My garden

[StonyGarden]

I have 2 raised beds that are really over flowing.

Here are the cucumbers


and the tomatoes. There are peppers in there too on the right, but they are a little hard to see. I'm having a problem with blossom end rot with my tomatoes. Is that caused by too much moisture? I've only had one cherry tomato turn a yellowish-orange color and then it just rotted on the vine.


The big family garden is producing amazingly well. I don't have any recent pictures of it though.

 

[Kassaundra]

I've heard blossom end rot is either inconsistent moisture, or not enough calcium.


Looks good plenty of nitrogen for sure!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Too little calcium getting to the fruit is what causes blossom end rot. Its possible you have too little calcium in your soil, but thats usually not the real problem, especially if you have clay in your soil. Usually it is caused by too much or too little water like my neighbor Kassaundra said.

You can always add calcium, that might help later tomatoes that are not yet blooms, but what is more likely to help you is mulching and keeping the moisture level pretty consistent, slightly damp but not wet.

A soils analysis is a pretty good idea too long term. Another possibility is that there are too much or too little other minerals in the soil that would interfere with the calcium being taken up by the roots. So if you are having BER on a consistent basis year after year, a soils analysis is a good idea.

Good luck. Blossom End Rot is a real pain when it hits.

 

[lesa]

Everything looks gigantic! Next year, you might want to trellis the cukes... just to keep them from going all over the lawn. It helps for added ventilation too. Glad the family garden is doing well! Happy Gardening!

 

[StonyGarden]

Thanks for the info Kass and ridgerunner.

Lesa, a trellis is definitely going to be built for next year. I'm thinking an A-frame to connect the 2 raised beds.

 

[Collector]

Your raised beds look great, overflowing but great. I had some blossom end rot troubles in 2010. I heard of putting a teaspoon of epsom salts in each planting hole, been doing it since then and have no troubles with end rot. It may have nothing to do with it but im not taking any chances lol. ..

 

[Carol Dee]

Blossom end was rot was a problem for us last year. We where in drought. And water was scarce. So what they got was inconsistent. But from the looks of your yard I say drought is not a factor! Looking good.

 

[skeeter9]

Wow! Your plants are really going for it! Beautiful!

 

[canesisters]

Looking wonderful!! Smart girl, planting the tomatoes and cukes in seperate beds!

 

[MontyJ]

Your blossom end rot could also be caused simply by over-planting. If the plants are all competing for the same nutrients, and are intertwining their roots, they could all suffer.