Just cut off the black part, the rest of the tomato will taste delicious.

My tomatoes have had it in the past and I was told this was due to a lack of calcium. So this year I have been scratching all my eggshells into the soil around my tomatoes and I have also applied some ground up tums once per month around the bast of each plant, just about a tablespoon or less.

I was told to fertlizer container plants weekly during the growing season, with 1/2 the application of a foliar feeding. I used fish/kelp for green growth, but now I just switched to seabird guano to promote flowering. I also add a monthly side dressing around the base of each plant. I use a 100% natural organic all purpose fertilizer for this.

My container tomatoes are prolific! This is my first year growing in containers. I didn't think it was possible, but have changed my mind now. And mine are in hanging baskets, not even that large, about 16-18".

The causes for BER is the same in containers as it would be in the ground.It is caused by low calcium uptake.Irregular watering increases the problem of calcium uptake.This is more of a problem with containers than with ground planted tomatoes due to watering.Generally speaking, as the plant grows the calcium uptake balances out and BER becomes less of a problem.
The suggestions given by the previuos poster are worth trying especially since it's working so well for them.
In case you misunderstood the previous poster. The reference to cutting off the BER is done after you pick the ripened tomato.

Nearly all my container tomatoes get one or two BER fruit early on, and then it goes away.
This seems to be the norm.
I do not bother with any additional Ca due to the fact that the small amount of compost in my containers surely has enough.
I pick these BER tomatoes as soon as I see them, as not waste the plant's energy to fruit that are usually not worth eating (the BER creeps up to fruit as time goes on).
BER will go away, and your watering schedule seems to me to be the best way, daily may be too much if not dry.
Good luck, Bill

i would have to agree with the others about the calcium being the fix for the BER but to remedy the situation a little faster than the guano or egg shells(slow release), go to the medicine cabinet and get one of your cal-mag caps and mix it with a gallon of water and give em a little spritz. your problem should go away almost overnight. hope it works for you if something hasnt already.
good luck with that! jeff

Thanks for the help with BER. I planted two beefsteak plants and two better-boy plants each in a 14 inch plastic container with soil mix made for indoor plants. I get a lot of fruit but quite small. Can I increase size by feeding, or am I stuck til next year when I plan to use only one plant per container?

The calcium tablets aren't going to dissolve in plain water very readily (although if the product is based on calcium citrate, it might be slightly more soluable). Those tablets are made to dissolve in the stomach thanks to stomach acid and in general calcium carbonate or similar calcium formulation needs an acidic solution to dissolve and release the calcium ion.

Most soils are not deficient in calcium and the problem with BER is more that the young plant can't get what is available up to the fruits. As the plant matures, it can deal with adverse conditions better and the problem usually goes away.

jon - are your tomatoes actually ripening small or are they still green? Sometimes it takes time for them to bulk up before being done. You can also get larger tomatoes by thinning.

Yes, jenny, the tomatoes are ripening while small. By thinning, do you mean to pick some blossoms before they produce fruit? Also the better boy plants make branches, while the beefsteaks do not. All the fruits are small.

Thinning would be in terms of pulling off selected tomatoes in a cluster leaving one or two to grow to a larger size. Many tomatoes, aside from the cherries that generally form long clusters of fruit, will sometimes overproduce so if you want larger tomatoes, take some off while they're growing. I know that people going for record sized tomatoes will usually select a variety known to produce large tomatoes and then will often leave just one on there (removing all the rest) to get as big as it can. LOL

With respect to the habits - your beefsteaks are apparently doing their vining thing more aggressively than the better boys but they can form what people call "sucker" growth coming out of the leaf joints of main stems and those can actually become fruiting branches themselves. In general, the beefsteaks tend to become huge huge plants, even in a container. In the past, I've had mine go to something like 7ft - 8ft tall and way past my cage and stakes and all I could do was allow them to sprawl the rest of the way, essentially supporting each other.

OK thanks jenny for the info. I think I understand now. We'll see how it works and I will be better ready for next year.

Cheflara,

I've gardened for 34 years and have probably done more reading on this "hobby" than anything else in my life.
Among the contributing factors to BER are uneven watering, fluctuations in temperature, and lack of calcium in the tomatoes themselves. (Adding some to soil rarely helps, cause it's very plentiful in most soils.)
There is are some simple things you can do to help reduce the chances of BER, though as some have mentioned, it usually goes away by itself as the season progresses.
One thing is to put a good 3 or 4 inches of grass clippings on top of the containers. Having been to New York City many times, I know there are areas where grass clipings aren't easy to come by. But using them has so many benefits, it would be worth a little trouble to get some, like taking some boxes along the next time you visit the burbs?
The clippings will:
1. Keep the soil moister, reducing "uneven" water conditions.
2, Keep the soil cooler, up to 50 degreees on the surface on hot days.
3. Provide all the nutrients your tomatoes need. Chemical fertilzers simply are not as good, plus they cost money. The grass clippings provide "a balanced meal," not too much of one nutrient and not enough of another. The chances your tomatoes will get the calcium they need will be better.

If your plants are getting all-day sun, you might also think of leaning something against the pots to shade them from the hot afternoon sun. Remember, only the plants need sun, not the pots. Some kinds of materials can get hot enough to cook roots touching the inside of the pots. This also helps reduce fluctuations in temperature.

And finally, if you don't have saucers or something under the pots to catch water, it would be very beneficial to get some. What happens with potted plants is that the soil dries out and shrinks. That creates a space between the soil and the sides of the pot. You water, see water running out the bottom, and think the soil has been wet. But the majority of the root ball is still bone dry. If you have a saucer under the pots, water collects there and then is slowly drawn up into the rootball by capillary action.
I've been suggesting for years that drainage holes NOT be put on the bottom of containers. They should be about 2 to 4 inches up the sides, depending on the size pot. And lo and behold, a friend of mine who lives in another city recently bought a potted dwarf lemon tree. She e-mailed me and asked why the drainage holes Were Up the Sides?
It's possible someone came up with this independently, but I think I have "dibs" on it?
All of the above will just make General Conditions for your maters better. A healhtier plant is less likely to have problems of any kind.

Thanks Tyrell, actually the BER did go away, but I will keep in mind the use of grass clippings for next year. I did already drill holes in the bottom of the containers, and I am not having a problem with drainage I think because I used Al's (Tapla) soil mix which also eliminates the forming of a root ball, as the roots are spread throughout the soil instead. I am learning alot from all you garden webbers out there, I have plenty of tomatoes and am encouraged to do more next year. I can't wait to try other vegetables next season.
Thanks much,
Cheflara