blossom end rot

[Fueling Around]

I heavily added gypsum while planting my tomatoes. I've added Epsom salts and more gypsum while the plants developed more foliage.

A month ago, I had to strip most of the developing fruits from my Roma plants due to blossom end rot. I have a tree root injector so a heavy dose of gypsum got it corrected. Need to do another dose of gypsum and epsom salts this weekend.

Anyone else have this problem?

 

[FFchampMT]

How's your watering schedule? If you think your calcium is sufficient you might be under watering a little. How's your pH? Higher pH means more available calcium.

 

[zwiller]

You may already know this but if not there is great info out there for gardening and yard issues like this. I try and find stuff from my state college but also nearby. https://extension.umn.edu/news/blossom-end-rot-tomatoes-and-other-vegetable-crops
https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/blossom_end_rot_tip_sheet

As as said and also in the MSU paper, watering issue mostly but could be high pH. Here we are clay and almost all issues are related to high pH.

 

[cornman]

It’s getting late in the season but if it helps in the future, water hard early in the season as plants are growing and developing buds. When the fruit develops close to size (just be aware of what the typical size is for a given variety), back off the watering to about once a week.

Use some kind of food/fertilizer as tomatoes are heavy feeders in terms of nutrients. I use crushed egg shells from the time I plant tomatoes up through the frost. They have a lot of the nutrients that tomatoes need and are beneficial to most plants in a garden. I started doing this years ago and have had minimal end rot issues since. I would think the right kind of food/fertilizer should work but since we eat eggs, it’s a great compost/make-use-of-waste practice.

Waiting for fresh tomatoes is torture for us and having issues is frustrating. I hope you get a good batch!

 

[SmokyMose]

I had major issues last year and read about the calcium thing. One thing mentioned was irregular watering.
This year instead of watering fairly heavy once or twice a week I water a little every day and we have fairly hard water so I
think the calcium in the water helped. No major issues.
Funny but the only ones that have gotten it this year are the Opalkas.....

 

[Winterrider]

I did have and was tossing quite a few tomatoes away. I also did the gypsum around the base of each plant where the irrigation water is at. It seems to have helped as only a couple as of late with rot.

 

[Fueling Around]

We are in severe drought conditions this year.

How's your watering schedule? If you think your calcium is sufficient you might be under watering a little. How's your pH? Higher pH means more available calcium.

I was pounding the water once a week, but during wheat harvest I was down to when I could get there which was after the rot appeared.
I have high pH soil and that restricts the calcium, magnesium, and iron uptake to plants

I had major issues last year and read about the calcium thing. One thing mentioned was irregular watering.
This year instead of watering fairly heavy once or twice a week I water a little every day and we have fairly hard water so I
think the calcium in the water helped. No major issues.
Funny but the only ones that have gotten it this year are the Opalkas.....

I cannot water on a daily schedule. I also have moderate hard water, but the high soil pH is not favorable. The chlorine doesn't help either.

We got an inch of rain yesterday. The garden has responded with the "O Yes, rain water".
Today, I discovered the blossom end rot is also in the zucchini and summer squash. That is a first ever.

You may already know this but if not there is great info out there for gardening and yard issues like this. I try and find stuff from my state college but also nearby. https://extension.umn.edu/news/blossom-end-rot-tomatoes-and-other-vegetable-crops
https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/blossom_end_rot_tip_sheet

As also said in the MSU paper, watering issue mostly but could be high pH. Here we are clay and almost all issues are related to high pH.

Thanks Sam.
U of Minnesota extension is great info, but I live in a micro region unique to the rest of the state.

I will be busy with the tree root feeder tomorrow injecting gypsum to all of the plants in the garden.

 

[Winterrider]

Today, I discovered the blossom end rot is also in the zucchini and summer squash. That is a first ever

Darn, that's too bad. Disappointing when any of it is found.

 

[zwiller]

I am no master gardener but think adding lime to high pH soil will not work for you. I think you want to add things to reduce pH allowing the plant to take up the Ca and other stuff. Aluminum sulfate, sulfur, etc. A Ca foliar spray might work tho.

 

[SmokyMose]

Today, I discovered the blossom end rot is also in the zucchini and summer squash. That is a first ever.

Had it on the bell peppers last year...

 

[Fueling Around]

I did have and was tossing quite a few tomatoes away. I also did the gypsum around the base of each plant where the irrigation water is at. It seems to have helped as only a couple as of late with rot.

I think the tomatoes are fine. They got a root injection of gypsum today as well as the zucchini and summer squash