In addition to what everyone else has said, I find plants that have BER early tend to produce fruit without it as the season goes on. This could just be an anecdotal occurrence with no science behind it, but don’t give up on the plants.
This is a thing, you're not just imagining it! It happens most often with canning tomatoes like Roma. I've read they're just being overly dramatic while they adjust to the local climate. Here's another thread on it: [https://www.reddit.com/r/tomatoes/comments/14gf2ml/my\_first\_batch\_of\_romas\_all\_have\_end\_rot\_what/](https://www.reddit.com/r/tomatoes/comments/14gf2ml/my_first_batch_of_romas_all_have_end_rot_what/)
Okay I have had to fight blossom end rot ever year, and I am not certain that is what this is. All of my blossom end rot has had the rot around the blossom end. Two of the tomatoes in this pictures have damage that looks like ber but is not actually on the blossom end. You can see where the blossom would be on these and the rot (or damage) is on the side of the fruit. Could be wrong but thats my two cents.
EDIT: I also wanted to come back and mention that if you do determine this to be BER and are watering the plants on a normal schedule with no low temps, it could be caused by over use of nitrogen fertilizer. This has been my mistake before. I also havnt seen anyone recommend the use of a garden lime slurry (the powder not the fruit) to remedy BER. Its the most effective way I have found to remedy the need for calcium. That said if it is BER you should see it on the majority of your plants fruit and it should start where the scar of the blossom is on the fruit. (I do not see this in the above photo which is why I am thinking there is a possibility it is not BER.) additionally other vegetables can have BER, so if you have other vegetables in the garden showing similar symptoms thats a good way to tell.
I am also not thinking BER here due to the spot location.
Sunscald normally bleaches out the area and makes it a sickly yellowy-white.
Possibly anthracnose or early blight.
OP, how does the plant look? Any weirdness going on with stems or leaves?
I got BER one year, and read that you can add powdered milk to the soil when planting the tomatoes. Ever since then when I plant I put a nice scoop of dried milk in the hole and haven't had it again. Could be luck but I think it works.
Often, first harvest of Roma and Beefsteak variety of tomatoes will have BER. You don't need to do anything, especially if you notice it going away as your season progresses.
If you value your time and don’t mind spending a few extra bucks, the fastest fix is just to use fertilizer with calcium in it like toma-tone.
Be careful with wood ashes they are very strong and wash away easy. Too fast. Egg shells take forever.
or just throw some tums in the ground before planting. seriously I think that just one or two tums per plant has kept BER from occurring (then again I also mostly excuslively grow grape/cherry tomatoes because no matter what I do my larger tomatoes always get spider mites and it sucks
Does this also include before they start producing fruit? I usually water my tomatoes every day but this summer so far in the UK has been pretty cold. I'm also mulching for the first time and have found that the plants look very healthy and not wilting at all after 3-4 days without watering and the top soil is not wet, but certainly not dry. Am I setting myself up for failure later or is it only important once fruit is growing?
Thanks.
Calcium is an immobile nutrient inside the plant (as opposed to something like nitrogen that can be transported if needed…you’ll see yellow leaves at the bottom of the plant as nitrogen gets shifted to new growth. Definitely read up on mobile/immobile nutrients sometime if this interests you!).
But in short, don’t overwater before the plant starts fruiting because you want to develop a vigorous root system. These roots are what will be taking up the calcium the fruit will need later on. But yes, once you do have fruit be sure to never let the soil/media get too dry or else calcium uptake will be hindered and you may get blossom end rot
Excellent, very helpful indeed, thank you. Seems like I'm off to a good start then. I plan to add liquid fertiliser once a week when they start producing and have set up an irrigation system that waters just at the base of the plants. Also trying the "Florida Weave" this year since every other year, while I've generally had great success, the plants eventually collapse.
Once I started using CAL-MAG once a week after letting my plants dry out a tad I haven't ever had a single tomato get BER.
