This is my first year growing San Marzanos. The plants are doing great and are loaded with fruit right now, probably around 100 to 150 per plant. The problem is BER. I've never grown a tomato so susceptible. I'd say half of the tomatoes on the plant get it. The other half are doing amazingly well, and seem to be benefitting from the demise of the ones w/t BER.
I've picked a couple that are about two inches in diameter and 7 inches long. I suspect that the extreme heat is stressing the plants causing them to be unable to get sufficient calcium from the soil. I have about twenty other tomato varieties, and only two others have had any BER this season, and just on a couple of tomatoes. Has anyone else had this problem with San Marzanos?
I doubt I'll spray any chemicals on them as I have 65 plants, and will still have more than I need. I hate to see them go to waste though, are there any home remedies I can try?
Water stress is behind most cases of BER so the best thing you can do is make sure the roots have deep soil that holds moisture (or shallow soil that you keep evenly moist). When early-mid season hot dry soil conditions hit you can prune a proportion of the large lower leaves off so that the rate of water loss is reduced. That will help keep internal water pressure high and help get calcium into the ends of fruit.
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
I do not believe it is due to improper watering, planting or garden conditions. All of my tomatoes are waterered the same way, and the problem is only showing up in one variety. All of my tomato plants were deep planted up the stem, in excellent sandy loam ammended for the last ten years with countless 5 gallon buckets of manure from my cattle and compost from my bins . My garden soil does not look like compost, it IS compost. I think I have have the watering thing down pat also. I water 3-4 times a week if it does not rain. My tomatoes look perfect, no cracks by the stem from underwatering, and no blowouts from overwatering.
I still have to believe it's being caused by the heat. I have noticed that SMs tend to set fruit even in extreme heat. Most other varieties will not set fruit much above 80 degrees. The fruits that set on the lower parts of the plants (when it was cooler) are all fine.
I still have to believe it's being caused by the heat. I have noticed that SMs tend to set fruit even in extreme heat. Most other varieties will not set fruit much above 80 degrees. The fruits that set on the lower parts of the plants (when it was cooler) are all fine.