What is YOUR remedy for blossom end rot (BER)?

Gardenboy · January 15, 2013

I have been gardening heirloom tomatoes for over 30 years thanks to my grandfather's teaching. I grow in 15 gallon containers because our sandy Florida soil is full of nematodes and not rich soil. I use peat moss ( Lambert's potting mix) and add rabbit manure. Last season 2012 was really good with the blossom end rot but this season 2013 has been worse for BER. Any ideas? Is it lack of calcium and watering habits? Does using powered milk in the soil work? I have read different comments on BER and wondered what works best? Not all my tomatoes were affected. All the Brandywine strains were fine. The Watermelon Beefsteak was hit the hardest. So are some varieties more susceptible? I still have a great crop of tomatoes but did loose about 30 tomatoes to BER. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Worth1 · January 15, 2013

I will answer in order of each question.
Not likely, yes, no, yes.

And as a bonus the only time I had really bad BER was in continers and poor watering habits.
I hope I got the answers in order there is no magic bullet pill or spray I think will help.
Worth

amideutch · January 15, 2013

STRESS is the leading cause of BER and as far as container gardening poor watering habits as Worth has mentioned is the leading cause especially in your climate. Once your plants start producing fruit and water/nutrient uptake increases they will need to be replenished at regular intervals.
If the aggregate is allowed to dry out then the plant will start drooping due to lack of moisture (Stress) and it will draw from the only other resource it has and that be the fruit.
So as long as you keep your plants watered and periodically add nutrients you should have no problems with BER. There are certain varieties that are more prone to BER but as long as the plant is not stressed it should be minimal.
Also one other thing that can help is to inoculate your seedlings on plant out with mycos, (MycoGrow Soluable) being one, as they have shown to increase the drought resistance of their hosts among other things. Ami

SEAMSFASTER · January 15, 2013

Ditto what Ami says!

From my reading on the subject, only the fine feeder roots in the top 1-2" of soil are able to take up calcium for delivery to the growing tomatoes. Also, ratios of calcium to other ions (particularly phosphorus and magnesium) are important.

Where I live (high desert near the Great Salt Lake), the soil is heavy alkaline clay, and there is PLENTY of calcium. However, I used to have HUGE issues with BER. I've learned it was because of two major problems:

1. pH was too high (needs to be roughly in the range of 6.5 for best uptake of calcium).

2. I let the surface soil dry out. I bought into the "wisdom" that tomato plants should be watered deeply only once or twice a week to encourage development of deep roots.

My thinking is that drip hoses or even soaker hoses are not the best way to water tomato plants. Sprinklers (or rain for those who are lucky enough to get rain during the summer...) are better because they wet the entire surface. But not a typical sprinkler setup! Instead, sprinklers suspended upside-down about 15" above the soil so that the soil, rather than foliage is sprayed. I good layer of mulch helps as well.

Sprinkling every day for a few minutes might be needed during long, hot dry spells. I don't see any benefit to letting the surface soil dry out. As long as there is good drainage (so oxygen can get to the root zone), tomato plants thrive with much more water than I used to give them.

In Florida you'll likely need to add lime to get your pH (and calcium) levels where they need to be. This source of calcium would probably be cheaper than powdered milk, though the latter would add some sugars which would be a good food source for the beneficial microorganisms.

Another factor is nitrogen. I've found that feeding tomato plants a lot of nitrogen fertilizer (I grow organically, so I'm referring primarily to liquid fish emulsion) leads to rapid growth of both foliage and fruits. Very fast growing tomatoes are more susceptible to BER. Additionally, the NH4+ ions compete with calcium ions, so a lot of nitrogen can also lead to serious BER.

I've made all the mistakes, more than once, that lead to BER. Not saying I've totally solved the problem, but hopefully others won't have to make quite as many mistakes as I have in dealing with BER.

