Blossom end rot

Thumbs · November 16, 2014

Second year trying to grow tomatoes in cocopeat in 45litre bags.
first year a disaster with slow growth, poor fruit set and blossom end rot.
turned out was poor advice re nutrients so have tried to address that this year.
using a slow release fertiliser + gypsum in the cocopeat and watering every couple of weeks with a potassium solution.
Fruit set has been way better than last year but BER is out of control. At a guess losing more than 50% of fruit to BER!
Also growth of fruits has seemingly stalled, so only getting small fruit.
Am guessing that the plants are still not getting enough calcium so have started using a calcium spray (calcium carbonate antacid tabs in solution - similar to TUMS) and this is certainly making the plats look better but not sure if it's helping the BER.
Feel that i need to be using a top dressing or liquid fertiliser to boost the plants.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
cheers
Jeff (Thumbs)

**mdvpc** · November 16, 2014

Jeff-There are a lot of threads on BER here-you may want to do a search and read them. I gardened only in containers for over 20 years, had some BER, but not too much. What varieties are you growing? Some are more prone to BER than others. Also, the watering cycle is implicated in BER-too wet, too dry, insufficient watering, etc. Usually not lack of calcium (although that can surely play a part) but insufficient uptake of calcium to the plant. I am sure others here that are more expert in BER will post.

drew51 · November 16, 2014

The coir is staying wet too long. It's an ok amendment to a potting soil, but just using it alone is not the best approach. Add pine bark fines and perlite. I find a 3-1-1 ratio of pine bark, peat or coir, and perlite acceptable. The problem you have is your soil has weak structure. Pine bark and perlite help the soil lose excess water, and allow for root to access air. Yes, no nutrients. Add time release fertilizer and fertilize twice a month with a soluble or use an organic fertilizer as suggested on label. My bet is this has little to do with calcium, the roots are way too wet and probably dying. Thus the plant cannot absorb calcium. I myself am not impressed with coco peat or coir. Traditional peat moss is much better. But I would never grow anything in it alone either.
If you cannot locate the right size pine bark, which can be very difficult. You want pieces about 1/8 to 1/4 inch big. Bigger pieces don't work, and anything smaller is like peat.
I see you are down under so suggesting sources will do little good.
Making your own potting soil is the cheapest way to go, but you have to make sure it drains better, allows air pockets for root i.e has structure.

amideutch · November 16, 2014

General Hydroponics MaxiGro and FloraNova Grow are both good, complete nutrients for tomatoes and both have Calcium. Check out the site below for both products and you may want to give them a call and see if there is a problem using them in you cocopeat aggregate.

http://glandorehydro.com/product-category/nutrients/

Also see if you can find some Blackstrap Molasses and if so add about 1 tablespoon per gallon of water and and give it to you plants twice a week and can be used as a foliar spray as well.

BER is caused by a lot factors beside calcium deficiency and stress is the most common problem.

Ami

drew51 · November 16, 2014

Yes stress by a mediun that is difficult to work with. Sure it's possible to grow plants in broken glass, but why would you? Make it easier on yourself and grow in a more forgiving medium. Almost every city in the USA buffers water with carbonates, as acidic water eats pipes. So here, everytime you water with city water, you are adding calcium. Lack of calcium is the extreme reason for BER maybe in 1% of the cases.

Thumbs · November 16, 2014

Thanks for all your replies.
I will try to answer the queries raised as best i can.
mdvpc:
Tomato varieties;- Rouge de Marmande, Grosse lisse, Bragger, Beefsteak, Allens Early Red, Top dog, Gourmet Truss, Apollo improved, Royal Flush. As you can see, quite a variety! Couple of plants of each but all seem to be affected with the BER to some degree.
drew51:
Thanks for your comments.
Not sure that it is too wet. i have emptied several bags and the medium looks great. just nice and moist, certainly not wet. I am using a cocopeat blend (60% fine and 40% chip) and the resulting medium looks like a good quality potting mix. I have just had a chat with the supplier/importer who has told me the cocopeat has been well washed to remove the nasty salts etc and the blend has excellent air void ratio, water retention, etc and will not become waterlogged unless bad drainage from the bags. Not saying it couldn't be the problem but given that it is used extensively in nurseries here without modification, it seems unlikely.
I am using a slow release fertiliser in the cocopeat (Plantacote 14N 8P 15K 2MgO) and also every 2 weeks watering in a potassium solution and a Calcium solution and also using a liquid tomato food every week.
amideutch:
thanks for the link. i will check it out.
I've never heard of Blackstrap Molasses!
What is it and what does it do????
drew51:
Good point!
Our town water is heavily treated with Calcium carbonate, something i hadn't even thought about.
Plants have responded to the "TUMS" type spray though, so can't be doing any harm.
Thanks once again.
Jeff (Thumbs)

Cole_Robbie · November 17, 2014

My container plants get BER when I let them dry out too much between waterings.

amideutch · November 17, 2014

Quote:

I've never heard of Blackstrap Molasses!
What is it and what does it do????

Enjoy.

http://buymarijuanaseeds.com/communi...oodness.95401/

Thumbs · November 17, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

My container plants get BER when I let them dry out too much between waterings.

This is certainly a possibility Cole.
We have some very hot weather and that does no doubt stress the plants occasionally.

Worth1 · November 17, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by amideutch

Enjoy.

http://buymarijuanaseeds.com/communi...oodness.95401/

Can you even click on a marijuana site in Australia or some places in the US without going to jail.

Worth

amideutch · November 18, 2014

Quote:

Can you even click on a marijuana site in Australia or some places in the US without going to jail.

