Blossom-end rot

[Dandelionkid]

Anyone experience this (question mark gone)It seems to be all my determinates are ripening with big circles of rot on one end. My cherries are doing well but I am disappointed so far with the big ones. Leaves look great though.

[hjrowan]

Yes, on my Romas and slicing toms but only the ones in containers not the ones in the ground. I think it's to do with the lack of water, but I could be wrong..... they've ripened fine and I've cut the bottom off before eating.

[Dandelionkid]

Thanks! They get a deep water once a week- maybe its not enough.

[cschick]

Originally Posted by Dandelionkid

Thanks! They get a deep water once a week- maybe its not enough.

Blossom end rot is a sign of soil calcium deficiency.

You can use bone meal from the store and sprinkle it around the dirt. I generally see this happen when I grow Romas in pots, and when I spot the first tomato with a problem, I eat eggs for breakfast for the next couple of mornings, grind the shells and use them instead.

It's worked well. (As in, any of the tomatoes from that point forward through the end of the season have been fine. I think that once I instead ground up a couple calcium pills and that worked too . . .)

[lmonter]

Romas are more prone to BER. The tomatoes are still good(ish), you'll just need to cut off the bottom part after you harvest. Just a larger than normal blemish.

This coming year, save your egg shells from all your cooking/baking. When you transplant your tomatoes/peppers/eggplants outside in the spring, dump some of the crushed egg shells in the hole under the roots as you plant. Been doing that for 2 years no, and no problems again. So far, while I knock on wood over here.

[hjrowan]

Great info thanks! I'd read somewhere (my veg book?) that it was due to a calcium deficiency caused by lack of water - I will definitely add calcium next year but could the problem be compounded because here in Seattle we have VERY soft (i.e. mineral-deficient) water?

[cschick]

Originally Posted by hjrowan

Great info thanks! I'd read somewhere (my veg book?) that it was due to a calcium deficiency caused by lack of water - I will definitely add calcium next year but could the problem be compounded because here in Seattle we have VERY soft (i.e. mineral-deficient) water?

Soft water does lack calcium, and is probably a contributing factor.

But I live in an area with rather hard water, and while I don't generally see blossom rot on tomatoes planted in the ground, I almost always see it at some point on tomatoes in a pot. Even if I treat the soil prior to planting. The tomatoes use it all up in the limited soil in the pot, and even the hard water with calcium can't replenish it to the degree they need.

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by hjrowan

Great info thanks! I'd read somewhere (my veg book?) that it was due to a calcium deficiency caused by lack of water - I will definitely add calcium next year but could the problem be compounded because here in Seattle we have VERY soft (i.e. mineral-deficient) water?

Well, I know plants love, love, love rainwater, and that's usually quite inert with little to no minerals (because it hasn't seeped down through rock into the water table). I typically have more issues with our hard water than not, honestly.

[savithny]

Originally Posted by lmonter

Romas are more prone to BER. The tomatoes are still good(ish), you'll just need to cut off the bottom part after you harvest. Just a larger than normal blemish.

This coming year, save your egg shells from all your cooking/baking. When you transplant your tomatoes/peppers/eggplants outside in the spring, dump some of the crushed egg shells in the hole under the roots as you plant. Been doing that for 2 years no, and no problems again. So far, while I knock on wood over here.

If you eat clams or mussels, you can crush the shells and add them to compost or turn them in as well.