KarenO · January 15, 2013

Hello, agree with all of the above and would like to add that the addition of a good layer of clean organic mulch such as weed-free grass clippings or shredded bark or what have you will aid in keeping those feeder roots at the surface moist by reducing evaporation. As above, typically adding calcium in the form of eggshells etc that one hears about will do no harm certainly but a deficiancy of calcium in the soil is not usually the problem. irregular watering is usually the problem. My plants are each given a big helping of compost at planting time along with a scoop of slow release organic granular fertilizer and grown in good loamy soil. In addition, I use epsom salts as well for the magnesium. Nutrient defiiencies other than calcium stress plants especially those which are container grown so attention needs to be paid to soil/potting medium and regular fertilizing in addition to moisture. Seems to work for me as I have no BER to speak of in my garden.
Karen

Redbaron · January 15, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenO

Seems to work for me as I have no BER to speak of in my garden.
Karen

I have never had BER ever. That's why I didn't post here at first. Because if you never had it, then how can you know for sure why? Or what you did right or wrong to not get it?

But you said something about mulching, and I always mulch heavy. So possibly that is it? I also water deeply and seldom and you said that was a myth that you bought into?

In Indiana I never watered at all except at transplanting, here in Oklahoma during the toughest drought, I only watered 1/2 a dozen times all season, but I soak it good and deep.

Of course it is just my luck that as soon as I mention that I have never gotten BER ever, it means by Murphys law I am sure to get it for the first time this year

KarenO · January 15, 2013

I perhaps should have said I no longer have BER since I learned how to prevent it some years back... consistent moisture being the key I think mulching helps with that, yes.

amideutch · January 15, 2013

Just remember that we are talking about BER in container grown plants. Growing in the ground is a different animal. Ami

Worth1 · January 15, 2013

Automated drip is the way to go in my area.

Worth

Crandrew · January 15, 2013

I have only had BER on container toms that were stressed from too little water.

OP see a trend happening here?

Greenthumbroy · January 15, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardenboy

I have been gardening heirloom tomatoes for over 30 years thanks to my grandfather's teaching. I grow in 15 gallon containers because our sandy Florida soil is full of nematodes and not rich soil. I use peat moss ( Lambert's potting mix) and add rabbit manure. Last season 2012 was really good with the blossom end rot but this season 2013 has been worse for BER. Any ideas? Is it lack of calcium and watering habits? Does using powered milk in the soil work? I have read different comments on BER and wondered what works best? Not all my tomatoes were affected. All the Brandywine strains were fine. The Watermelon Beefsteak was hit the hardest. So are some varieties more susceptible? I still have a great crop of tomatoes but did loose about 30 tomatoes to BER. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Spray n Grow has a liquid product called "CALMAG" that works just fine. I used to have the same problem on my tomatoes and bell peppers. Since using this product ... no blossom end rot. Blossom end rot is usually caused by calcium deficiency in the soil. CALMAG is liquid calcium. I hope this helps. CALMAG is a concentrated product that you mix with water and spray on the foliage.

JamesL · January 15, 2013

Gardenboy,
My remedy for BER - do nothing. I would agree with basically everything said here with one caveat, you can follow all the best practices and still get it.
I grew in sub irrigated containers last year with an auto watering system installed. Plants did wonderfully, very healthy with no visible signs of stress. BER on 2 varieties - Orange Banana (heavily affected) and Goose Creek (mildly affected)
The OB'S were so prolific, it didn't seem to matter at the end other than the annoyance of having to pick off the affected ones. I did nothing to treat it, and they grew out of it.

