Is this blossom end rot?

[plantkiller]

[img]https://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r189/doktarzues/IMG00190.jpg[/img]

I'm almost sure that it is.. I'm looking at my other plants to try and find the delta, as in why these are afflicted but not others. So my main question isn't how to prevent it, but now that I have it should I go ahead and cut my losses and pull these two off the plant? Is there any hope for them? If it matters, I believe they are both fully matured size wize and won't grow much bigger if any. They are towards the top of the plant. So far, are the only two with the rot.. a few towards the bottom are doing just fine and are now shades of pink. Thanks!!

[Kisal]

Blossom end rot is caused by a calcium deficiency in the soil. Read through the Sticky at the top of the Tomato Forum that talks about spots on tomatoes.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8549

[plantkiller]

Blossom end rot is caused by a calcium deficiency in the soil. Read through the Sticky at the top of the Tomato Forum that talks about spots on tomatoes.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8549

Kisal, I read the stickies when I joined the forum and starting growing tomatoes. I've reread them at least 2 additional times including the links. I was hoping for some experienced insight based on the pictures of my tomatoes, which I won't find in the sticky.. Thanks

[rainbowgardener]

I'm not sure what is causing the discoloration of your tomatoes, but I'm not convinced it is blossom end rot. That usually does occur on the very bottom of the tomato and would be darker. That spot gets sunken and mushy. It's not called end rot for nothing, the end of the tomato gets rotten. Yours don't look rotten or mushy, just discolored. But it's a little hard to tell just looking at the pics.

[Kisal]

Sorry, wasn't trying to be unhelpful. Did you find this link in the Sticky?

https://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/horticulture/blossom-rot.html

According to it, blossom end rot appears as a sunken area on the bottom of the fruit. I can't tell whether the darkened areas on the tomatoes in your photo are sunken. Do they start out just as discolored areas, and then become sunken?

[plantkiller]

Nono Kisal I totally understand your steering me to the sticky. Unfortunately, I had already read it and did not see or read anything that helped me confirm what I was seeing on my tomatoes as blossom end rot. I searched around for about an hour last night and found a picture that looks near identical to what I'm seeing, and sadly, it definitely appears to be the rot in early stages. It doesn't appear sunken at all, though the texture is different to where the brown begins and green ends so it is more than just a discoloration.

This is my first year gardening so if there is any chance of hope for them I wouldn't mind leaving them on there for anecdotal purposes. But if it's a "fruitless" effort and I should pull them off, let me know. What do you think?

I included the link to what I found. The pic is the 3rd one down. Thanks folks.

https://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/hort/news/hortmatt/2005/19hrt05a4.htm

[rainbowgardener]

OK, if it is BER, those two tomatoes (the individual fruits, not the plants) are write offs. Nothing you can do to unrot a rotten spot. If you were to cut the rotten part off it would leave the insides exposed, so you couldn't try to ripen up the rest. You should pick them right away, so they don't keep sucking food and moisture from the rest.

BUT, there's nothing really wrong with the plant. BER is a reaction to some kind of environmental stress. Blossom end rot is caused by calcium deficiency in stressed tomatoes. The stress can be caused by fluctuations in soil moisture, going from dry to very wet, from over fertilization, or soil that's too acid. It's not a disease and if the conditions are corrected, the plant and future tomatoes will be fine.

You can add calcium, but what you really need to do is figure out what is stressing the plant and correct that Suggestions: Maintain a uniform supply of soil moisture by watering plants during drought and mulching to retain soil moisture. Tomatoes want to stay pretty steadily moist, not go through fluctuations. Avoid using excessive amounts of ammonia forms of nitrogen, which reduce calcium uptake. Avoid overfertilization during early fruiting. Maintain neutral soil pH. Liming helps supply calcium, if soil is acid. Do not subject plants to sudden and severe hardening off before transplanting.

For northern gardeners BER is common at the beginning of the season if tomatoes are planted out too soon, before the soil warms, but for you it may be a heat stress reaction. What temps have you been having? BER is common in heat and drought conditions.

Here's a little article: cecalaveras.ucdavis.edu/files/54873.doc

(oops, sorry that's a document on file, it's not a web address. I couldn't find an easy web address for it, but if you go here:

https://www.ucdavis.edu/search/?cx=004393900062766886059%3Ada23-x1vm6k&q=calaveras+%2B+blossom+end+rot&sa=Search&cof=FORID%3A9

and scroll down to the middle of the page, you can click on it)

It doesn't mention it, but adding compost is always good. Tomatoes grow best in a very rich organic soil.

[Kisal]

You can possibly save the plant and future tomatoes by treating the soil with epsom salts.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18506&highlight=calcium+blossom+end+rot

I have also heard that spraying the plant with a solution of 1 cup milk to 1 gallon of water is also a good treatment.

[Neighborhood Gardening]

Looks very similar to mind this year and it appears to be blossom end rot. However, it may not be just a calcium deficiency. The root cause can be too much moisture. Did you have a lot of rain this year? Where I live we had 3 sunny dry days in 6 weeks from mid-May through June. This killed my harvest.