Those strawberries looked too good to eat, but the batch that I brought home yesterday is almost gone already! My last few visits to the farm stand inspired today’s post, since I’ve been looking for a way to track the kinds of seasonal fruits and vegetables I can expect there or at our local farmer’s market. I came across this harvest schedule for my region, but it’s not super easy for me to follow, and the list contains some things we don’t normally eat at our house.

I thought it would be fun to create my own produce tracker using the Moments Inked products, and found that it was super easy to do. Below is a photo of the supplies that I used:

And here are the step-by-step instructions on how I made this:

1. I recommend starting by drafting a list of all seasonal items that you would like to track and decide how you’d like to organize them I chose to alphabetize vegetables & herbs first, then fruits; at the end I listed mums, which are a type of flower that blooms in the fall here. In total, you will be able to fit about 20 items on this list.
2. Next, choose your months. I found that 3 columns, one for each of 3 months, fits best given the size of my handwriting in the first column. Because most produce ripens between July and September here, those seemed like the best choice. The coordinating month stamps were selected from the Monthly Moments: Tabbed stamp set.
3. Use the Tabbed list die to cut the shape from white card stock and stamp 3 flags across the top using the Planner Banners stamp set - I masked the extra banners with post-it notes. You can stamp the names of the months over those banners next. Then, using the Listed stamp set stamp the lines all the way down the rest of the divider.
4. Separate the columns using the stitched Edge Die. You can use wash tape to line it up parallel to the edge of the paper.
5. After writing the names of your fruits and veggies into all the slots on the left, use the strip of stars from the Posted Stamp set to mark the corresponding months when those items should generally be available at the farm stand.I stamped the stars in one color for veggies, and another for fruits. The general color scheme here is Winter Wisteria, Ripe Avocado, Lemon Tart, and Aqua Mist - I prefer to the use ink cubes when working in my planner since the stamps are small enough.

Here’s what the final project looks like:

The top tab was decorated in some striped wash tape. Some PTI alphabet sets are on my wish list now that I’ve completed this project - I think stamping the names of all these things would be worth the effort, since the tab will be reusable in next year’s planner, and my handwriting isn’t as cute as those stamps.

I find that felt tipped pens tend to be the most vibrant and consistent in color for projects like this, but gel ink (or even the pointy tip of a Copic marker) might work just as well too.

I was a little sad to learn that my local farm’s cherry crop was harmed by the super awful winter that we had here, so they are super expensive to buy this year; the good news is that blueberries are practically all-you-can eat! I am looking for some simple recipes for blueberries, actually. If you have any to share, I’d love that! I am still using my planner to stash recipes, as I showed in this post.

The photos of the fruit were taken during my visit to Parlee Farm in Tyngsoboro, Massachusetts. If you are local to the area, it is a must-see place! They make fresh donuts all day, and have fresh apple crisp with ice cream available in the fall, along with hay rides and pumpkin-picking! Not shown is their fresh corn, which is by far the best I’ve had all year.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!