I thought I read somewhere BER is caused by a calcium deficiency. As mentioned that is old school when applied it is applied to soil deficiency being the cause. Just isn't true. The actual cause is a mal-distribution of calcium in the fruit and that is a watering issue. Either the top growth of the plant exceeds the plant's roots ability to take up sufficient water OR (most likely) inconsistent soil moisture is being provided. In established plants once you stabilize the soil moisture level the BER goes away. Dave PS: there is a FAQ and many discussions here about this if you search 'BER'.

Hmmm... Glad this thread is back. When first posted I looked at the pic and was not sure if BER or not. The coloration of the rotten part is not like I usually see. Here is a pic of BER on a bell: I don't often grow bells. Here is BER on a Cubanelle: Personally, I don't believe that BER has to be on the very tip of the fruit, but it does seem to be usually near the blossom end. Since the plants always outgrow BER problems I really don't worry about it. Good luck & hopefully others will chime in too. jt

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

First there are literally 100s of discussions about BER over on the Tomato forum, some running right now. So check those out please. The advice isn't "uneven watering" or "watering evenly", it is consistent soil moisture levels. A very different thing. Watering isn't a scheduled thing. It is as the soil moisture level needs it or not and the only way you can know that is by sticking your hand down into the soil. As rgreen said it is done deeply (soaking) and infrequently and every other day only creates shallow rooted, water-dependent plants. BER is something we all have to deal with in early spring. It happens long before you see it on the fruit. It happened way back while the fruit was still small and green. And it is most common on the very first fruit to set on the plant simply becasue the plant is young, its root system is young, and spring weather is inconsistent with all the rains. Once you can see it you toss those fruit and 9 times out of 10 you don't see it any more assuming you stabilize the soil moisture. But I can only stress that watering isn't something you put on a schedule. Most gardens never need daily watering and seldom need every other day. Once a week is an good average IF you are delivering enough water when you do it. So the most likely source of the problem is not deeply enough and way too frequently. That is why drip irrigation and/or soaker hose work so much better. How do you deliver water to your plants? And how long of a time does each plant get watered? Do you have a rain gauge in the garden or how do you measure how much each plant gets? Dave