Blossom end rot: now what?

13 years ago

I'm growing Window Box Roma tomatoes in containers in Miracle Gro potting mix. I transplanted late so I am just getting my first fruits...which ALL have blossom end rot. I understand it means the plants need calcium (or a more steady stream of calcium). I water them once a day to once every two days.

My questions are:

(1) Do I actually need to do anything? Some forum answers say that the plants outgrow BER as if it's a kind of phase?

(2) If I need it, what form of calcium should I use? (i.e., I have eggshells, but could drive to purchase something at Wal-Mart if needed)

(3) How do I get the calcium to the plants? (e.g., if eggshells work, what do you do with them? Crumble them up and bury it near the stem?)

Apologies if this was covered before, search didn't turn up quite the answer I was looking for. If there is something I can do next year to prevent this, would love to know that too. This is my first year growing anything (other than houseplants) so I am appreciative of everyone bearing with me & sharing their knowledge.

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Comments (10)

col_sprg_maters
13 years ago
Some things to check:

First the pot, does it have drainage holes at the low points? If not-- drill holes. Is it the right size for the plant? If you have a dwarf windowbox then 2 gallons might be OK.

Second the Mix, does it drain without holding water too long? If not, then repot with appropriate draining mix.

Did you have a COMPLETE fertilizer in your initial potting mix including calcium? make sure you do.

Next; were you watering when the plant needed it, or on a predetermined schedule? Check moisture at root level with your finger, and look at the plant for wilt. Dont water unless the plant needs it.

Are you giving the plant a periodic fertilizer after the initial fertilizer is depleted? The watering of containers with fast draining mix will deplete fertilizer faster than in the ground plants.

Consider these questions and how many of these things need to be addressed. This is a a little late in the season for some locations, so some special things may have to be considered due to remaining growing time.

Of course one needs to assure the plant has good sunlite and right temperature.
gtippitt
13 years ago
Green Light Blossom End Rot spray is a organic calcium supplement to spray on tomato plants. I give mine a mist with it once per week and have not any problem with BER since I started using it.

You only need 3 oz mixed in gallon of water.

It is available at Lowes or on Amazon.

