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Pick Your Own Fun: Tomatoes, Squash, Grapes and More

Smelling A Bell PepperPick Your Own Food in Central Oklahoma

 

For the past few weekends we’ve escaped the concrete jungle to find our rural fix at pick-your-own farms across Central Oklahoma. The built environment can suck the life right out of you and I’m desperate for these short getaways.

In fact, the older I get, the louder the clarion call: Leave the city. Grow some vegetables. Buy a cow.

small pond boat

Everything Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect To Be Awesome

From striped highways and acres of concrete to dirty convenient stores and fast food restaurants, I ache for wide-open spaces. A patch of earth I can call my own where the sky and the prairie play host to marshes and ponds and cattails. Where the scissor-tailed flycatcher perches on a single stalk of tall grass. Sways back and forth in the wind as if the entire prairie were his amusement park. It is, of course.

And, the Oklahoma bird soars above the warm fields and shows off his salmon-colored planks. For 30 years I’ve been too busy to notice his secret colors. “Look at me,” he warbles. “You’re such a sorry city sucker.”

Yes, bird, I am. I really am.

cattails Oklahoma marsh

Cattalis and Pond

Cattails Grass

Cattails

Pick Your Own

Pick Your Own

Pick Your Own

In full sun, we headed to Bobby Sloan’s place on the outskirts of Mustang, a town about 15 minutes west of Oklahoma City. Bobby calls his place Buffalo Creek Berry Farm, but I prefer to call it Bobby Sloan’s Place because when I reached out to different growers in the online pick-your-own directories, Bobby was one of the only ones who called me back. He also has two great dogs, Tigger (don’t call him Tiger) and Jessie. My kids played ball with them. They’re precious!

Bobby helps guide picking. He insists on clipping some vegetables himself like the okra. By the way, don’t pick the squash too young. The little ones don’t bring the growers any money.

Farm Dogs

Farm Dogs: Jessie and Tigger

Buffalo Creek Berry Farm is more than just a berry orchard. It has the greatest variety of things to pick. We came home with a bag full of tomatoes (lemon boys, red, green, cherry), cucumbers, zucchini, okra, jalapenos, bell peppers and green beans. It’s now one of my top two favorite pick-your-own farms and orchards in the Oklahoma City area. (The other one is Sorghum Mills Blackberry Orchard. You can see pictures of our trip here.)

Cherry Tomatoes on the vine

Cherry Tomatoes On The Vine

Lemon Boy Yellow Tomatoes on the vine at a pick your own orchard in Oklahoma City.

Yellow Boy or Lemon Boy Tomatoes On The Vine

Cucumbers Picking

Perfect Tomato

Perfect Tomato

Pick your own perfect yellow tomatoes!

Here’s what everything looked like when we got it home. The kids organized it all for me. Ahhhh, look at all the pretty colors.

Pick Your Own variety Oklahoma

Sorting Vegetables from the picking orchard

Sorting Vegetables

Green Beans

Green Beans

Green Tomato Quote

Yellow Tomato

Yellow Tomato

Vine Ripe Tomatoes

Vine Ripe Tomatoes

Okra

Okra

Little purple onion

During picking season, Buffalo Creek Berry Farm is open on Sundays until 7 p.m. It was so hot, I recommend going as late as possible. They’re also open on Tuesdays and Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. In a couple weeks, the grapes in Bobby’s vineyard will be ripe enough to pick. This portion of the picking farm is by appointment only so call ahead of time. We can’t wait to go back!

Grape Vineyard Pick Your Own Oklahoma

I’ll take the kids and let them pick the sweet fruit. Smash it between their fingers and trample out the vintage of another Oklahoma summer. We’ll rail against the man-made spaces that suck the soul right out of you. And, I’ll etch myself into their memories one vine-ripe tomato a time: Mommy loves you unconditionally, and I know this love can carry you over the terrible things in life that swell the creeks and break the bridges.

Keep on going, kids, and remember the saying the wise men told the king to engrave on the inside of his gold ring: This Too Shall Pass.

Have you ever visited a pick your own farm or orchard? 

Gen X Blog Jennifer Chronicles

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2 Comments

  1. Ellen Parlee

    Wow, those pictures are amazing! I really enjoy your photography, and those fruits and vegetables look incredible! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Victor S E Moubarak

    What wonderful photos. Thank you. It’s such a long time since we went to “pick your own” farms. I remember going to pick strawberries, black currants, and gooseberries. Great memories.

    God bless.

    Reply

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