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Plant labels that don't biodegrade
On 17 Sep, 09:08, Chris ] wrote:
Maybe the best thing would be to make my own from wood. Any idea what wood to use? Cedar is easy to cleave and rots slowly. It could be impregnated with preservative. Apple is quite long lasting. |
#17
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Plant labels that don't biodegrade
"Chris" ] wrote in message news In article , Spamlet writes "Chris" ] wrote in message ]... In article o.uk, Dave Liquorice writes On Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:06:35 +0100, Chris wrote: I am still using the ones I bought forty years ago! That's before they decided that non-biodegradeable plastic was a bad thing. Most plastic stuff you get these days is bio-degradeable in anything from a few weeks to a few years, telling what a given items life will be is impossible unless it mentions UV stabilty. Good point. Maybe the best thing would be to make my own from wood. Any idea what wood to use? Aluminium OK - thanks. Can you write on those in pencil? And - don't they get the white aluminium "rust" on them? -- Chris No: didn't you read my other post below? Pencil and 'lasting', do not exactly go together. A HH pencil would emboss the Al foil: but nothing like as well as the tungsten, rolling ball, tip of a fine Bic. Aluminium is generally passivated by an anodic layer on the surface, and this only comes off in alkalis. I suppose you might strip it if you were to put lime, or potash, dressings straight on the label, but I doubt you will be doing this. I have been making labels for free from unrolled Al drink cans for years and would not bother with any other method. You 'write' on the metal by embossing it with an empty biro: a fine Bic being ideal. Spread the metal on something fairly soft like cardboard - or a cutting mat - as you write, and your embossing will be as good as from any machine, and you then cut your label to size with scissors after you have written it. One thing to look out for, is that some cans are still made of 'tin' and these go rusty as labels (but the foil is still handy for other uses like making shims and washers). At first you can pick these from the others with a magnet, but when you get your eye in you can tell from the pinkish colour of the Al and the yellowish colour of the 'tin'. You will find when collecting your beer cans, that they are also very good for catching slugs... S |
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