterday so like ellenr I prepped more milk jugs. I'm going to WS more cosmos today.
Wind blew over about a dozen jugs Friday night--looks as though we got one really powerful gust or else a mini-tornado as it took down a huge landscape timber I had leaning up against the back of the garage. Glad I wasn't walking by when that fell!

I also number the containers because I reuse the containers from one year to the next. It helps not to have to cross out the name of the seeds from the previous years. All containers include a tag inside to be used when planting out.
That info is recorded in a paper notebook with # of container, seeds planted, date planted & # of seeds, date of germination & #germinated, date planted out. Later all the info is transferred to a Word document.

I like having the info on my computer so I can refer to it when wondering if I have sown a certain seed in previous years or when answering others' questions.

The # of seeds sown and # of seeds germinated was added just because I was curious and it was easy to add to the same column. IE: 1-12 9s 5-15 8s
flat: 2-18 1s1s1s 4-28 1s0s1s

When the big push of germination and planting out comes sometimes those columns just get a check as I am too busy to record the exact date.

Note: Those are separate columns. I left space between those columns in the example but the preview will not leave the spacing intact.

Okay, I braved the damp, cold day; took my trusty compostion book and pen and checked on all my WS containers. Here's what I found that had sprouts:Jan. 20th. Malva zebrina and Mystic Merlin
Planted Jan. 11th
Canterbury Bells(cup & saucer mix), Forget-me-nots, Painted daisy, Alaska shasta daisy, Sunray coreopsis

Planted Jan. 27th. Scabiosa "Summer Berries", Johnny Jump-ups Jan. 29th. Sweet William

Planted 2/16 Dward Candytuft in greern liter soda bottles
more dwarf candytuft in milk jug

Planted March 5 Alyssum Rosie o'Day. These are planted in red, cold drink cups inside a Sterlite container.

Planted 3/13 Dwarf Candytuft in coffee cups inside Sterlite container

One of the last Sterlite containers I set out with coffee cups planted had dried out so I watered them with the sprinking can real good. Hope that didn't hurt germination process.

Still a lot of seeds haven't germinated yet..maybe if we the warmer weather the weather forecasters keep telling us about coming mid week through rest of week, I will see more sprouts. Have to keep check to make sure there are no more dry cups. Lesson learned there.

Oh, I forgot to say that I don't take my journal out in the rain as found that raindrops cause the paper to wrinkle and ink to run. If it is raining I take a notepad and pencil and write the number of the container that has germinated and later add that info to the journal. It also helps me to tear off the note and put it in my pocket so I don't just put the pad down in the garage and forget it. I check my pockets each night and am sometimes surprised to find that I have forgotten to record the info earlier.