Blossom rot on tomatoes?

[CanadianLori]

This is the first year I bought nursery tomaroes. I was lured by their containers first then the size of the plants but am now regretting it. The tomatoes are maturing with a big nasty black area on the bottom. I looked at pics online and think it is blossom rot because of this nasty spot and the fact the leaves don't have any issues.

I added some calcium to their water today but need to know if there is anything else I should do.

Many thanks for any advice,
Lori

 

[Chuck]

This is the first year I bought nursery tomaroes. I was lured by their containers first then the size of the plants but am now regretting it. The tomatoes are maturing with a big nasty black area on the bottom. I looked at pics online and think it is blossom rot because of this nasty spot and the fact the leaves don't have any issues.

I added some calcium to their water today but need to know if there is anything else I should do.

Many thanks for any advice,
Lori

BER is common in Texas. If you will sprinkle about 1/4 cup of Epsom Salt around the base of the plant and water it in it will stop it. It will do nothing with the fruit already affected. Also if you do this at the time of planting it will not occur at all, especially if you give each plant a tablespoon every 2 weeks or so. Let me guess..................are these affected plants Romas and do you have alkaline soils?

 

[CanadianLori]

These are still in the nursery pots so don't know the soil content. One is beefsteak the other is also a sandwich variety. The romas that I am growing from seed are okay so far.

tomorrow everybody gets epsom salt.

Thank so much for helping.

 

[marlingardener]

Lori, I couldn't get a decent crop of Romas for two years. Then I started my own from seed, and put about a tablespoon of crushed eggshells in the planting hole for each Roma. It seems you are having the same result from home-grown seeds.
Blossom end rot, which is what you described perfectly, is caused by lack of calcium, or by uneven watering. Adding calcium to the water will help the next set of fruit. Are Tums available to you? I've heard that dissolving Tums in the water adds calcium that is easily absorbed by the tomatoes. Egg shells at this point would take too long to decompose and do any good.

 

[CanadianLori]

I added cal/mag that I use for my peppers. Tomorrow is epsom salt day.

Thank you!

 

[davefrommd]

i have the same problem with my 5 gallon bucket tomato plants, i mixed lime in a 2 gallon watering can and added some to each plant, i added epsom salt to. i bought equate antacid tablets 500 mg. from walmart and crushed 3 tablets and added it to my 2 gallon sprayer using 2 gallons of water. i sprayed all the tomato plant leaves, i saw it on youtube, just did all this a couple of days ago. the spraying calcium is suppose to be fast acting.

 

[Chuck]

Blossom end rot on tomatoes and other vegetables is caused by the plants inability to uptake calcium through its root system and it is not necessarily because of the lack of calcium in the soil. Magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salt) allows the roots to uptake the needed calcium. Where I live here in Texas we have limestone bedrock and thus plenty if not too much calcium in the soil and blossom end rot is rampant on tomatoes, peppers and melons. By applying ES at the time of planting and periodically throught the growing season BER is seldom seen. In my long experience of growing tomatoes, hybridization has somewhat alleviated the problem. I have also found that certain varieties and heirlooms are more prone than others, Roma's being among the most prone. I have actually done side by side tests on Roma's, with and without ES and the difference was drastic, a good crop on the ES treated plants and complete failure on the untreated. I do think that alkaline soils make BER more prevalent than in acidic or neutral soils but I have no proof of this except my gardening friends in East Texas who have acidic soils rarely have BER.

 

[InvasiveCreeper]

Canadian Lori,

Be sure your soil drains properly. When you created your soil did you balance it with enough horticultural grit?

Prevention is key. Soil that drains adequately is important.