Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes

[so lucky]

OK, I have heard for years that Blossom End Rot is caused from lack of calcium in soil available for tomatoes, thus adding crushed eggshells to the soil when planting should help alleviate the problem. In this article written by Carolyn Male, who is pretty much a tomato expert, she says that adding stuff to the soil doesn't help any. At all. The BER is caused by the plant's inability to utilize the calcium, due to fast lush growth, possibly from over fertilizing. http://www.webgrower.com/information/carolyn_ber.html
Of course I read the article after I poured lots of crushed egg shells into the planting holes. . Anyway, I thought this was very interesting. Am I the last person to learn this?

 

[MontyJ]

In a way she is right, but that is only one reason for BER. Improper soil pH, inadequate watering and low soil calcium can also cause BER. Your crushed eggshells will not help your BER problem for a very long time. Although they are high in calcium, it's in a form that is not available to plants. It will first have to decompose, and not just crumble into tiny pieces, but on a molecular level.

If you are having BER problems, take a soil sample with a stainless steel or plastic spade and send it to a reputable, professional lab for testing. I personally recommend A&L Eastern Labs. They are very reasonable (under $20) and will email the results to you as well as send a hard copy via snail mail. Do that, post the results here, and I can tell you if the soil is causing your BER problem.

 

[MontyJ]

Go here: http://www.al-labs-eastern.com/showpdf2.aspx?spdf=0

You want the SA3 test ($15).

 

[Carol Dee]

Monty you are very helpful. We have had BER often. Nearly always solved be changing the watering.

 

[baymule]

I would be happy if I had BER. Instead I get nasty corn worms that eat from the bottom and eat the inside out. The worst is grabbing one. (shudders) They really gross me out. I can reach my hand up a chicken's butt and drag out the entrails, have cleaned all kinds of game, but a worm in a tomato just gives me the heebie-jeebies.

 

[seedcorn]

Unless your pH is really out of wack, it's usually a lack of water issue.

I garden on gravel, quick fix is water and milk or dry milk.

Never happy with BR as it always takes the first when I have it. Since I have built soils up and mulch with straw, don't see it now. Now that I've bragged, will get it in spades........

 

[Ridgerunner]

Another good source of calcium is compost with a lot of chicken poop as an ingredient. Hen's eat a lot of calcium for the egg shells, but a lot of that calcium is not absorbed by the hen's digestive system. It goes on out her back end undigested.

I've also noticed that certain varieties are more susceptible to BER than others.

 

[baymule]

@Ridgerunner that is a good thing to know. I use the chicken compost on my garden and the tomatoes look great this year!

 

[so lucky]

I have been using chicken poop compost for 3 years, but I still get BER on some varieties. Like the Romas two years ago. At first, every one had BER. It did slack off later in the season, as this author said it would.
Thanks for the tip on the soil sample, MontyJ.

 

[ninnymary]

so lucky, don't feel bad. I always add 3 crushed shell eggs into each planting hole. I also add my chicken poop compost. I never get BER but it could be because of my location, or the egg shells from prior years has decomposed. Who knows.

Mary