SPOTS ON TOMATOES

[Daphne]

My tomato plants are all getting tomatoes on them now. But this morning, I was disappointed to find spots on two tomatoes on one of the clusters of my Celebrity tomato plant. What is this and what causes it? And more importantly, how do I make it stop> should I snip these two tomatoes off of the plant now before anymore damage occurs?

The tomato with the largest spot is about the size of a walnut. the spot does not appear to go through the skin of the tomato but it doesn't look right. Is this blossom end rot?

I see no other spots on any of the other varieties I have in the garden. We have had ALOT of rain this spring in the midwest. I have not had to water the garden at all. In fact, I think it's too wet.

[opabinia51]

Your picture makes me think of tomatote hornworm. Open up the affected tomatoes to see if there is anything inside. If you do find a worm, basil repels the hornworm.

What do others think?

[Daphne]

I cut open both affected tomatoes and there is no worm inside. The blemish was only as deep as the tomato skin is deep, maybe slightly more. I took some photos of them after I cut them open, if anyone would like to see what the inside looks like.

I also carefully checked all of my other tomato plants and cannot see any other ones with spots of any kind. (crossing fingers )

[Daphne]

OMG!! I just goggled horn worms! Major ick factor! It seems that wasps lay their eggs on horn worms and the body of the worm gets covered with the wasp larvae.

I think if I ever ran across that in my garden, I would pass out! I'm squimish like that. Oh ICK! YUCK! CHOKE! This city girl has an aversion to wormy things covered in larvae!

[Jess]

I am pretty sure it is blossom end rot.

http://thegrowingconnection.org/ahs/200 ... d-rot.html

http://timberglade.typepad.com/outside/ ... d_rot.html

[Daphne]

Can it be Blossom End Rot even if it isn't on the end of the tomato though?

The watering issue could be causing it I guess. We have had so much rain and so many storms. So far, these are the only two tomatoes that I can see have this problem.

Where do I buy bonemeal or dolamite? I don't think I eat enough eggs to do any good.

I do use coffee grounds around my tomato plants. Could this cause a problem?

[nan1234]

Tomatoes get different kinds of black spots.

Blossom End Rot (BER) is the black spot is on the bottom of the tomato where the blossom had originally been it will grow in size, somewhat sunken in appearance and leaves soft tissue that often is infected by fungal spores, often resulting of total loss of that particular fruit. Blossom End Rot is caused by a lack of calcium. Calcium is present in most soils in adequate amounts. The problem is that the plant cannot absorb enough calcium through its roots because of dry soil conditions. That's because calcium is taken up by the roots along with water. If, for some reason, water uptake is restricted, calcium uptake will stop. Since you've got plenty of water, your problem is not likely to be BER. Besides, the black spots are not on the end of the fruit.

Tomatoes can also have black spots that look more like lines, crevice or zipper-like appearance on side as well as on bottom. This is called catfacing:

http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... php?t=8516

This can be caused by anything that damages the fruit at the beginning of its development. Cold (below 50 F), cloudy, and wet weather or poor pollination at blooming time are the primary cause. In some cases, erratic soil moisture and tempreture can cause to catfacing. High nitrogen and excessive pruning have also be shown to aggravate this disorder. Large-fruited cultivars are more susceptible to catfacing.

To minimize catfacing: Maintain even moisture levels, do not use glorious nitrogen fertilizers (especially during fruit set), avoid excess pruning, & select cultivars that are not prone to catfacing.

[Daphne]

I think that must be what it is.....catfacing. Our weather here has been very wet and cloudy with a few days of sunshine thrown in every now and again.

I will keep an eye on the other tomatoes that have set on and see if they have the same problem. Hopefully, this is an isolated case.

Thanks so much for all the information!

[opabinia51]

Thank you so much Nan, that was very informative!

[opabinia51]

A great link on Blossom End rot from one our other members:

http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/horti ... m-rot.html

[american_gardener]

I think that must be what it is.....catfacing. Our weather here has been very wet and cloudy with a few days of sunshine thrown in every now and again.

I will keep an eye on the other tomatoes that have set on and see if they have the same problem. Hopefully, this is an isolated case.

Thanks so much for all the information!

Daphne.. i know this is a late answer. And ya already know it's not a serious problem. But, in case ya run into it again... I'm gonna say that it was incomplete pollination. And from the timing of your original post, I'm gonna guess the reason you had incomplete pollination was cause of the cold weather.

I'm sure you don't have that problem now.. but just in case you start wondering bout it next spring. And ya.. you can just pick em off if you see em... they won't get more pollinated or fill out any more by leaving em.

