bloom rot on tomatos and peppers in oklahoma

My husband and I have a square foot garden in Oklahoma City. I have begun to notice brown spots on the bottom of my unripened tomatos and peppers. Is there any treatment for bloom rot once it has begun?

alkenned

Nice to have you join us.

So sorry about your blossom end rot on tomatoes and peppers. I don't have a solution for you but perhaps some other members can help you out.

Just wanted to welcome you and suggest that you keep us updated on your progress and share pictures too.

alkenned wrote:My husband and I have a square foot garden in Oklahoma City. I have begun to notice brown spots on the bottom of my unripened tomatos and peppers. Is there any treatment for bloom rot once it has begun?

Welcome- I'm new to the site as well. Here's some info from Gardener Kenny his website is listed below. Unfortunately you won't be able to save rotted veggies. A home remedy for calcium deficiency in soil is to dry out your egg shells crush them and put them in your grow mix or compost. I add the eggshells/calcium to my compost.

Blossom
End Rot is caused by a calcium deficiency and there are organic
products on the market that can be applied to vegetable plants to help
reduce the incidence of rot striking tomatoes and other susceptible
fruits. Because the problem is usually temporary and will resolve itself
I don’t recommend treating the plants with any type of spray to combat
blossom end rot.

Often the problem has more to do with the
moisture levels in the garden to regulate the delivery of nutrients than
the amount of calcium available in the soil, and tomato rot will be
more noticeable after periods of uneven precipitation such as when
drought conditions are followed by periods of heavy rain.
Some gardeners claim that planting tomatoes out in the garden before
the soil has thoroughly warmed up can promote the occurrence of blossom
end rot. Don’t plant those heirloom tomatoes, peppers, squash,
eggplants, and watermelons out into the garden until the soil has had a
chance to fully warm up.


Other precautions include avoiding cultivating too closely to the
plants which may encourage blossom end rot by destroying the tiny feeder
roots that grow close to the soil surface and supply moisture and
nutrients to the plants. Mulching the soil after temperatures rise will help to conserve the
amount of moisture that is retained in the soil and prevent or lessen
the amount of blossom end rot on your tomatoes and other vegetables.

For gardeners seeking a natural spray to control blossom end rot on
tomatoes, peppers, and melons, “Garden’s Alive” sells a product called Rot-StopT Spray that can be applied to your plants once a week to supplement calcium reserves and prevent rotting.
So don’t panic or be overly concerned if you see your tomatoes
suffering with signs of blossom end rot early in the season. Simply
remove the affected fruits that display the sunken rotten bottoms,
irrigate to maintain even moisture, and be patient… that’s usually the
most effective organic control to handle this common problem in the
vegetable garden.
www.veggiegardeningtips.com

Ursula