Wayback Machine - Carolyn's great article on BER
http://www.vintageveggies.com/inform...rolyn_ber.html

Gardenboy · January 16, 2013

Yeah, I don't do to much but water more deeply on our watering days if it doesn't rain enough. I have over 65 tomato varieties in containers so the BER has only affected certain ones...The Watermelon Beefsteak was hit hard as was the German Queen. All the Brandywine varieties was not affected at all and I do the exact same thing to ALL the pots and plants when mixing my potting mix. I got some of the biggest tomatoes this year from Liz Birt and Sudduth Brandywine so no complaints in that department. Maybe next season I will cut down on the nitrogen so they don't grow as fast and deplete the calcium and add more epsom salt and phosphate / bone meal to the mix. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Stvrob · January 24, 2013

Ive only really had BER occasionally, on the first fruit of the season. I always thought that the plant just wasnt big enough or the roots extensive ready to support fruit yet. Usually once it gets thouroughly warm the problem just goes away.

Pyrrho · January 25, 2013

If you're limited to growing in containers, you might consider self-watering setups like the earthtainer. You'll still get some BER depending on the variety, but you'll take the stress of too much or too little moisture out of the equation.

I find that by the time I see BER on fruits, it's too late to do anything but wait. In most cases it goes away as the season progresses.

January 15, 2013	#1
Gardenboy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 784	What is YOUR remedy for blossom end rot (BER)? I have been gardening heirloom tomatoes for over 30 years thanks to my grandfather's teaching. I grow in 15 gallon containers because our sandy Florida soil is full of nematodes and not rich soil. I use peat moss ( Lambert's potting mix) and add rabbit manure. Last season 2012 was really good with the blossom end rot but this season 2013 has been worse for BER. Any ideas? Is it lack of calcium and watering habits? Does using powered milk in the soil work? I have read different comments on BER and wondered what works best? Not all my tomatoes were affected. All the Brandywine strains were fine. The Watermelon Beefsteak was hit the hardest. So are some varieties more susceptible? I still have a great crop of tomatoes but did loose about 30 tomatoes to BER. Any suggestions would be helpful.

January 15, 2013	#3
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	STRESS is the leading cause of BER and as far as container gardening poor watering habits as Worth has mentioned is the leading cause especially in your climate. Once your plants start producing fruit and water/nutrient uptake increases they will need to be replenished at regular intervals. If the aggregate is allowed to dry out then the plant will start drooping due to lack of moisture (Stress) and it will draw from the only other resource it has and that be the fruit. So as long as you keep your plants watered and periodically add nutrients you should have no problems with BER. There are certain varieties that are more prone to BER but as long as the plant is not stressed it should be minimal. Also one other thing that can help is to inoculate your seedlings on plant out with mycos, (MycoGrow Soluable) being one, as they have shown to increase the drought resistance of their hosts among other things. 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!'

January 15, 2013	#8
amideutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E Posts: 5,041	Just remember that we are talking about BER in container grown plants. Growing in the ground is a different animal. 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!'

January 16, 2013	#13
Gardenboy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 784	Blossom end rot Yeah, I don't do to much but water more deeply on our watering days if it doesn't rain enough. I have over 65 tomato varieties in containers so the BER has only affected certain ones...The Watermelon Beefsteak was hit hard as was the German Queen. All the Brandywine varieties was not affected at all and I do the exact same thing to ALL the pots and plants when mixing my potting mix. I got some of the biggest tomatoes this year from Liz Birt and Sudduth Brandywine so no complaints in that department. Maybe next season I will cut down on the nitrogen so they don't grow as fast and deplete the calcium and add more epsom salt and phosphate / bone meal to the mix. Thanks for all the suggestions.

January 15, 2013	#2
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I will answer in order of each question. Not likely, yes, no, yes. And as a bonus the only time I had really bad BER was in continers and poor watering habits. I hope I got the answers in order there is no magic bullet pill or spray I think will help. Worth

