Seems a perpetual problem for me year after year with tomatoes. Some plant varieties seem to be excellent, others less so. I usually try to do some heirlooms from seed but am letting the raised beds go with a cover crop that I’ll till in this year. So I bought two of the largest plants I could get from the local hardware store, one Celebrity, one Better Boy. The Celebrity is doing great, plenty of nice sized fruit, but I do think the Better Boy is a better tasting tomato. Unfortunately, after a couple nice ones, I’ve lost all the rest to blossom end rot. I’ve read this is really a calcium issue, and tried various remedies in the past, but none ever seem to help. Does anyone here have any magic solution? Or even a go to prep for your soil to help prevent next year?

My “Early Girl” and “Patio” plants are setting fruit but the “Better Boy” is having the same problem yours is. Lots of flowers but no tomatoes.

My blossom end rot issue went away when I rotated my garden and moved the tomatoes to the other end. I also had tried every concoction I could find. This year I am growing “steak sandwich” tomatoes, no blossom end rot yet.

You can try making a slurry of fast acting like and water and watering the plants with it. Mix a cup or two in a five gallon bucket and fill it half way up with water. The lime will only partially dissolve. Dump the water right at plant base discard the remaining lime that did not dissolve, repeat for each plant.




Link to original video: https://youtu.be/i0febDi7iak

The two biggest things that cause blossom end rot is too much water or not enough calcium. I got a probe that tests water saturation and that in and of itself has fixed a lot of my problems.

The fastest way to get the calcium to be absorbed is through a foliage spray. You can make your own or buy a ready made spray.

If your soil is acidic (probably so in NC), using dolomite lime is fine. It will raise the ph of your soil. If your soil is already closer to neutral or alkaline, you need to use gypsum.

If you are applying calcium and it isn’t helping, you may need to add some epsom salt to the base of the plants. This will add magnesium and sulfur, without which the plant cannot utilize the calcium. Get epsom salt at a horse supply type place. A huge jug is around $12 and will last your lifetime.

I deal with it each year. Yesterday my bottle of Rot Stop arrived from Amazon so I'm headed out to spray everything. About a week ago I read add powdered milk to the watering can to give them a quick shot of calcium so I did that while I waited for the Rot Stop to arrive.

The tomatoes that have it can't be saved so you should pull them off and let the energy go to the unaffected fruit.

Next year get bone meal,put one cup into the hole you plant in,mix potting mix in.add to calcumn tablets for good measure with table spoon of Epson salts.
Note potting mix[the kind with coconut fiber,not FORREST products.
I manage 125 plants that are eight feet tall,with a market basket production and more on each plant.
I start from seeds in February harvests from previous years in pot mix and plant before good Friday.
Water each day from harvest rainwater stowed in totes.
Follow these instructions and your yield will amaze you.
I will not plant from box or garden stores,they have microbes you do not want in hour soil,start your seeds.
Cherokee purple is the best tomato going and I have quite a following at local farmers market for the last seven or so years.

I have some end rot on a few of my tomatoes. I did the lime slurry to give them some calcium.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
You can try making a slurry of fast acting like and water and watering the plants with it. Mix a cup or two in a five gallon bucket and fill it half way up with water. The lime will only partially dissolve. Dump the water right at plant base discard the remaining lime that did not dissolve, repeat for each plant.

I've used this and it works great. However, he has a newer method to deliver even more calcium immediately.

Step 1: determine if you need to raise or lower your pH. If raise, use lime. If lower, use gypsum.

Step 2: Mix the lime/gypsum with approx a Tbsp white distilled vinegar (i.e. ordinary vinegar most people have in their pantry). This will break down the calcium carbonate and free up even more calcium for immediate use.

Step 3: After the vinegar has done its work, add water to make the slurry and it's the same as the video you linked.

Here is the video:

Link to original video: https://youtu.be/L5Fqi2pNhzg

I highly recommend you get a soil test done by a professional outfit.

You should have the equivalent of a County Extension Agent, associated with a University in your State. Not sure what they are called in your State.

They will do a complete soil analysis and send a recommendation sheet back to you.

Follow their recommendations, and if you don't understand it, and I usually don't, I ask my County Extension Agent to tell me in plain English what I need to do to my soil.

Additionally, if you've been growing tomatoes in the same spot since, you need to stop that spot and put your tomatoes in a new spot. In other words, rotate your crops. Tomatoes do not like the same spot year after year, bad things set in and won't go away. Grow something else in that spot.

In addition to the soil test results, I'd buy some Azomite Natural Trace Elements to add to the soil.

Best wishes to you.

I've dealt with this for years in TX. The solution is to use Epsom Salts (a tablespoon per plant) when you plant them. Usually that's enough. It also helps to compost leaves from your trees to put Mg into the soil.

If you have wild swings in rain there's really nothing you can do but cut the dead parts off.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
My “Early Girl” and “Patio” plants are setting fruit but the “Better Boy” is having the same problem yours is. Lots of flowers but no tomatoes.

The flowers might need to be pollinated.

Too much water and not enough calcium. I don’t water my tomatoes every day and I add crushed oyster shells to the soil, once I started this I haven’t had end rot since.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
My “Early Girl” and “Patio” plants are setting fruit but the “Better Boy” is having the same problem yours is. Lots of flowers but no tomatoes.

My "Early Girl" are all setting beautiful fruit right now. My Roma and Druzba have some end rot but mostly the bunch at the top of the plant. I've had some luck with epsom salt and water but always seem to end up with some.

Thanks guys! I'm off to buy some lime, have epsom salts already. Will update in a few weeks.