blossom end rot and epsom salt/organic question

itsablondething 7/12/2010, 11:50 pm

Many of my tomatoes defiantely have blossom end rot. We had a VERY spell, and I watered daily, but apparently this is a set up for blossom end rot.

I;'ve looked over the internet. It seems like a calcium deficiency is probably part of the problem, but the time to correct that was before the rot set in.

I've read that foliar application of magnesium (epsom salt) had been shown to help more than foliar application of calcium, as the magnesium aid calcium uptake, but their is limited foliar absorbtion of calcium.

Is epsoms salt considered an organic treatment?

How have you treated blossom end rot?

chocolatepop 7/12/2010, 11:56 pm

i would consider epson salt organic. i, too, had a plant with about 3 fruit with BER, but thats it. Just the first few and the rest were fine. I later read this is normal I guess???

Everything else i read just says water, and treat for the future. Several use the crush tums or powdered milk.

Chopper 7/13/2010, 12:48 am

Any growth problem I always treat the same: fish emulsion, epsom salts and ground calcium pills. I had the same experience as chocolatepop - a few tomatoes were truck and then the rest were OK. Did the feeding stop it? I have no idea. So many variables! So little actual data! I just decided to feed everything every week to 2 weeks and hope for the best.

nancy 7/13/2010, 2:35 pm

a neighbor gardener told me he gets BER on his first few tomatoes every year and then it clears up. he showed me one that looked pretty severe. he said it happens every year and he now knows to expect it and not worry about it. i also am a believer of epsom salt & fish emulsion. best wishes! i'm still waiting for mine to begin turning red. blossom end rot and epsom salt/organic question Icon_smile

Garden Angel 7/14/2010, 12:12 pm

Rodales problem solver says,
Several factors , most often occurs when plants are grown under otherwise favorable conditions in the early part of the season and then subjected to a long period of drought while fruit is in early stage of developement, also after a long period of heavy rain, improper watering or by calcium deficency , overdoses of nitrogen can hinder the uptake of calcium, which I think this is my problem , need to watch the fish emulsion, then the heat came. It said to put garden lime around base of plants so I did and it seems to be better.

junequilt 7/14/2010, 5:16 pm

My first few tomatoes and even bell peppers had some ber, but then it stopped. It's almost as if the plants just don't quite have it together at the beginning!

itsablondething 7/15/2010, 6:24 am

After reading all this, I went out and trimmed off mine with BER.. and you know what, I only had 5 tomatoes total with it on 2 big plants full of tomatoes. Guess I got over excited. Next year I think I will have a soil analysis (didn't use Mel Mix..too expensive.. used a combo of about half bagged top soil and half Miracle Grow Organic Garden Soil) and as the season progresses mixing in bagged compost and compost/manure mixes. Next year, hopefully have plenty of my own compost, and found several friends who can provide manure.

At any rate, something must be right... most of my tightly packed corn stalks are showing evidence of at least 2 ears.. i was hoping for at least one per ear. I added a thick layer of compost/manure mix to the top of that bed before planting.

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blossom end rot and epsom salt/organic question

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