Blossom End Rot in an Earthtainer

[dealsgapper]

Just found that I have BER in two of my Earthtainers. Fresh 3-2-1 mix this year. Only one plant in two different containers. Cherokee Choclate and Mammoth Wonder. Should I pull the plants or is there a cure?

[les matzek]

IF I WAE YOU I WOULD WAIT SOME TIMES
THE FIRST ONE OR TWO MAY HAVE BER
BUT AFTER THAT IT SHOULD STOP, GOOD
LUCK.

LES

[Pyrrho]

Did you apply garden lime as instructed? If so, I'd wait it out. BER usually takes care of itself as the season progresses.

Pulling the plants only makes sense if you want to try other varieties that might be less susceptible. If you replace your existing plants with one of the same variety you will probably run into the same problem again. Still, I'd just ride it out.

[dealsgapper]

Thanks for the come back. I have some of the same varieties in a raised bed with no sign of BER yet. I did add the lime, so I'm confident the mix is good. I guess that's why I was so surprised.

[Tomatovator]

They will grow out of it and will be fine. Don't pull because of a few with BER.

[dealsgapper]

Originally Posted by Tomatovator

They will grow out of it and will be fine. Don't pull because of a few with BER.

Thanks I'll stay the course. I started 150 plants from seed this year and the 36 I kep tare like my kids. I would hate to lose any of them.

[Stepheninky]

Personally I would use some Molasses 1 tbs added to a gallon of water and add that to the container as it is a chelating agent, helps plants better uptake minerals in the soil. Its not an instant fix or anything like that but will improve the uptake as stated. As far as I know the exact cause of BER is unknown though most will agree that its an uptake issue of calcium not getting distributed to the blossom end of the fruit. Irregular watering can also cause it as well.

If you make some compost tea, or even add some garden soil to the Molasses 1 tbs added to a gallon of water and let it sit shaking it vigorously periodically you should be able to get some soil microbes started. ( I use an air stone and a aquarium air pump to avoid the shaking but it is nit required and shaking will work fine) After 12 -24 hours add this to the container. If your soil mix was made up of bagged ingredients (fairly sterilized ingredients) Then it probably lacks these natural soil microbes. These microbes break down nutrients in the soil to a more basic form that is easier for the plants to uptake.

If you are worried about possibly adding bad microbes doing this there are many products available that can be used instead.

Like others have said the BER might clear up on its own as well. The options I listed above are all things I personally would do anyways even if there is no issues. Just soil improvements that can increase overall plant health.

[Dewayne mater]

I don't know how hot it has been there, but, I experienced severe BER last summer when it got hot in ET IIs, and this was all on secondary fruit set. There is an excellent series of posts on that subject from last June I believe that I commend to you as all the experts chimed in with top notch contributions. What I recall is the BER is caused by problems with calcium uptake. This can be due to several things, such as water stress (too much or little) - nope, and in my case, I believe it was the fact that direct sun on the tainers, which were sitting on a concrete driveway was over heating the roots. I shaded the roots with bamboo shades, put 2x4s underneath them to get them off the concrete and started adding liquid calcium products from a local hydro store when I refilled the tainers. I did not have one more instance of BER after that. Good luck!

[dealsgapper]

Thank you all for the advise. I will try a few of your suggestions to see if we can make the babies more healthy. I do value what I read in these posts and appreciate the learning experience.

[Elliot]

Originally Posted by dealsgapper

Just found that I have BER in two of my Earthtainers. Fresh 3-2-1 mix this year. Only one plant in two different containers. Cherokee Choclate and Mammoth Wonder. Should I pull the plants or is there a cure?

Apply calcium in the form of lime pellets and see what happens. One of hte companies "spray & Grow" makes a foliar version of calcium.


Elliot

LI, New York

[mskid]

I had BER in almost all my container toms early in the season last year. I cured it by watering every morning when the temp was over 80 and twice a day when over about 95.

This year, I have been diligent about this watering plan from the outset and have seen absolutely no BER and have beautiful production so far (fingers crossed) with 134 tomatoes formed on 10 plants.

You will get a lot of complex advice on BER. I believe if you fertilize using slow release and occasionally thereafter and water consistently in hot weather, you will not have a problem.

[dealsgapper]

I'm already watering twice a day, but thanks. The BER hasn't been showing on all the plants, mainly on one variety. I have 44 plants and six different heirloom varieties the Mammoth Wonders seem to be the only ones struggling right now and they just might not like the climate.

[Plaz]

I am seeing ber on several of mine in the early stages of growth. Thinking back I do think I forgot lime this year in my mixture (dammit) . Any fixes that I can add to the watering without destroying roots? I don't think water is an issue as I have the watering set up on a timer twice a day for 15 mins. Could I just put a few lime granules into them like the ones i use on the lawn?

Thanks!

[rnewste]

Plaz,

You could try adding in the "snack" which is Calcium Nitrate. Available in 3 or 5 pound bags on Ebay. A bit of a "Hail Mary" at this point - - but it may be worth a shot.

Dolomitic Lime in a container is absolutely recommended for next year.

Raybo

[dice]

This place has liquid calcium supplements that you can spray on foliage,
add to the reservoir of a self-watering container, put in a fertilizer
injector, and so on. Prices are reasonable, but shipping on gallon and
larger jugs is not so reasonable, in my opinion (shipping on pints and
quarts is ok):
http://www.plantsthatproduce.com/pro...d_Calcium.html

I have a gallon of this bought a couple of years ago elsewhere:
http://www.plantsthatproduce.com/pro...um_12_JUG.html

Hydroponic stores may have similar products (or even this one) if there
are any fairly close to you. A farm or feed store may be able to get it but
would not necessarily stock it (a lot of their deliveries will be tranker truck
loads, not gallon jugs).

Calcium nitrate can be bought retail here:
http://www.thehydrosource.com/Nutrie...qmtq1i52aij4a5

I do not know what shipping runs from that online hydroponic vendor.
Their prices seem otherwise reasonable. Be aware that calcium nitrate
basically adds a lot nitrogen. Vegetative growth will probably blast off
with that stuff. It also soaks up water from the air really easily, and you
have to keep it dry to avoid discovering that it is a solid block of crystals
the next time you go to use some.

Foli-cal, Nutri-cal, and Gain are some other brands that you can look
for. Keep in mind that liquid calcium should not be injected or sprayed
with other fertilizers. There are too many trace elements and nutrients
(phosphorous especially) that the calcium can combine with and
precipitate out insoluble crystals that the plant cannot absorb.