Tomatos rotting before ripe?

[Grant1]

I have plenty of fruit on the vine. I am finding that if I leave them on until they start to turn ripe the bottom of the fruit is rotting. What can I do to correct this?

[cynthia_h]

It sounds like you're describing blossom-end rot. If so, here are some organic treatment tips:

https://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/tomato-blossom-end-rot/

Please (from your other thread) do not use Sevin in the garden. It will kill the beneficial insects that eat harmful ones, it will kill earthworms (which help aerate your soil), and it will poison the veggies.

I hope the tipsheet at veggiegardeningtips helps.

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17

[opabinia51]

Yes, spread some eggshells around the base of your plants, also bone meal will do the trick and you can buy a non organic calcium spray to spray the tomatoes with before they have blossom end rot.

[Daphne]

Do you sprinkle the bone meal at the base of the plant or directly on the foliage?

[cynthia_h]

On the dirt surrounding the stem of the plant. As you water, the bone meal releases its calcium over time.

Thx for asking!

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17

[tomakers]

IME it is uneven watering that causes blossom end rot. You can add all the eggshells in the world and it won't help. If you are worried about Ca add some lime.
JMO,
Tom

[Roger]

Check out this website:
[url]https://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/horticulture/blossom-rot.html[/url]

Plenty of information there about blossom end rot & prevention.

The ones displaying symptoms should be culled and tossed into the compost. In my experience, it clears itself up after two or three sets of fruit: the roots have developed more by that time to take up additional calcium and overcome water fluctuations.

The eggshells do in fact help; but not immediently - you are "feeding the soil, not the plant" Later generations of tomato plants in the future will be less likely to develop the same problem.

[opabinia51]

Great site site, thanks for the link!

[doccat5]

Excellent site, thanks for sharing. You also might want to add a scant handful of epsom salts to the area as well. Many times there's not enough magnesium available in the soil to help the plant properly absorb the Ca. Just put it around the base of the plant and water it in with the egg shells, etc.