Additive to help with BER?

[Keger]

Anybody have luck adding to your soil to help with blossom end rot? I have seen a few things, wondering if anybody has a method they like. Thanks!

[Worth1]

Most soil has all of the micro nutrients necessary for the plant not to have BER.

If it is in a container then maybe but probably not.

I just dont know what to say, many people think they are doing something to help.
In reality it is the plant that has became mature enough to over come BER and not anything they have added.

I have heard of folks adding Epson salts, tums, sprays and all sorts of things.
Some varieties are more susceptible to BER and I stay away from them.
Another thing I do is to remove any blossoms that may appear early in growth.
Remove any fruits that have it.
Regular watering cycles.

The last time I experienced it I had several varieties and Lemon Boy was the only one that had BER.
All plants were in the same soil, not in containers.

I know others will argue that there is a magic formula but there isn't.

Worth

[kurt]

http://www.tomatoville.com/search.php?searchid=1143839 Calcium seems to come up alot in these past TVille discussions.

[dice]

If the roots are not taking in enough calcium, the fruit will
get BER. They could not take in enough because there is not
enough in the soil, because the soil is too dry (the calcium
has to dissolve in water for the plant to take it up), because
the root ball is too small for the plant, because there are high
levels of other minerals that interfere with calcium uptake,
because the soil is too wet (root hair die off), etc.

Unfortunately, while this condition (actual effective calcium
defiency in the soil or growth media) will cause BER, that is
not the only cause. Anything that interferes with the transport
of calcium from the roots to the fruit will also cause BER (usually
this means variable weather and soil moisture levels). Rapid
vegetative growth can also caused increased BER by using up
too much of the calcium available the plant for leaves and stems.
Research has also reported higher BER rates when using
fertilizers where most of the nitrogen content was some form
of ammonia. (This probably only applies to ammonium that is
added midseason, when fruit are developing. Ammonium
added in spring gets converted to nitrates by bacteria
within a couple of weeks.)

(I do not know of any research testing BER raters with urea
fertilizers.)

This chart from TotalGro shows what nutrients in excess can
interfere with calcium uptake. (Magnesium and ammonium
seem to be the most glaring offenders. Epsom salts, magnesium
sulfate, would seem to not be recommended for this condition.)