DIY Chalkboard Seed Markers

To celebrate our newly constructed greenhouse and the planting of hundreds of tiny seeds, I created these super cheap, super easy DIY vegetable/ garden seed markers!  Here is what you will need to do to make your own! 

What you will need:

• jumbo craft sticks -as many as you will want markers. I bought a pack of 75 at Walmart for under $3.00
• black chalk board paint if you want your markers to act as a true chalkboard or black matte acrylic if you just want the chalkboard look (I used chalkboard paint because I happened to have some in the house.  You can use either but the chalkboard paint is more expensive).
• chalk if you use the chalkboard paint and want to be able to reuse the markers.  This option is only for use indoors as the chalk will wash away in the rain.  OR a china marker if you want your text to be permanent (I used a china marker). This option will work well on both the chalkboard paint and the acrylic and will not wash away if subjected to rain and watering.  

Step by Step Directions:

I started by dipping my jumbo craft sticks one at a time into the container of chalkboard paint.  Make sure that you leave approximately two inches at the bottom of the stick bare where the stick will go into the dirt.  

Brush any excess paint of off your sticks.  You will more than likely need to apply a second coat. 

I stuck my sticks into a pot of uncooked rice to help speed along the drying process.  

Once your sticks are dry, which should happen pretty quickly, take you china marker or chalk and start labeling!  

Here are a few of the seeds we have growing in the greenhouse this spring. 

Finished! 

CLICK ON ANY OF THE BELOW ITEMS TO PURCHASE:

How to Freeze Basil

I finally made a point to get out into the garden today and prune back the basil plants that have now gone to seed. Whoops!  Now that the chickens have been confined to their run and are no longer trampling through gardens, the basil plants were able to regain their posture a bit over the last week or so and were in desperate need of some TLC.   As with everything else in the garden, it all seems to comes at once.  I knew there was no way I would be using the amount of basil that I harvested today any time soon,  so I did a little research and devised a plan to freeze my basil in ice cube trays, bag it up and keep it in the fridge for future occasions when a recipe called for a few tablespoons of chopped basil!  Here is what to do:

Harvest your basil.

Pull the leaves from the stems and place them into a food processor or blender.  

Pour one to two tablespoons of olive oil into the food processor 

Pulse!

.....until it looks like this.

Spoon about a tablespoon of basil into each section of your ice cube tray. 

Add a little water to help the cubes hold their shape.

Place the ice cube trays in the freezer for a few hours .

  

Once the cubes are frozen, remove the basil cubes.... 

...and bag them up in a freezer bag, throw them back into the freezer and use as needed!  

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