Dave

[WAYNE BODKINS]

Hi to Daphne! Always good to see a fellow Kansan in the forum

[bali]

blossom end rot for sure.. I had it all summer.

[verdeman]

It looks like blossom end rot which can be caused by too much H2O or lack of calcium, what I have done to cure this is use Tums crushed on top of soil, works great.

[bali]

Lime in the soil would be a cheaper way to avoid blossom end rot.

[Gary350]

Your plants need lime. The quickest way to solve the problem is mix lime in water and use the water to water your plants. Then work some lime into the soil.

[The Helpful Gardener]

I am not comfortable with the assumption that this was blossom end rot, (much as last year was horrible for fungus, there were a LOT of different ones. Botrytis is a common splash up fungus; seems they are finding natural ways to get plants to defend themselves). As Daphne noted, it wasn't at the blossom end, and catfacing isn't usually ulcerous like that. Probably just Botrytis or one of it's cousins...

HG

[Peeps57]

I had the blossom end rot last year so I crumbled egg shells and put at the base of my plants. Seemed to solve the problem

[Rob]

Cat facing:



vs


Blossom end rot:



Judging from the pictures, and what I've got going on in my own garden (i.e. earliest fruiting toms have a little cat facing *cold weather, erratic pollenation*), you've got cat facing and not blossom end rot.

[Gary350]

I have never heard of cat facing. What causes that?

[JONA878]

Lime in the soil will not stop bottom end rot I'm afraid.
Calcium travels very slowly through any plant. That's why apples growing on chalk soils can still get Bitter Pit ( which is caused by calcium deficiancy).

As has been said. BER is a problem of insificiant water when the plant is under heavy transperation times.
The basic problem is when the root system is not in balance with the plants top and is not big enough to replace the water loss through the leaves in hot weather.
That's why Toms grown in grow-bags suffer so much from the problem.
It helps if the plants are not allowed to develope too strongly in the period up to first truss setting.
Either by delaying final planting or keeping the Nitrogen part of the feeding down to a low level until the first fruit has set.

Jona.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Jona is correct about short term calcium from lime; however milk provides it in a very plant soluable form. Plus the lactobacillus culture are inherently antifungal. 3:1 watetr to milk for bad cases, ten to one for preventative spraying...

HG

[petervinsly]

I was really disappointed to find spots in a my garden tomato plant, Then i was just cut few and open both affected tomatoes and I saw there is no worm inside. Any one had to find out outside worm to potato? I just to got it first time and I want to clean up that worms.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Not worms, PV; must be fungal. Read through the thread; there are lots of them...

HG

[the greenest]

tomato hornworm

[The Helpful Gardener]

TG, tomato hornworms are just not hiders. In fact they are about the worst insect at hiding I can think of; they are big and obvious.

I have neverunderstood the rush to use Sevin on such an easy to spot and remove insect, but it is like the first thing people want to do. Just pick 'em and squash 'em. Way better than giving yourself Bell's palsy or some other nervous disorder from all the carbamates... nasty poisons those carbamates; kill everything including us...

HG

[JONA878]

TG, tomato hornworms are just not hiders. In fact they are about the worst insect at hiding I can think of; they are big and obvious.

I have neverunderstood the rush to use Sevin on such an easy to spot and remove insect, but it is like the first thing people want to do. Just pick 'em and squash 'em. Way better than giving yourself Bell's palsy or some other nervous disorder from all the carbamates... nasty poisons those carbamates; kill everything including us...

HG

I find it's puzzleing HG that Sevin is still available over there in the States.

I assumed that you were far more H&S concious than us here in the UK.
We banned the wretched stuff many years ago now as it is so persistant in the soil and a carcinogenic to boot.

[gixxerific]

To add my 2 cents.

It is NOT BER and it is NOT Hornworms. It could be catfacing but as HG suggested it could very well be some other fungal disease.

[The Helpful Gardener]

We are far more likely to allow Big Business to poison us to death in this country than you all across the pond; we are still a young and not terribly bright country, Jonas...

As your Winston Churchill said "The Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities..."

THAT'S about right...

HG

[Halfway]

We are far more likely to allow Big Business to poison us to death in this country than you all across the pond; we are still a young and not terribly bright country, Jonas...

As your Winston Churchill said "The Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities..."

THAT'S about right...

HG

And somehow grew to be the leader of the free world, rescued all of europe and asia from tyranny, and developed techniques that fed the world.

I'm not feeling guilty.

But then again, I enjoy rooting for the home team.

