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How To Track Indoor Seedlings Without Plant Tags

Published on February 4, 2014Last updated November 18, 2021 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

This post contains affiliate links.
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This seedling tracking system keeps your indoor seed sowing organized without needing tags at this stage of growth. It’s a smart way to save time and effort.

Once you’re seedling are larger, use this cheap and easy system for making plant tags.

Newly sprouting seedlings.

Simple Way to Track Seedlings

Sunflower seedling with shell

This is a really simple way to keep track of the seeds you’ve started indoors without having to prepare plant tags or labels at sowing time.

Instead, you label your planting tray like a spreadsheet with rows and columns and use it over and over again.

You can find all of my seed starting tips here.

Here’s a short video demonstration:

YouTube video

Supplies

  • I use 10×20″ trays. My local garden nursery gives away any trays and pots that customers return to them (and they recycle the rest), so I get what I need each spring.
  • A 4-cell 2″ soil blocking tool works perfectly with this size of tray. One tray holds 50 (2″) soil blocks.
  • Permanent marker.
Diagram showing how to track seedlings in growing tray.

Planting Notes

  • Using a permanent marker, label your tray in rows and columns, just like a spreadsheet.
  • Each tray gets a unique number (for example: Tray #1).
  • A 10×20″ tray accommodates 5 rows (named A to E) and 10 columns (named 1 to 10).
  • I keep notes on everything I plant so I can monitor which seeds are most successful at harvest time.

Empress of Dirt

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Seed Starting Tracking Notes

Includes printable note templates for tracking seed starting.

Growing seedlings
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This provides a complete walk-through of the seed-starting process including how to use a soil blocking tool and how to keep seed starting notes.

Resources

  • Best (Cheap & Easy) DIY Plant Tags For Seed Starting
  • How to Remove Marker From Plastic Plant Tags

Ebook

Seed Starting For Beginners ebook cover.

Seed Starting for Beginners
Sow Inside Grow Outside

by Melissa J. Will

NEW EDITION | Everything you need to get started with indoor seed starting for indoor and outdoor plants. Grow what you want—any time of year!

About This Ebook | Visit Ebook Shop

This ebook is a digital file (PDF format) you save to your device. It is not a physical product.

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$8 US

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That’s it! Easy.

When you’re ready for tags, this shares practical and creative DIY plant tag options.

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛

Sunflower seedling with shell
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Melissa J. Will - Empress of DirtWelcome!
I’m Melissa J. Will a.k.a. the Empress of Dirt (Ontario, Canada).
Join me as I share creative + frugal home & garden ideas with a dash of humor.
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