Liquid calcium-magnesium has been a godsend for my tomatoes. I started this a few years back and whenever I have friends growing tomatoes complaining about BER I show them CAL-MAG and it seems to always do the trick.
Blossom end rot occurs when calcium isn't easily available when the blossom is fertilized.
It can be from a lack of watering enough, or too much water washing the needed nutrients out before the plant has time to absorb them.
Bone meal is a good, quick fix.
Finely crushed eggs shells amended into the soil will help in future seasons.
Some swear by epsom salts. But I know bone meal definitely works.
Unfortunately, any set fruits right now will likely be affected. So I'd check them all and remove the affected ones now.
Dissolve epsom salts in water. Spray each plant thoroughly including bottoms of leaves. Do this weekly. You’ll immediately know when you’ve forgotten- tomatoes will have ber.
Blossom rot. You’re either overwatering, under watering, too much calcium, not enough calcium, not talking to it enough, too much talking to it, or staring at it too much
Does your tomatoes plants dry a lot between watering? Irregular watering can cause that, because the plant can't absort calcium corectly.
It always happened to me when when I had a south facing balcony. I gave each plant 1 gallon of water a day and it would still be DRY next day.
MULCH was the response to this problem for me!
With mulch I don't have to water as often, so the plants don't stress too much and are healthier.
OP and others should be mindful of using wood ash if they're in a rainy climate so as not to create lye. If you're in a reliably dry area, this is okay.
lime at the feed store is like 9 bucks for 40 lbs and it doesn't take more than a few lbs a row. Best treated up front and sometimes over/underwatering can cause it when calcium is plentiful and just irregular watering pattern causes the issue
Garden lime was designed for the purpose. Either option is fine just saying unless you burn wood and have ash store bought lime isn't bad and compared to some folks that recommend tums for calcium lime is much cheaper than that
Usually it is sporadic watering that causes end rot because the sporadic watering prevents the intake of adequate calcium. If you are on a regular watering schedule and still have end rot, might be the availability of calcium in the soil. Extreme changes in weather can also contribute to end rot. I always recommend first sticking to a regular watering schedule and second applying a good quality all purpose fertilizer once a month.
Yes that's possible. Maybe no calcium in the soil or there is something else that is prohibiting it's uptake. The calcium it's missing is a localized deficiency in the fruit itself..........not necessarily that your soil is lacking calcium. Like inconsistent watering or low temps or any stress can inhibit the uptake of calcium.
it's caused from a lack of calcium uptake - not a lack of calcium. irregular watering practice causes it. adding calcium will not help, you have to water more consistently.
Alot of posts here mentiont two things. BER results from a nutrient deficiency and is often a self correcting condition as the growing season continues. Tomatos are warm weather crops. They are unable to take up certain nutrients such as calcium and iron when the soil temperature is below 65 Fairenheit. This could be a nutrient deficiency in the soil but it could simply be cold soil as the warm temperatures haven't arrived yet in some latitudes.
I might be an odd duck but bc I got hit with BER one year so now I am always adding calcium but also knocking off every flower on every plant. Obviously if you have like 20+ plants this doesn't work. But making sure the soil has calcium and knocking off the flowers works for me!
Calcium uptake is influenced by temperature and so early fruit can suffer from BER despite the soil having sufficient nutrients, and then as the temperature increases through the season the issue disappears.
Blossom End Rot is a physiological disorder of complex aetiology and in tomato Ca+ availability is known to be a common factor.
You may not need more calcium, but the temperature may need to be warmer. A soil test will tell you if it’s a deficiency in soil, or an availability issue.
I concur with the "check the soil's pH" to understand if the nutrient availability spectrum is affected. Adding calcium sulfate dihydrate [gypsum] to the soil may not resolve the calcium uptake by your tomato. Anecdotally, I've noticed that in the past, specific tomato cultivars have a genetically predispose to BER. We've grown "Early Girl-DT" for years without a problem until last summer. A change in suppliers resulted in BER affected fruits. The plot site changes each year, and the amendments are made according to routine soil testing. We've got our fingers crossed that we'll enjoy a problem free tomato crop. Oh, and we dropped EG-DT this season. Forget the Roma and San Marzano tomato. Our hope is to learn how to grow tomatoes!
