R.E. Gould
5 year old buck +
As I'm sure many of you have, I've tried numerous different ways of tagging grafts. First year, I wired tags on too tight, and girdled a bunch of grafts. Second year, I put them on too loose, and many tags blew off. I tried nailing on handwritten aluminum tags, but the wind would eventually open up the hole enough so that the tag would come off. Handwritten labels on aluminum are impossible to read from more than a few feet away.
Avery 5520 Weatherproof Labels on inexpensive aluminum tags (Coolrunner brand on Amazon) seem to be a winner. The Avery labels go right through the printer like any other label. I use a ballpoint pen to write an impression into the aluminum, just in case the label comes off. The Avery labels coming off haven't been an issue though. I fold a piece of label (which is a tough plastic like material) over the aluminum to reinforce it, and either nail it on if the branch is big enough. If the branch isn't big enough for a nail, I create a wire loop, put it loosely over the branch, and then wrap the loop with Parafilm coated with Treekote so it stays on, but will pop off as the branch grows. For labels I'm nailing in, I fold the top over, so the nail goes through 2 layers of aluminum, and 4 layers of the Avery label.
For nails, I discovered that galvanized nails seem to kill the area around it. So I now use small coated panel board nails, which work great.
Avery 5520 Weatherproof Labels on inexpensive aluminum tags (Coolrunner brand on Amazon) seem to be a winner. The Avery labels go right through the printer like any other label. I use a ballpoint pen to write an impression into the aluminum, just in case the label comes off. The Avery labels coming off haven't been an issue though. I fold a piece of label (which is a tough plastic like material) over the aluminum to reinforce it, and either nail it on if the branch is big enough. If the branch isn't big enough for a nail, I create a wire loop, put it loosely over the branch, and then wrap the loop with Parafilm coated with Treekote so it stays on, but will pop off as the branch grows. For labels I'm nailing in, I fold the top over, so the nail goes through 2 layers of aluminum, and 4 layers of the Avery label.
For nails, I discovered that galvanized nails seem to kill the area around it. So I now use small coated panel board nails, which work great.