In article ,
"The Henchman" wrote:
I'm in Southern Ontario Zone 5b (Niagara escarpment)
I have tomatoes in pots, two plants per pot, staked. Pots are 12" x 12" x
12" deep. A bit of a gravel bed on the bottom, maybe 3/4" thick. They
face south and get 7 hours of sun a day. Soil is triple mix topsoil with
1/3 peat moss, and drainage holes at bottom of pots. These plants were
planted by children in a school then we inherited the plants when school was
out for summer. They flowered nice.
The bottoms of some of the tomatoes have gone black. A quick Google search
suggests this is prolly due to lack of calcium but we have 25 hardness hard
water. Our garden water is not run thru the water softener.
How can I determine if it's calcium defiency or not? What other
possibilities can this be? The leaves never wilt and growth and foliage
seem healthy. No bugs are eating the leaves. I've never grown tomotes
before. Our herb gardens and flower beds are fantastic and are watered at
the same intervals as our tomatoes.
If somebody wants pictures I can through up on the net if so.
http://ipm.illinois.edu/diseases/ser...906/index.html
Predisposing Factors
Conditions favoring blossom-end rot also favor noninfectious leaf roll.
Blossom-end rot is most common when there a 1) prolonged dry periods;
2) frequent or heavy rains followed by an extended period of dry
weather; 3) soil conditions unfavorable for uptake of calcium; 4)
excessive soil salinity; and, 4) root damage from infectious diseases.
Other factors favoring blossom-end rot include early planting in cold
soils, poor fruit setting, and high temperatures. Any condition that
reduces the ability of the roots to absorb water and, hence, soluble
calcium salts predisposes the plant to blossom-end rot. Some factors
that could affect the roots are root-rotting fungi, nematodes,
underwatering, overfertilizing, root pruning due to cultivation or
insect feeding, and lack of aeration due to soil compaction or
overwatering. Losses from blossom-end rot increase when the soil
contains an excess of total soluble salts in relation to soluble calcium
salts. An excess of soluble ammonium, potassium, magnesium, or sodium
salts reduces calcium uptake by the plant. Blossom end rot is rarely a
problem in soils where calcium is available in proper balance with other
available nutrients. Sometimes rapid luxuriant plant growth accentuates
development of the disorder, because the new growth draws heavily on the
available supply of calcium in the soil. Calcium is not translocated
within the plant from older to younger tissues. Therefore, injury may
appear on the blossom end of the young fruit, which is especially
sensitive to a lack of calcium.
Some tomato varieties are much more susceptible to blossom-end rot than
others (see Table 1).
-- **Generally, elongated pear and plum tomatoes used for processing
and canning are prone to this disorder.**--
Table 1: Incidence of some tomato varieties to blossom-end rot grown at
the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center under irrigation.
Low Incidence High Incidence
*
Losses less than 10% in severe years Losses of 15 to 30% or
more in severe years
*
Celebrity Big Boy
Fresh Pak Castle King
Jet Star Fantastic
Manapal Independence
Mountain Pride Supersonic
Pik Red Surprise
Sunny Whopper
Winter Wonder Boy
As you can see, "blossom end rot" isn't that uncommon. Often gardeners
will have trouble with it at the beginning of ripe fruit production, but
then it usually goes away on its own.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
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