When the tomatoes are growing rapidly, they can "outgrow" the plant's ability to keep the growing fruit supplied with enough minerals, especially calcium, One of the critical factors is moisture to keep the nutrients flowing towards the fruit and within the fruit ... keep it even. Mulch thickly. But don't drown the roots. pH affects the availability of soil minerals - within a broad range. I add sulfur to lower the pH (AZ alkaline dirt), where someone else might have to add lime to raise it. THEN, after you have watering and pH adjusted, try adding calcium and magnesium (they interact) ... but not too much. It's a bit of an art.

You can try, but I'm not convinced crushed eggshells or eggshell water makes that much of a difference. I've tried them and couldn't see it made an impact. Blossom end rot is linked to calcium deficiency to a certain extent, but it isn't necessarily that the calcium isn't present in the soil but rather than some other nutritional imbalance or other growing conditions can interfere with uptake of the calcium. That's one reason BER can be so vexing. One way (though probably not the only one) that BER develops is that rapidly growing plants (esp. if just overfed with nitrogen) draw extra moisture and and nutrients out of the fruit and into the leaves, and at that point the fruit develop BER. In general, tomatoes that suffer from water stress or from extreme fluctuations in soil moisture levels are prime candidates for BER, but not all varieties develop it equally. Some varieties, especially paste type varieties like Roma, seem more prone to it than others and I have only see it on cherry types once or twice in many years of tomato growing. Some of the other conditions that may cause BER include cool and humid weather; heavy, dense, extremely compacted soil; unmulched soil (because moisture levels fluctuate more); and excessive levels of some nutrients that interfere with calcium uptake including potassium and nitrogen. Sometimes BER may be caused by root damage. Often, I think BER may be linked to a heavy fruit load on a plant that is relatively immature because you'll often see it on the first few fruit, red or green, on younger plants earlier in the year and then not on those same plants again after they've matured a bit more. If your soil seems calcium deficient, you can add lime to your soil if you have acidic soil and you can add gypsum to your soil if you have alkaline soil. I just throw eggshells on the compost pile and let them decompose and add the compost to the beds. Otherwise, I'm not convinced they break down fast enough to help the plants. I don't think Tomato-Tone is the supreme answer. I have used it for several years, and every now and then I still have a tomato plant with BER on some of the fruit despite that, though generally when I see it, it is on fruit in container plantings, not those in the ground. They all get fed with Tomato Tone, though. Good luck resolving the BER. The good news about BER is it often (though not always) goes away on its own. Dawn

First you need to understand what actually causes BER - and it is NOT a lack of calcium in the soil. There are literally 100 discussions here about the cause of BER and why hole additives such as egg shells, bone meal, TUMS, and the many other weird things folks claim prevent it have nothing to do with actually preventing it. While having a proper soil pH is very beneficial for many reasons, including help in preventing BER, you have already accomplished that. From the point of transplanting on the key is stabilizing the soil moisture to a consistent level and allowing the plant's root and circulatory system to mature to the point it can provide the needed calcium that is already in the soil to the fruit. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: BER discussions

Image by: dthrooop Blossom-end rot is a disorder of tomato, squash, pepper, and all other fruiting vegetables. You notice that a dry sunken decay has developed on the blossom end (opposite the stem) of many fruit, especially the first fruit of the season. This is not a pest, parasite or disease process but is a physiological problem caused by a low level of calcium in the fruit itself. Symptoms BER, or blossom-end rot usually begins as a small "water-soaked looking" area at the blossom end of the fruit while still green. As the lesion develops, it enlarges, becomes sunken and turns tan to dark brown to black and leathery. In severe cases, it may completely cover the lower half of the fruit, becoming flat or concave, often resulting in complete destruction of the infected fruit. Cause Calcium is required in relatively large concentrations for normal cell growth. When a rapidly growing fruit is deprived of calcium, the tissues break down, leaving the characteristic lesion at the blossom end. Blossom-end rot develops when the fruit's demand for calcium exceeds the supply in the soil. This may result from low calcium levels in the soil, drought stress, excessive soil moisture, and/or fluctuations due to rain or overwatering . These conditions reduce the uptake and movement of calcium into the plant, or rapid, vegetative growth due to excessive nitrogen fertilization. Management Adequate preparation of the garden bed prior to planting is the key to preventing BER. Insure adequately draining soil in the bed by adding needed ammendments, maintain the soil pH around 6.5 - a pH out of this range limits the uptake of calcium. Lime (unless the soil is already alkaline), composted manures or bone meal will supply calcium but take time to work so must be applied prior to planting. Excess ammonial types of nitrogen in the soil can reduce calcium uptake as can a depleted level of phosphorus. After planting, avoid deep cultivation that can damage the plant roots, use mulch to help stabilize soil moisture levels and help avoid drought stress, avoid overwatering as plants generally need about one inch of moisture per week from rain or irrigation for proper growth and development. Once the problem develops, quick fixes are difficult. Stabilize the moisture level as much as possible, feeding with manure or compost tea is recommended by many, foliar applications of calcium are of questionable value according to research because of poor absorption and movement to fruit where it is needed but many have reported that foliar application of magnesium (epsom salts) can effect added calcium uptake. Other various suggestions consist of powdered milk, crushed egg shells tea, bone meal tea, Tums tablets, etc. but prevention is the key. Some recommend removing affected fruit from to reduce stress in the plant. BER should not be confused with fruit abortion or inadequate pollination although the symptoms may appear similar. The onset of BER occurs only after the fruit is well on it's way to development while insufficient pollination problems terminate the fruit while still quite small.