January 15, 2013	#4
SEAMSFASTER Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: American Fork, Utah Posts: 160	Ditto what Ami says! From my reading on the subject, only the fine feeder roots in the top 1-2" of soil are able to take up calcium for delivery to the growing tomatoes. Also, ratios of calcium to other ions (particularly phosphorus and magnesium) are important. Where I live (high desert near the Great Salt Lake), the soil is heavy alkaline clay, and there is PLENTY of calcium. However, I used to have HUGE issues with BER. I've learned it was because of two major problems: 1. pH was too high (needs to be roughly in the range of 6.5 for best uptake of calcium). 2. I let the surface soil dry out. I bought into the "wisdom" that tomato plants should be watered deeply only once or twice a week to encourage development of deep roots. My thinking is that drip hoses or even soaker hoses are not the best way to water tomato plants. Sprinklers (or rain for those who are lucky enough to get rain during the summer...) are better because they wet the entire surface. But not a typical sprinkler setup! Instead, sprinklers suspended upside-down about 15" above the soil so that the soil, rather than foliage is sprayed. I good layer of mulch helps as well. Sprinkling every day for a few minutes might be needed during long, hot dry spells. I don't see any benefit to letting the surface soil dry out. As long as there is good drainage (so oxygen can get to the root zone), tomato plants thrive with much more water than I used to give them. In Florida you'll likely need to add lime to get your pH (and calcium) levels where they need to be. This source of calcium would probably be cheaper than powdered milk, though the latter would add some sugars which would be a good food source for the beneficial microorganisms. Another factor is nitrogen. I've found that feeding tomato plants a lot of nitrogen fertilizer (I grow organically, so I'm referring primarily to liquid fish emulsion) leads to rapid growth of both foliage and fruits. Very fast growing tomatoes are more susceptible to BER. Additionally, the NH4+ ions compete with calcium ions, so a lot of nitrogen can also lead to serious BER. I've made all the mistakes, more than once, that lead to BER. Not saying I've totally solved the problem, but hopefully others won't have to make quite as many mistakes as I have in dealing with BER.

January 15, 2013	#5
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,932	Hello, agree with all of the above and would like to add that the addition of a good layer of clean organic mulch such as weed-free grass clippings or shredded bark or what have you will aid in keeping those feeder roots at the surface moist by reducing evaporation. As above, typically adding calcium in the form of eggshells etc that one hears about will do no harm certainly but a deficiancy of calcium in the soil is not usually the problem. irregular watering is usually the problem. My plants are each given a big helping of compost at planting time along with a scoop of slow release organic granular fertilizer and grown in good loamy soil. In addition, I use epsom salts as well for the magnesium. Nutrient defiiencies other than calcium stress plants especially those which are container grown so attention needs to be paid to soil/potting medium and regular fertilizing in addition to moisture. Seems to work for me as I have no BER to speak of in my garden. Karen

January 15, 2013	#10
Crandrew Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: asdf Posts: 1,202	I have only had BER on container toms that were stressed from too little water. OP see a trend happening here?

January 15, 2013	#12
JamesL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,992	Gardenboy, My remedy for BER - do nothing. I would agree with basically everything said here with one caveat, you can follow all the best practices and still get it. I grew in sub irrigated containers last year with an auto watering system installed. Plants did wonderfully, very healthy with no visible signs of stress. BER on 2 varieties - Orange Banana (heavily affected) and Goose Creek (mildly affected) The OB'S were so prolific, it didn't seem to matter at the end other than the annoyance of having to pick off the affected ones. I did nothing to treat it, and they grew out of it. Wayback Machine - Carolyn's great article on BER http://www.vintageveggies.com/inform...rolyn_ber.html

January 24, 2013	#14
Stvrob Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,413	Ive only really had BER occasionally, on the first fruit of the season. I always thought that the plant just wasnt big enough or the roots extensive ready to support fruit yet. Usually once it gets thouroughly warm the problem just goes away.

January 25, 2013	#15
Pyrrho Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 75	If you're limited to growing in containers, you might consider self-watering setups like the earthtainer. You'll still get some BER depending on the variety, but you'll take the stress of too much or too little moisture out of the equation. I find that by the time I see BER on fruits, it's too late to do anything but wait. In most cases it goes away as the season progresses.