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.

Growing Tomatoes FAQ: What is blossom-end rot? How can I prevent it? 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. Here is a link that might be useful: BER FAQ

There is nothing wrong with the tomatoes that have the virus other than their looks BER is not caused by a virus. Also, it's not simply the appearance that's affected -- the part of the fruit affected by BER is inedible. === you should remove the infected ones whether you eat them or not, so they do not infect the newer ones That use of "infected" is correct but misleading. Fruit which have BER are infected in the sense of having that condition, and being damaged by it. However, BER is not an infection. Fruit affected by BER are not infectious; they do not contain an infectious agent (like a bacterium or a virus). They cannot transmit the condition to other fruit. There may be secondary fungal infections, but AFAIK they do not happen often. The main advantage in removing BER-damaged fruit is not to prevent fungus attacking other fruit, but to allow the plant to use its resources on usable fruit rather than on fruit which already have BER. === I think it might be stress do to water. The soil dries out quickly and the plants look a little wilty. So then I give them water (too much maybe? How much should potted tomatoes get a day?). Sometimes I water twice a day when it gets really hot. Do you think the fluxuation in moisture is maybe causing this? Should I maybe move them to a bit more shade? Should I mulch them? Water more? Water less? Water deeply? Give only sips of Water? 7 gallons should be a good pot size. However, black pots absorb heat from the sun, and may overheat the roots. Covering the pot with something white, light-colored, or silver will deflect some of the heat. And definitely mulch your tomatoes, regardless of whether they're planted in containers or in the ground! Mulch not only keeps the soil from drying out quite so fast, but it keeps the roots cooler. It keeps down weed growth as well. And it also lessens the chance of disease -- rainwater or watering-can water striking the soil can bounce soil microorganisms onto the leaves, which can result in Bad Diseases You Don't Want to Have. Any time tomato plants look wilty, they need water. Withholding water will not help them. If they need water twice a day, then water them twice a day. Water until you see water coming out of the drain-holes. But it's not always that easy. Peat, when dry, doesn't easily absorb water. When a pot filled with a peat-based mix dries out, the peat shrinks. Then when you water, the water just runs down the air spaces at the sides of the pot, leading you to believe the plant has enough moisture -- but nothing could be farther from the truth: the plant is actually dying of thirst. You may have to water slowly and repeatedly to really get the peat moist again. Small containers are an advantage here: you can pick them up and set them in a saucer full of water until they soak up as much as they can.

There seems to be a misconception here that I am closed minded and set in my ways. That couldn't be further from the truth. In fact my garden right now is pretty much an experiment to see what works and what doesn't. Considering that I am unemployed and have a limited budget for gardening supplies I am trying to save as much money as I can so I can invest in good soil. I know 5 gallon buckets might not be ideal for some plants but I have basically an unlimited free supply of them so that is what I am using right now. If I get half as much tomatoes as the plant normally produces it is better than no tomatoes. That being said there are a few reasons I came to the conclusion my end rot problem was due to a watering issue and not over crowding. First of all the roma plants have been healthy and showing new growth everyday for at least a month. Then a heat wave hits at the beginning of this week. That is when the problems started all of a sudden. I did not get around to putting wood chips in the containers for the romas and the soil dried out on top. By putting 2 and 2 together most people would come to the logical conclusion that the end rot is being caused by lack of water. Not to say that there isn't going to be issues in the future due to over crowding there very well could be. Like I said it is sort of an experiment right now. Some experienced gardeners have told me I could get away with 3 plants. Some people have told me it's too many. I guess I will have to just find out for myself. I have about 20 healthy cuttings from the romas I have propagated so I have a backup plan in case things go wrong. As I said earlier I will have access to a decent sized heated greenhouse for the fall and winter so this is basically a trial run for what I'm going to be doing in the greenhouse. I have been adding worm castings to most of my plants every couple weeks. I just got an aerator yesterday and I'm going to make some worm casting tea and try that. Does anyone know how much castings I should use for 5 gallons of water or any websites that might have more info about that? I pulled about 15 rotted tomatoes from the plants last night of various sizes (none full sized). I ended up cooking them under the broiler and cutting the rotted part off then put them in salsa. It turned out pretty good. I am probably going to have about 10-15 more to pull off today. Some of them with very minor rot I am going to leave on and see how they do. I will keep you all updated on what happens here.