More lime will not help because the calcium would take too long to become available. BER is not from lack of calcium, but from lack of mobile calcium in the plant. Here's a thread I like. Scroll down the thread to Al Tapla's explaination. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/contain/msg0514510630172.html This year I had som BER on my only SIP, and I threw everything but the kitchen sink at it including; calcium nitrate in the reservior, calcium nitrate foliar spray, gypsum in the reservior, and Texas Tomato Food in the reservior, which has extra calcium in it. My BER stopped (for now) fairly quickly, and I only lost about 10 Red Brandywines. After everything I did, still not sure what stopped it. Might have stopped by itself anyway, which is usually the case.

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

In your picture, notice the lower right one where I see lesions in circles. Knowing that I'm going to give you two suggestions, but since you said nothing about any other symptoms such as leaf lesions, lesions on stems, these are just suggestions, and maybe you can share with us if there are any other symptoms we should know about. First is Buckeye Rot, linked to at the very bottom and if you read some of the links you'll also see pictures other than those shown with this Google link. The second suggestion is Late Blight ( P. infestans), and I don't if it's present in KS. http://www.longislandhort.cornell.edu/vegpath/photos/lateblight_tomato.htm The link above is one of the best I know for Late Blight. But the fungal disease Grey Mold can also mimic LB, so you might was to take a look at that as well since Grey Mold is present almost everywhere if the weather conditions are right. And it really would help if there are other symptoms we should know about. Carolyn Here is a link that might be useful: Buckeye Rot

No idea. I tend not to trust cheap meters that you can buy. I find that the human finger works well for me, since I check my plants daily and at least twice a day in extreme weather anyway. Some people use a wooden dowel inserted into the soil that they pull up and down, like an oil-checking stick. I would think there would be issues with wicking, but they seem to make it work for them. A gallon of water every day without checking previous moisture levels in a very moisture-retaining mix and in a cooler zone, even in fabric pots, would really be the first red flag for BER. It might be different if you were in sunny, dry, hot climes, although even then, using a mix that is all compost and peat is problematic. Sometimes, plants get better at managing calcium when they get more mature, so your plants may grow out of it.