Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

A garden is only as good as the ground that it's planted in. Discussion forum for the many ways to improve the soil where we plant our gardens.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old July 19, 2015   #1
Lycopersica
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: New England
Posts: 46
Default Blossom end blues

I'm growing opalka plum tomatoes. Although the plants have been fruiting like crazy, at least two thirds of the fruit have blossom end rot. Based on a soil test, I know my soil was very calcium deficient when I started. I mixed in compost, Dr. Earth's rock phosphate (containing calcium phosphate) and egg shells when I planted but I guess that wasn't enough.

A week or two ago, when I noticed how widespread the blossom end rot was, I added more egg shell bits and rock phosphate. Then, I mulched the bed with composted leaves and pine needles to keep the soil more evenly moist. I've been careful to water more consistently too. Nonetheless, I noticed today that the newer juvenile tomatoes are starting to get soft spots on their blossom ends.

The plants are showing early signs of over-feeding so I don't want to amend the soil any further. Should I try one of those calcium sprays or give it more time? Am I doomed to sad mushy half-tomatoes all season?
__________________
Root for your cuttings and they'll do the same for you
Lycopersica is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 19, 2015   #2
Salsacharley
Tomatovillian™
 
Salsacharley's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 2,051
Default

Here is an article with good info on plants' ability to take up calcium. It appears that there aren't any quick remedies, but balancing nutrients would be a good start. Good Luck.

http://maximumyield.com/take-a-trip-...lcium-highway/
Salsacharley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 20, 2015   #3
Carriehelene
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 300
Default

Dave says that adding eggshells will do nothing to add the calcium needed, and it's the wrong kind of calcium. That's pretty much the only help I can offer, never had a calcium problem to get further into it. Good luck!
Carriehelene is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 20, 2015   #4
FarmerShawn
Tomatovillian™
 
FarmerShawn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Vermont
Posts: 1,001
Default

I really love Opalkas, but they are the most likely to get BER than any tomato I've tried. I don't have any quick fixes, but when they work, Opalkas are worth the trouble!
__________________
"Red meat is NOT bad for you. Now blue-green meat, THAT'S bad for you!"
-- Tommy Smothers
FarmerShawn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 20, 2015   #5
Lycopersica
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: New England
Posts: 46
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Salsacharley View Post
Here is an article with good info on plants' ability to take up calcium. It appears that there aren't any quick remedies, but balancing nutrients would be a good start. Good Luck.

http://maximumyield.com/take-a-trip-...lcium-highway/
Thanks for the great article. It's really informative about the different types of calcium. I guess quick fix foliar sprays are too good to be true after all. I'll wait a bit and then try some gypsum sparingly on a few plants.

I don't know it makes any difference, but I picked the a bunch of the larger affected fruits to ease stress and nutrient load on the plants. At least I managed to save enough pieces for a big tray of fried green tomatoes.
__________________
Root for your cuttings and they'll do the same for you
Lycopersica is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 20, 2015   #6
Lycopersica
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: New England
Posts: 46
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by FarmerShawn View Post
I really love Opalkas, but they are the most likely to get BER than any tomato I've tried. I don't have any quick fixes, but when they work, Opalkas are worth the trouble!
It's reassuring to know that I'm not alone in having Opalkas with BER. I was beginning to feel like a bad plant parent!
__________________
Root for your cuttings and they'll do the same for you
Lycopersica is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 21, 2015   #7
Lycopersica
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: New England
Posts: 46
Default

The gypsum worked! Okay, it could be a coincidence but the plants really turned around after I applied it. I went from ~90% of my tomatoes getting BER by the time they got big to only a few getting it. Hooray for pointy Opalkas!
__________________
Root for your cuttings and they'll do the same for you
Lycopersica is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 21, 2015   #8
yardn_gardn
Tomatovillian™
 
yardn_gardn's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Central Idaho at 3200 elev. in zone 5b, maybe 100 frost free days
Posts: 77
Default

Opalka are my favorite tomatoe for fresh eating and canning. They taste great in salsa and are beautiful in the jars. Blossom end rot is such a painful experience. I've much less trouble with BER
this year than last since I put in a drip irrigation system with a $25.00 timer. It might help others too.
__________________
Happy garden trails, Dawn
yardn_gardn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 19, 2015   #9
Gardeneer
Tomatovillian™
 
Gardeneer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7
Posts: 4,909
Default

BER is mostly due to soil moisture fluctuations ( drying out) than Ca deficiency. For the same reason it occurs more often in container growing.
Then of course we know that Roma/plum types are more BER prone.

Gardeneer
Gardeneer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old January 6, 2016   #10
cjp1953
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Cuyahoga Falls,Ohio
Posts: 818
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lycopersica View Post
The gypsum worked! Okay, it could be a coincidence but the plants really turned around after I applied it. I went from ~90% of my tomatoes getting BER by the time they got big to only a few getting it. Hooray for pointy Opalkas!
I added gypsum to my garden this year to help keep the soil loose,seems the worms love it.I also read that it added calcium to the soil.It's a cheap way to go.It stays in the soil a while, I would think it works better turned into your soil but have been told even left on the surface it's still effective.
cjp1953 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:40 PM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★