BER Help!!!

[spookybird]

My DH's tomatoes have blossom end rot already. He is growing in container (like earth boxes that he made)
Any suggestions what to do.
thank you

 

[seedcorn]

Need Calcium and maybe water as not enough of either will cause this.

 

[so lucky]

I think uneven amounts of water can contribute to it, too. Like too much, then not enough.

 

[dickiebird]

For immediate help mix up a slurry of pelletized lime and water.
Use about 2 hand fulls of lime to each gallon of water. Pour the slurry straight on the ground around the plants.
Now you have calcium going directly to the roots.
At one time I used Epsom salts on the ground around the plants and then watered the salts in, I think that takes longer to be effective.

THANX RICH

 

[journey11]

I've scratched about a 1/4th cup of ag lime and 1/4th cup of powdered milk into the top of the soil around the dripline, then watered in. Also mulch so the ground stays evenly moist, if you haven't already.

 

[seedcorn]

Powdered milk is an excellent source of calcium

 

[Ridgerunner]

BER is caused by not enough calcium getting to the tomato, pepper, whatever, while it is developing. It's possible the soil does not have enough calcium in it to start with. Most clay has plenty but sandy soils can be calcium deprived. I don't know what soils you are using in that box so I don't know if it has enough calcium to start with. Adding more won't hurt and could solve the problem.

If the soil is too low in pH the chemistry doesn't allow the calcium to be picked up and carried to the fruit. Adding a little lime to raised the pH might help, not just because it has calcium in it but because of the pH levels. It may take a while for the lime to react but I like Rich's idea.

The normal cause of BER is water. If the soil is too dry there is not enough water moving to the fruit in the plant's circulatory system to carry enough calcium, even if plenty of calcium is present in the soil. I can't remember exactly why but the soil being too wet can cause a problem too. Anyway trying to keep the soil evenly moist and not going from too much to too little is what you are aiming for. Mulch is usually a very good thing to help with that. But try to even out the watering in that box. A little too wet is better than too dry but too wet can cause other problems.

Over-fertilizing with nitrogen can interfere with the calcium uptake. I knew all these others before this morning but I found this one doing some research. Excess nitrogen messes up the chemistry in the soil which ties up the calcium so it's not in a form to be absorbed by the plant's roots.

I haven't seen it myself but supposedly you can buy a special spray so the plant can absorb calcium through the leaves. This is supposed to be a quick fix but I have no experience with it.

What variety of tomato is he growing? Some varieties are more susceptible than others. I often have problems with paste tomatoes when the others are fine. Those little yellow pear tomatoes were really bad for BER when I grew them. They split like crazy too.

As a general note, compost made in part with chicken manure is going to be rich in calcium, especially from laying hens. Their digestive systems do not absorb all the calcium they eat, a fair amount of calcium passes right on through and out the rear end. Another reason to keep chickens and another reason to make your own compost. And use hat compost on tomatoes, peppers, squash, and eggplants. All these can get BER.

 

[spookybird]

We have 3 types
Early girl
Arkansas travler
Better boy
all are growing in the containers.

I do have a compost pile but no chickens. We live in town!! LOL
thanks. Going to look into the pulverized lime. Where do you buy it?

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Lack of potassium can also contribute to BER. If you have an agriculture fertilizer place near you they carry potassium all by itself, which means you don't have to purchase n-p-k mixture. You can purchase just the k. A lot of times if you are wanting less than a pound or two they will just give it to you.

 

[ninnymary]

I'm am trying ground oyster shell for the first time. The non profit farm here uses it with success. Can't wait to see if it works for me too.

Mary