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Light Blossom-End Rot Control
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Comments (11)
Thanx for the Input chili. I had no Idea that U could spray with MILK! Won't that really smell??? Anyway the CalMag seems to be working. I also am worried about the proper levels of nutrients. I do not have an ec meter and I know the water is evaporating quite a bit. This is what I'm doing. Please let me know if it seems right. After filling the system with fresh nutrients. Say 10 gallons, I add 5 gallons of water twice before I re-mix and add more nutrients. The water here is @ a ph of 6.5 so no adjustment is necessary. (c: And to Hank_mili, I do not have the space right now to increase the size of my reservoir. As far as the algae on the pearlite, Does it really hurt anything?? and How to apply peroxide to the system?? I have updated my website with recent pics and am happy to say the tomatoes are finally comming in! Thank You All for all the great advice!! Noone Here is a link that might be useful: Noone's Place
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Blossom end rot or what?
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Comments (2)
Okiefamily, Sounds like blossom end rot to me. There's also a rare internal form of BER where the tomatoes look fine on the outide and then you cut into them and find the BER inside. I've only seen it happen once or twice. I've never seen pollination problems cause anything that looks like BER. Although BER can happen on any kind of tomato, it is very rare on the cherry and other bite-size types, and it is very common on Roma types. About all you can do is keep the plants evenly moist. BER has more to do with the immature vascular system of a tomato plant not being able to take up and distribute calcium evenly than with an actual deficit of calcium in the soil. It is even more common than usual when young plants set a heavy fruit load before their vascular system is large enough to support the heavy load. A little time/plant maturity generally resolves the problem. Dawn
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Comments (6)
Here's an article I wrote a few years ago which I think will help clear up some misconceptions and explain more about BER. I had lost this article, but Bets, who posts here, posted it and I was able to get it back thanks to Betsy, &&&&&&&&&& With BER there is NO problem with absorption of Ca++ though the roots. The problem is maldistribution within the plant that can be induced by a number of stresses which include uneven delivery of water, too much N, growing in too rich soil, too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry you name it. As the plants mature they can better handle the stresses that can induce BER so usually it goes away. The two exceptions are first, if the soil has NO Ca++ as confirmed with a soil test, and that's a rare condition, and second, if the soil is too acidic in which Case Ca++ is bound in the soil. Again, adding lime, egg shells and on and on can not and will not prevent BER b'c absorption of Ca++ thru the roots is OK. Paste tomatoes are especially susceptible to BER and I think someone in a post above mentioned that. If you go to the top of this first page and click on the FAQ link and scroll down you'll also find an article about BER in case some of you have never looked at the FAQ's And there's some darn good articles there as well, but I wouldn't pay any attention to the variety list b'c it's way out of date. The old information about BER being caused solely by lack of soil Ca++ has been shown to be wrong with research that's been done in the last 20 years or so, but it's going to take another generation before the real story gets into books, websites, magazines, etc. Most of the better websites already have the correct information. BER affects not only tomatoes, but peppers, squash, cabbage, cauliflower, etc., and it's a huge multimillion dollar problem for the industry, which is WHY all that reasearch was done. For instance, when tissues were taken from a plant that has BER fruits and was assayed for Ca++, the normal level of Ca++ was found, it just wasn't getting to the blossom end of fruits. And there's also a condition called internal BER where the fruits look fine, no evidence of BER externally, but when you cut open the fruit the inside is black Hope that helps Carolyn
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Comments (3)
I guess it is a lack of calcium, but now that my plants are growing and I have fruit, what can I do to fix the problem. No it isn't a lack of calcium per se, not soil calcium at any rate. I think most all of the many discussions on this forum about BER as well as the FAQ here on BER make that point well. It is inconsistent distribution of the calcium to the fruit during development because of inconsistent soil moisture levels. The "fix", if you want to call it that, is time, patience, and consistent soil moisture insofar as possible. Avoiding things like using containers that are too small, avoiding varieties that are very prone to BER naturally, and not over-watering plants can also help. BER goes away all on its own as the plant matures and adapts. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: BER FAQ and discussions
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noinwi
13 years ago
I grew Window Box in containers a few years ago and the first several toms on each plant had BER. I've read paste/roma types are more prone to it. I just removed those fruit and as the season progressed the plants got past it. You may not get many ripe fruit due to starting late, but if the pots aren't too large and you end up with a lot of greenies, you can take the plants inside to extend the season when frost is approaching.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
13 years ago
It's unlikely that the BER is because of an actual shortage of Ca in the medium - it's probably because, for whatever reason, those fruits received an inadequate supply of Ca as the fruits were forming. Since it involves the first fruits, it's very possible the deformation occurred very early in the plant's life - before transplanting. If you bought the plants as sets (in cell packs), it's likely that something cultural caused the issue even before you acquired the plants, but things like over-watering, applying Epsom salts to the plants/soil, high humidity and cloudy days during fruit set - in short, anything that disrupts or slows the nutrient stream, can cause BER.

Al
lathyrus_odoratus
13 years ago
This is my favorite read about BER.

Here is a link that might be useful: Click here for BER article
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
13 years ago
Good info - thanks. In case not everyone reads it, it points to cultural influences as the primary, rather than an actual shortage of Ca, in most cases.

Al
familyman2004
13 years ago
In my experience Roma tomatoes are more BER prone than others.
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
13 years ago
This year for the first time I have a problem with BER. It is also the first time I have planted Burpee Big Boy tomatoes. My other tomatoes are not affected. The simple solution is to be selective by going back to my Better Boy next year. Al
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
13 years ago
I too, had some BER issues this year, but only on a tomato named Rutgers.

Al
Kevin Reilly
13 years ago
I had BER at a lot of my first blooming tomatoes this year, I did nothing an all the other one that came in were fine. Also you can cut the BER part off, the tomato is edible.

Blossom end rot: now what?

Comments (10)

col_sprg_maters

gtippitt

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