My husband has a client that already has blossom end rot on their tomatoes. He called me and asked what they should do and I told them they need calcium. Hope I'm correct. He went to Home Depot and bought a bag of garden lime that has calcium in it. Is this going to work? One time we had the same problem but I bought calcium in a spray bottle and had to spray each blossom. It was a lot of work. This will be easier if it will work.

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http://www.picturetrail.com/bestofour

I think the garden lime is too late. it can take months to have an effect on soil Ph and , i imagine, to supply calcium.
Ensure the bed is getting enough water as there may be enough calcium in the soil already but if the plants aren't getting enough to drink and take it to the fruit, then the symptom can be BER. Mulching will help retain moisture in the soil if the weather is extremely hot.

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The secret is the soil.

The major cause of BER is watering stress, that is, too little water followed by too much, but any underwatering or overwatering can contribute. Too much water transports all the available calcium to the leaves rather than the fruit. Calcium deficiency can cause BER, but it's mostly a factor of water uptake.

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!

Yeah, I was going to say go with
some Epsom Salts scratched into the surface..
Can't hurt...

And I have alot of problems with my soil,
and I do add the Epsoms' and that is one thing
I DON"T GET is the BER, I think... because of the salts..

The watering is tricky sometimes..
Hot, you should water, but they call for rain, so you hold back, and it doesn't rain so, it's been dry for 3 days, so you water, and next thing you know it's pourin' out....
Crazy...

I always thought the Epsom helped regulate it a bit at least...

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

Ciao all,

I think a lot of people make too much of a big deal regarding blossom end rot. This kind of thing usually takes care of itself once the plants get a really good root system. Some varieties are more prone to this than others, but usually the condition doesn't last throughout the entire growing season. Seems to me, it's usually a bigger deal earlier on, before the plants' roots are deep enough that they can tap into the water table. I'm not convinced adding epsom salts or eggshells does much good, but some people seem to feel the need to do "something" and it doesn't hurt as long as you don't overdo it.

Cheers,
Julianna

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So much information. I'm gonna tell Johnny to tell his customer to join the Forum and read it all themselves.

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http://www.picturetrail.com/bestofour

Julianna, so far so good. Your seeds were planted later than my earlies, earlier than some I bought late. Black Plum and Plum Lemon doing well, not huge, but showing first signs of blossoms lately. Green Zebra struggling some, neighbor's dog stepped on the best of the batch and broke off the stem. All survivors healthy and growing bigger every day.
Peppers coming along, I should have started seed earlier, but they'll love the heat this summer.

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!