Jill here. I use many different types of supplies to help organize the farm each season and I love thrifting before digging into the planning process—it’s the same feeling as buying a new box of crayons before school starts. If you want to see the farm planning process in action, be sure to watch this video.
Below are all the things I use regularly. This is one of the worst things I’ve ever written, but I have so many amazing things to say about office supplies, apparently enough to make a blog post!
Because I know others interested in office supplies will ask, I’ve included some links throughout.
Paper & Post-it Notes
For creating project plans and defining to-do lists, we love these easel pads which are really great Post-it Notes. They stick well to walls or windows and are great to leave as a gel for applications. They also do a grid version which comes in handy for checklists (built-in boxes) and anything that needs to be a proper presentation. Large sheets are also great for painting parts of a garden or farm.
It’s silly to do this fun with Post-it notes, but they’re so sticky they’ve been a complete game changer and we use them for almost everything. All the backs have an adhesive so they stay stuck without lifting over time. I maximum size 3×3 it is good to label the outside of bins or mine maps. We also use a ton of the 2×2 size in bright colors. Both sizes can be cut into small strips to label rows or individual plants on farm diagrams or maps.
If we need to create our own maps, or a platform block template, it’s great 11 × 17 graph paper it works really well. We prefer pads over loose sheets because they are easier to handle and store.
You’ll never see Erin without a flipbook in hand—she can burn through a whopping 5 articles a month! We buy dozens of these every year and love them Five Star for thick paper and manila pocket dividers.
We got that legal pads they are much superior (and much smaller than a 5-course notebook) when taking notes and writing descriptions in the field. The cardboard backing protects the pages when you put them down on wet grass (or leave them overnight in a stroller seat) and they fit well on clipboards.
For field notes, we use an app called Genius Scan which will convert the image into a PDF that can be emailed and transcribed later. We use it all the time to email notes to each other.
Pens
The Pilot brand is our all-around favorite pen. At the beginning of the season, we buy many packs in black, blue, and red (good for text editing). They are really inky and smooth so you can write quickly. We love the G2 10but if you want a better point, go for it g207. They will smear when wet, so if it’s drizzling outside when you’re taking notes, opt for a regular marker pen.
A chance to go Sharpie! There are so many choices when it comes to this simple black pen—let me count the ways!
I Ultra Fine Point it’s really good for more precise labeling projects. Regular Sharpies are perfect for everyday use, writing on flagging tape, and Tyvek “toe tags” we use to label our flysolations.
To find the signs you need to see from a distance (like our greenhouse and hoop posters), I choose i Chisel tip because it is bold and easy to read. And write in Macroe field poles 12-inI am a part of Super Sharpie. The large size is very comfortable when writing hundreds (even thousands!) of labels, and the ink holds up well during development. Also, something about this pen makes your handwriting look really good.
Sharpie also makes a permanent flip chart marker that works well on easel pads. They are found in a multi-colored package. I love these markers—nothing beats a good ink pen!
Other goods
Washi tape is a lightweight masking tape popular in the art world. Available in a ton of colors (and even patterns) on the inside width again small ones width. It takes off easily, so it comes in handy when you need to move things. The narrow version works well for displaying long-range projects on a paper calendar to see how they overlap.
The year we wrote A Year in Flowers again Finding Dahlias we decided to invest in a really good color printer so we could print design inspiration and page mockups in house. We keep the Xerox humming and using it for everything—printing phone photos, web page mockups, and planning cards to plant in order, of course!
Everyone gives me a hard time putting together the dorky Trapper Keeper-style. When we listed hundreds of dahlia breeding varieties, I used these full zip binders to hold each profile sheet, with paper separators in each row. They were so sturdy that I could prop them up on a T-post to take notes. Some even come with an optional shoulder strap for an added cool feature.
Another good note-taking binder is this one fillable notebook. It fully reverses to a flat writing surface and comes in multiple colors if you want a different one for each plant you write on.
For cutting cardstock or paper stacks, it’s good to have a paper cutter. Make sure you pay full attention and remember the blade (that’s why I like This one with the handle). Paper cuts are probably the only risk you may encounter when planning a farm.
If you use pencils or colored pencils to plan, find a good one electric sharpener. They work well too fat marking pencils we use it too metal labels to find other perennials we have on the farm.
Basic office supplies
You probably already have these at home, but for planning it’s good to have them glue sticks, clear matte tapeand a good ruler (I love it clear plastic one).
Sharp scissors are also necessary. Keep the pear on the paper and if you are making multiple bouquets, select the pear into a ribbon only by tying a piece to the handle. However, if you have children, they will probably ignore you!
You will always reach sharp #2 pencils. A retractable eraser stick it’s a great handy tool that won’t leave an annoying smudge.
I hope this little post was helpful and gave you a laugh. If you have a favorite thing that you use to organize your garden or farm that is not included above, tell us about it in the comment section below.
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