[The Helpful Gardener]

I know, Halfway...I served, and still love my country; just can't do that "my country right or wrong" thing anymore... I kind of think Winny was right...

We have all the evidence that pesticides are dangerous, plenty of evidence that they are killing people and making them sick, but we quibble over legalese while we sicken and kill people. That is wrong, no matter where it happens...

HG

[Halfway]

We have many areas of our society that can be improved as does humanity in general. I just tire of the bashing our country receives or our own people "apologizing" to the world for past events.

I think that somehow makes certain folks feel "enlightened" or superior, but it solves nothing.

As I have traveled the world, common people are exceptionally grateful to our generousity and technological advances. I am much more concerned of their opinions than some tweed-jacketed, philosophizing global socialist.

Ok, back to the garden!

[JONA878]

Lately I think our goverment over here has apologised for about every catastrophy that has occured in the last 500 years world wide.
From slavery to opium dens and plague to infectious deseases via missionaries....it seems us Brits are resposible.
So don't think that you are alone in the fact that our leaders seem to need to seek to apologise for anything and everything.

In fact my point as regards chemicals was that it seemed unusual to me that some of the more ' hazadous ' mixtures were still available to you, when you appear to be more health and safety concious than we over here are. ( Although the H&S brigade do their best to interfere with most aspects of our lives. )

So it begs me to ask....where is the pressure to retain these ' nasties ' coming from?
Is ' Big Buisness ' the culprit?

[The Helpful Gardener]

I think that's right, Jonas. It does seem to be driven by big industry...

Look at the pesticide ban in Canada. As soon as one little town stuck it's head up, Chemlawn tried to cut it off (world's largest retail based sprayer of pesticide). When they failed, DOw has gone back to challenge the law based on NAFTA,, as they have challenged the EU bans on certain pesticides. While Canada has been successful, our EPA has been stuffed with industry insiders over the past deacde to the point where governmental movement has been brought nearly to a halt; as these are not elected but bureacratic positions, this will likely remain the case for some time...

In the meantime food use recomendations remain in place despite all the mounting evidence and folks that have used this stuff for decades simply point to the fact they aren't dead yet, and it all goes on the same way...

HG

[LindsayArthurRTR]

I think that's right, Jonas. It does seem to be driven by big industry...

I feel like it is driven by big business...

Lobbyists, politians, and big businesses...The terms are synonymous are they not? They are all interlinked. You think they make descissions base on what is best for humans? I think not...Proffit driven...business driven.

Pesticide usage, GMS's, CAFO's, petroleum based fertilizers...Our lawmakers know exactly what they are doing! They are informed...and human health, and the health of our planet, is at a lower priorty than stuffing money into pockets.

It's sad, really, what we're doing for our future generations...our children and grandchildren. So many people are so complacent. We do what we do because someone suggested it. We trust L, P, and BB. Then we give people like me strange looks when I talk about the hazards of our actions. It's mainstream to destroy the earth in America...To steal from our future generations...

I know this is off topic, but I felt I needed to respond to the thread...

I too have spots on my may-moes, and mine are definitely from tomato hornworms...AND CUTWORMS!!! and they are trickier to find in my garden. In fact I believe I have a little bit of an infestation starting. I have lots of chewed tomatoes but I have only found 1 THW and 3 cutworms. All were small, and no one was parasitized (is that even a word?)

[Halfway]

Get on the BT. Cured my worm problems.

[LindsayArthurRTR]

I've thought about it...but I am seeing loads beneficials. I walk through masses of bees in every corner. They aren't doing THAT much damage And I'm sure they'll get big enough to see eventually. I have 56 tomato plants I don't mind sharing a few tomatoes. The ones with holes are helping to build my new compost pile

I'm just not too keen on spraying anything, just yet...

[The Helpful Gardener]

Lindsay, Halfway's BT solution is a good one that won't threaten bee or bennies as it is targeted specifically at worms (other than the aesthetic values of butterflies, I am hard pressed to identify a beneficial worm).

As to a solution to the other issue of industrial control of government, talking about it is the first step to eliminating it...

HG

[msgenie516]

Hi,

I really believe that looks like catfacing, especially since you say it's only about skin deep. Catfacing is just a deformity and can be cut off and the tomato can be used for eating just fine. I get it every now and then on my large Brandywines and Brandy Boys. It doesn't concern me that much as it's not a disease. Good luck! Genie

[Scrappy Coco]

As far as I know, and this is purely from youtube videos, it seems that your plant is lacking calcium, which prevents this sort of condition in the fruiting of the plant. Egg shells in the soil is supposed to do the trick.