Blossom End Rot

I have found, particularly with the paste type tomatoes, that the first fruits are quite prone to BER, but the following fruit often are unblemished.

Thanks everyone. This morning I clipped off all the affected fruit and added some calcium liquid stuff. Hopefully that will do the trick.

I've had about 5 different tomatoes affected with BER so far, and I have taken them off the plant. Last week I applied a mixture (maybe a few teaspoons of each...) of powdered milk and epsom salts to the soil around each plant and watered it in well. Although the heat has been beastly, the plants actually look a bit greener and so far no more BER. I will not give up!

The bottoms of my tomatoes are black and rotten. I've read about it somewhere before but I can't find it again. Think it must have been a library book. I think it has something to do with Calcium. Any ideas and suggestions?

Hey doc_jh,

Use the search on the left and type in BER or blossom end rot and you will find a lot of info and help with your problem.

Chris

doc_jh wrote:The bottoms of my tomatoes are black and rotten. I've read about it somewhere before but I can't find it again. Think it must have been a library book. I think it has something to do with Calcium. Any ideas and suggestions?

I moved your thread to the latest Blossom End Rot thread. There are quite a few other threads about it. Good luck.

Grrr! One plant out of the four has BER..so will treat with calcium tomorrow and see if it helps.

Don't forget, uneven watering also contributes to BER.

Kay

I water every other day...no rain so have to do it..And only one of four plants in the bed are showing the signs...not a big deal ..just a waste of tomatoes! So will try and see if that cures it...if not..on to something else lol..

Fantasma wrote:Do you guys recommend picking off any tomatoes with blossom end rot or should I just leave them alone? It seems to me that I should pick them off so the plant can focus energy on new tomatoes.

Cause of blossom-end rot.

Calcium is required in relatively large concentrations for normal cell growth. When a rapidly growing fruit is deprived of calcium, the tissues break down, leaving the characteristic lesion at the blossom end. Blossom-end rot develops when the fruit's demand for calcium exceeds the supply in the soil. This may result from low calcium levels in the soil, drought stress, excessive soil moisture, and/or fluctuations due to rain or overwatering . These conditions reduce the uptake and movement of calcium into the plant, or rapid, vegetative growth due to excessive nitrogen fertilization.

Here is the container with blossom end rot. How much epsom and powdered milk to I scratch into the soil as a remedial measure?

Thanks!

CPL, I see the little fruits, and from here they look ok.... in fact the whole plant looks great!

Here is a closer look at the blossom end rot. (If it is not blossom end rot, I have been clipping off these fruits erroneously.)



Thanks for the help.

Oh i see now. I would encourage you to leave them on the vine, the tips may turn black but most of the tomato may actually manage to grow and ripen and then the lesion can be cut off; this is what I usually do, but sometimes the whole fruit will rot. Are you managing to water regularly? Did you end up getting a treatment of some sort at the garden store?

I thought I should take them off so the plant's energy could focus on hopefully producing good tomatoes. I took most of them off but came back after two days away and see more fruit with the rot. In fact it seems like all has had the rot.

I did find a liquid calcium stuff that one mixes with water and waters the plant with, but it isn't helping. So I have some epsom salt and powdered milk that I thought I would til in the soil as someone suggested. I am not certain how much to use for this size plant. Also, not sure if we mix equal parts of the two together and then scratch it in (or water it in) or exactly what the mix should be and the administration method should be.

In that pot, about a palmful of each should do it. I don't know how long it takes for the treatment to become effective. I would say tomatos that form after treatment will have the best chance.

Kay

If you have rotted tomatoes, add them to your worm bin. They go crazy over mine. Like a pack of dogs to a dinosaur-sized bone!

Am ready to do it. Do I sprinkle it on top and water it in or do I scratch around the plant and try to bury it and then water it? Thanks.

cpl100 wrote:Am ready to do it. Do I sprinkle it on top and water it in or do I scratch around the plant and try to bury it and then water it? Thanks.

I usually sprinkle on top then using my hand or a hand cultivator get the top layer gently stirred. Most important you don't want to disturb the roots. Water well. You may see some improvement in the next fruiting body. Good luck

Hey Guys,
I'm currently battling BER. I just read through this thread and I found it kind of interesting that many of the people suffering from BER mentioned Marzano tomatoes. I'm currently experiencing BER with my Marzano tomatoes. I wonder if they are more susceptible to BER than other varieties? Anyway I have a couple of questions that I feel haven't been discussed yet in this thread:
#1- I understand that irregular watering and a calcium deficiency can cause BER, Should I be worried about my MM or more importantly my compost if I am suffering from BER?
#2- Is there an organic solution to BER? I saw all the mentions of Epson salt and Powdered Milk is this considered organic if I can find organic powdered milk?
#3-Has anyone tried yield booster fertilome with success? The guy at the feed store is said it is what I needed but that it wasn't organic...
#4-I have 3 tomatoes, 1 suffering from BER and the other two are suffering from tomato wilt(i believe), is there anything related Im doing wrong? Again is it my compost?

As always I appreciate the help guys. Im sure I'll have more questions later on. thanks for the help

-StinkyFeetMendoza

(My approach to BER is probably in the minority.)

It's not unusual for the first couple fruits of the season to have BER.
Rarely is the growing medium lacking calcium, and as you said, other factors prevent the plant from processing and absorbing it.

This site, which is an easy read, said

It is very rare for soils, growing bags or potting media to actually lack calcium. There is almost always plenty in the soil and indeed within the plant.

These are a few of the university extension programs that don't recommend adding calcium to prevent BER:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3117.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss497
http://extension.usu.edu/htm/faq/faq_q=427

My suggestion is to wait it out. Get your watering frequency on a regular basis so that the plant isn't stressed. Odds are you won't have problems.

Can anyone tell me if this is BER?  When I looked at pictures of BER, I see just rotten black bottoms, but these are more split than rotten black on the bottom.  I added salt and milk when planting.  I have 5 varieties of tomatoes but only these Brandy Boy's have the issue.

jewlz2121 wrote: I added salt and milk when planting. 

Did you add salt or did you add epsom salts, which is magnesium sulfate?

camprn wrote:

jewlz2121 wrote: I added salt and milk when planting. 

Did you add salt or did you add epsom salts, which is magnesium sulfate?

Epsom salt and powdered milk.

jewlz2121 wrote:Can anyone tell me if this is BER?  When I looked at pictures of BER, I see just rotten black bottoms, but these are more split than rotten black on the bottom.  I added salt and milk when planting.  I have 5 varieties of tomatoes but only these Brandy Boy's have the issue.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The very dark areas look like BER.  But all the cracking looks like cat facing ??? not sure about that but here is a link describing with pictures of both of these symptoms.

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/NewsArticles/Tom_ComDis.htm