Rare tomatoes take root at OK EAT’s U-Pick-It farm in Bartlesville

Andy Dossett / Examiner-Enterprise, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise
·2 min read
Ken Suggs, co-director and founder of OK EATS, walks through the group's U-Pick-It greenhouse last week. It is filled with more than 40 varieties of rare organic heirloom tomato plants.
Ken Suggs, co-director and founder of OK EATS, walks through the group's U-Pick-It greenhouse last week. It is filled with more than 40 varieties of rare organic heirloom tomato plants.

OK EAT’s U-Pick-It farm will soon offer more than 40 varieties of rare organic heirloom tomatoes to the public – all for just a donation per pound.

The bounty should be ready for picking by mid-July, said Ken Suggs, a retired Air Force colonel and founding co-director of Oklahoma Energy & Agriculture Training. OK EAT is a nonprofit aimed at teaching the public about the energy and agricultural industries.

The nonprofit also manages a Kiddie Farm, where children can drive battery-powered ride-on tractors, front-loaders and other farm machines across terrain that simulates working on a farm.

Last year, Suggs oversaw the planting and harvesting of hundreds of pounds of local varieties of tomatoes donated to the Bartlesville community.

OK EAT staff walks through the tomato tent, checking on the plants' progress and looking for signs of insects and disease.
OK EAT staff walks through the tomato tent, checking on the plants' progress and looking for signs of insects and disease.

"We stopped picking tomatoes on the 31st of December last year," Suggs said.

Building on last year's successful harvest, OK EAT expanded its operations this year to include rare heirloom tomatoes.

When the U-Pick-It tomato tent is in full swing, visitors can pick tomatoes to their heart's content for a donation per pound. Those who can't wait until July may pick up tomato plants for a $5 donation at the greenhouse, located at 530 NE Wilshire Ave.

Founding Co-Director Kelly Zimmerman said she got the idea of offering rare organic heirloom tomatoes to the public in Bartlesville after visiting a tomato festival in California.

Co-Founding Director Ken Suggs inspects the tomato plants available to the public for a five-dollar donation on Tuesday.
Co-Founding Director Ken Suggs inspects the tomato plants available to the public for a five-dollar donation on Tuesday.

She said it took years of planning, testing and raising funds to prepare for this season.

"We have invested at least six digits," Zimmerman said.

The U-Pick-It farm also features green beans, corn, broccoli, beets, peppers and other greens available to the public.

Suggs and Zimmerman both talked extensively about how educating youth and the public on agriculture is a significant focus of their operations.

They say their vision is for OK EAT to be a community center for healthy lifestyles and farm-to-table food as well as an education center for those in the community wanting to learn how to farm themselves.

Harvest hours and updates can be found on the Kiddie Farm by OK EAT Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Rare tomatoes take root at OK EAT’s U-Pick-It farm in Bartlesville