Thursday, June 28, 2012

Bottom end rot - water or calcium?

I'm was so sad to see the familiar black bottoms on my perfect green tomatoes...it's bottom end rot. I did not have too much of a problem last year in the containers but I was able to check on them everyday so the watering was more consistent. It could also be calcium deficiency, but I think it is more likely a watering problem. It is HOT here and I wasn't able to water the community plot for about 2 days. I'm going to make it a point to check the moisture level of the soil everyday. I will also think about getting calcium chloride from the garden store. Hopefully, it will not continue to be too big of a problem. I removed the tomatoes with the damage - it was sad, but there is not point in wasting the plant's energy on the damaged tomatoes. So sad!
Tomato with bottom end rot:( 
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6 comments:

  1. Suburban GardenessJune 28, 2012 at 8:25 PM

    I used to get blossom end rot but haven't since I started adding things to the hole at planting time. I put in a handful of bone meal, a handful of slow release organic fertilizer, 1 and 1/2 crushed aspirin and 2 crushed egg shells.
    I've tried the blossom end rot spray and it didn't work for me. But maybe you could try adding some bone meal to the soil around the plant? They say that tomatoes need 1 inch of water per week. I've been watering my tomatoes 1 time a week but they get a nice deep drink vs several shallow waterings a week.

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    1. CharmcitybalconygardenJuly 5, 2012 at 5:40 PM

      Thank you! I put a handful of crushed egg shells in the whole when I planted the tomatoes. I think it wasn't enough or the calcium in eggshells is not easily accessible for the plants. I took your advise and got some bone meal to sprinkle at the base of the plants. I also added some azomite and eggshells and a little bit of fertilizer (I was debating because I read that too much nitrogen makes it worse). I think they are doing better.

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  2. SherryJune 28, 2012 at 9:06 PM

    So frustrating! Fingers crossed these are the only ones that you'll have a problem with. And this heat is rough. I'm watering deeply almost every day just to try and stay on top of it.

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    1. CharmcitybalconygardenJuly 5, 2012 at 5:40 PM

      The heat is horrible. And for the past couple of days it feels like it is going to rain but it doesn't. But I am getting better at watering more consistently.

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  3. AltanerJuly 4, 2012 at 4:50 AM

    Tak til deling!

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    1. CharmcitybalconygardenJuly 5, 2012 at 5:41 PM

      I think this means, "thanks for sharing"...but I'm not sure. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete

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