Since the legalization of Pot in the US is on the rise I've noticed less and less sites are being blocked by DOD policy on there computer network. Used to be if the URL had the word marijuana it was blocked.

And the states which have legalized it which have military bases it has created some interesting situations for the DOD.

Ami

kerns125 · January 1, 2015

I used EarthBox for the first time this past summer and the two(!) tomato plants I had in one EarthBox were about twice as productive as my other singly-planted containers ( and even my plants grown in the ground. But I did experience BER early on, so I found the following video on YouTube specific to the EarthBox that recommended using 1/4C pickling lime or hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) mixed with 1 gallon of water as a single use to water the box (doing it more would change the pH too much), and it resolved the BER immediately for me:
http://youtu.be/i0febDi7iak

AKmark · January 1, 2015

If your plants get to dry (during rapid growth stages) many varieties will get BER. After you get BER there is little you can do, but correct your watering and wait. When the plants rapid growth stage slows your plants will correct the physiological disorder with the (uptake) of calcium which manifests itself as BER.
A watered container will be very heavy, if it's to dry it will feel much lighter than a watered in one. Grab the edge and lift a few with varying degrees of wetness to get a feel for when they need to be watered. I picked 2-3 tons of tomatoes from containers last year, and only had 4-5 tomatoes with BER, but in past years did learn the hard way.

November 16, 2014	#1
Thumbs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 4	Blossom end rot Second year trying to grow tomatoes in cocopeat in 45litre bags. first year a disaster with slow growth, poor fruit set and blossom end rot. turned out was poor advice re nutrients so have tried to address that this year. using a slow release fertiliser + gypsum in the cocopeat and watering every couple of weeks with a potassium solution. Fruit set has been way better than last year but BER is out of control. At a guess losing more than 50% of fruit to BER! Also growth of fruits has seemingly stalled, so only getting small fruit. Am guessing that the plants are still not getting enough calcium so have started using a calcium spray (calcium carbonate antacid tabs in solution - similar to TUMS) and this is certainly making the plats look better but not sure if it's helping the BER. Feel that i need to be using a top dressing or liquid fertiliser to boost the plants. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. cheers Jeff (Thumbs)

November 16, 2014	#2
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	Jeff-There are a lot of threads on BER here-you may want to do a search and read them. I gardened only in containers for over 20 years, had some BER, but not too much. What varieties are you growing? Some are more prone to BER than others. Also, the watering cycle is implicated in BER-too wet, too dry, insufficient watering, etc. Usually not lack of calcium (although that can surely play a part) but insufficient uptake of calcium to the plant. I am sure others here that are more expert in BER will post. __________________ Michael

November 16, 2014	#4
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	General Hydroponics MaxiGro and FloraNova Grow are both good, complete nutrients for tomatoes and both have Calcium. Check out the site below for both products and you may want to give them a call and see if there is a problem using them in you cocopeat aggregate. http://glandorehydro.com/product-category/nutrients/ Also see if you can find some Blackstrap Molasses and if so add about 1 tablespoon per gallon of water and and give it to you plants twice a week and can be used as a foliar spray as well. BER is caused by a lot factors beside calcium deficiency and stress is the most common problem. Ami __________________ Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘...Holy Crap .....What a ride!'

November 16, 2014	#3
drew51 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Sterling Heights, MI Zone 6a/5b Posts: 1,302	The coir is staying wet too long. It's an ok amendment to a potting soil, but just using it alone is not the best approach. Add pine bark fines and perlite. I find a 3-1-1 ratio of pine bark, peat or coir, and perlite acceptable. The problem you have is your soil has weak structure. Pine bark and perlite help the soil lose excess water, and allow for root to access air. Yes, no nutrients. Add time release fertilizer and fertilize twice a month with a soluble or use an organic fertilizer as suggested on label. My bet is this has little to do with calcium, the roots are way too wet and probably dying. Thus the plant cannot absorb calcium. I myself am not impressed with coco peat or coir. Traditional peat moss is much better. But I would never grow anything in it alone either. If you cannot locate the right size pine bark, which can be very difficult. You want pieces about 1/8 to 1/4 inch big. Bigger pieces don't work, and anything smaller is like peat. I see you are down under so suggesting sources will do little good. Making your own potting soil is the cheapest way to go, but you have to make sure it drains better, allows air pockets for root i.e has structure.

November 17, 2014	#7
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	My container plants get BER when I let them dry out too much between waterings.

January 1, 2015	#12
kerns125 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: 22301 Posts: 92	I used EarthBox for the first time this past summer and the two(!) tomato plants I had in one EarthBox were about twice as productive as my other singly-planted containers ( and even my plants grown in the ground. But I did experience BER early on, so I found the following video on YouTube specific to the EarthBox that recommended using 1/4C pickling lime or hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) mixed with 1 gallon of water as a single use to water the box (doing it more would change the pH too much), and it resolved the BER immediately for me: http://youtu.be/i0febDi7iak

January 1, 2015	#13
AKmark Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Wasilla Alaska Posts: 2,010	If your plants get to dry (during rapid growth stages) many varieties will get BER. After you get BER there is little you can do, but correct your watering and wait. When the plants rapid growth stage slows your plants will correct the physiological disorder with the (uptake) of calcium which manifests itself as BER. A watered container will be very heavy, if it's to dry it will feel much lighter than a watered in one. Grab the edge and lift a few with varying degrees of wetness to get a feel for when they need to be watered. I picked 2-3 tons of tomatoes from containers last year, and only had 4-5 tomatoes with BER, but in past years did learn the hard way.