A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 tomato end rot

I have read about tomato end rot and the requirement that the plants be watered on a regular basis. I have an Early Girl plant, a Beef master plant and a plant for pasta. Only the latter plant has bottom rot. Honestly, I have never seen such a profusion of fruit in my life.
The plants are easily 6 foot high.I have continually watered my tomatoes faithfully each morning and find it difficult to believe that the plants are under-watered. Can something else be the matter and how can I attend to this problem.

Microperivoli,
Sometimes that can happen when there is too much
water....it drains so much, so fast and it
pulls the nutrients away from the plant and
it doesn't have time to absorb the nutrients it needs..

Have you ever tried some Epsom Salt
Make sure you read the 3 links they provide on the right hand side that say...
Garden Benefits
Why It Works
Garden Usage Tips

The tomato plants at one end of my garden tend to have bottom rot while the other end is fine. We've used epsom salt on all the plants and the plants get the same amount of water. It must have something to do with drainage. Maybe that's your situation too.

Thanks to Weezie and bestofour for your suggestions. I am so thankful for your replies. Now, if I can figure out how to get to the sites that weezie suggests, I may be able to solve my problems.

Could be the type of soils,
when it's clay it holds it more,
and when it's loamy it tends to drain to easily..

Don't hestitate to ask any more questions,
that's what we're here for...
and if you have trouble navigating,
let us know, we'll get any info we can to you!

We just love tomatoes that much!!!

two things: To weezie13: how do I get find the information on Epsom salts? Second is a statement. When I said prolific supply of tomatoes, I meant that. Since 15 July I have been reaping them. I get about 10 pounds a week from the three plants. My neighbors are turning red from the tomato diets and my next door neighbor, a Latino, has told me enough is enough. I used MC garden soil. I've begun to think that it was a bad idea.

Here's the Epsom Salt Council Page
and don't forget to click on each of the links
on the left hand side that say....
[*]Garden Benefits
[*]Why It Works
[*]Garden Usage Tips

Hmm it says it improves phosphorous and nitrogen uptake but blossom end rot is caused by calcium uptake problems. I guess I wonder how it helps blossom end rot then. I still like the spray. I use it once a week as soon as the fruits set and I use it on peppers too.

Minnesota Tamara,
My mom just picked me up some kind of spray
stuff, to take a look at..*it was on sale
and had a red tag on it and she just can't
resist those*
What is the name of the kind you like...????...
And do you mix it up or is it all pre~mixed????
I haven't even really read anything on the
jug at all yet..

It's been my experience that tomatoes dig the extremes. You want deep roots? Let them want water before you provide it. Not need, want. They like to have their roots forced deeper.

Blossom end rot is usually caused by one or more of 4 causes.
1. Calcium deficiency easily fixed by working a few tablespoons of pelletized limestone into the soil at the base of the plant.
Egg shells can be tilled into the soil as a preventative measure but they take way to long to break down for it to be any use on a curative basis.

2. Too much watering.

3. Too little watering.

4. Drastically uneven watering.

Since every ones soil is different, it can be difficult to tell you how much water you need to give them. Try this. Stick your fingers in the ground a inch or so down and pinch a bit of soil. When removed if it retains its shape it probably has enough water, if it crumbles apart it is time to water.
Pick off any infected fruit and dispose of it as soon as the disease shows up.


I hope this helps

Mike

I've grown tomatos for years and never had a problem with bottom rot. We moved last year and we now have bottom rot. The neighbor said I would get it if I used the well water. He said to plant them in pots and use our cistern water(city water) and we won't have problems no more. Well I like my tomatos in my garden! So. what would cause this in the water? The well is only 40' deep and the water will leave a white deposit on anything it touches. What can I do to counter the water?

I tried a tomato plant in a huge pot, lots of tiny tomato's but every single one had a black bottom, so I threw them out. Is this what you mean by bottom rot?

Weezie, I will look at the brand. It is a white bottle with purple on it. I of course like the premixed kind but I had an empty bottle of it and just mixed in the concentrate into that bottle- if you follow.