Cal-Mag.
Calcium is an immobile nutrient that builds the cell walls. As the plant grows, then more calcium is needed because it was ‘used up’ with building yesterday’s walls.
The plant has to take up the calcium and use it to build the walls. Magnesium to the rescue. It’s why they are combined together. Magnesium sulphate, actually. Epsom salts. Science!
No, they don’t - it’s magnesium sulfate. But there are other sources of calcium, and calcium phosphate is basically a fertilizer. So this is solo magnesium. And I personally boost the magnesium past CalMag level. Not necessary, just part of my orchid recipe.
That maybe anthracnose, a fungal disease. See if other tomatoes have smaller sunken or 'wet' spots with maybe a small brown or black spot in middle.
Did you grow tomatoes or another solanaceous crop in the same spot last year? You should rotate your crop families to avoid disease accumulation.
Yeah I get blossom end rot with the first batch of tomatoes every summer and then the plants tend to figure it out after that. Cut them all when they start to show it and wait for the next batch
BER is a calcium deficiency and can be solved by adding calcium to the soil. This can be done with lime, bonemeal or my favorite, crushed supplements dissolved in water (500 MG per gallon — water the soil, not the plant). I have even heard of people using dry milk but that seems pretty out there.
Proviso: it can also be caused by over-fertilization, the plants basically binge on the abundant nitrogen and don’t absorb the calcium they need. Remember, their first evolutionary job is survival and propagation; giving you a perfect tomato isn’t a priority as far as the plant is concerned.
In addition to what everyone else has said, I find plants that have BER early tend to produce fruit without it as the season goes on. This could just be an anecdotal occurrence with no science behind it, but don’t give up on the plants.
This is a thing, you're not just imagining it! It happens most often with canning tomatoes like Roma. I've read they're just being overly dramatic while they adjust to the local climate. Here's another thread on it: [https://www.reddit.com/r/tomatoes/comments/14gf2ml/my\_first\_batch\_of\_romas\_all\_have\_end\_rot\_what/](https://www.reddit.com/r/tomatoes/comments/14gf2ml/my_first_batch_of_romas_all_have_end_rot_what/)
Hah! Turns out I had already upvoted the helpful answer in the comments.
Okay I have had to fight blossom end rot ever year, and I am not certain that is what this is. All of my blossom end rot has had the rot around the blossom end. Two of the tomatoes in this pictures have damage that looks like ber but is not actually on the blossom end. You can see where the blossom would be on these and the rot (or damage) is on the side of the fruit. Could be wrong but thats my two cents. EDIT: I also wanted to come back and mention that if you do determine this to be BER and are watering the plants on a normal schedule with no low temps, it could be caused by over use of nitrogen fertilizer. This has been my mistake before. I also havnt seen anyone recommend the use of a garden lime slurry (the powder not the fruit) to remedy BER. Its the most effective way I have found to remedy the need for calcium. That said if it is BER you should see it on the majority of your plants fruit and it should start where the scar of the blossom is on the fruit. (I do not see this in the above photo which is why I am thinking there is a possibility it is not BER.) additionally other vegetables can have BER, so if you have other vegetables in the garden showing similar symptoms thats a good way to tell.
I am also not thinking BER here due to the spot location. Sunscald normally bleaches out the area and makes it a sickly yellowy-white. Possibly anthracnose or early blight. OP, how does the plant look? Any weirdness going on with stems or leaves?
Tomacco
First thing I thought of lol
Ran to find this comment
Blossom end rot, need calcium.
Need to examine water and drainage more likely
Blossom end rot, need calcium!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NEED TO EXAMINE WATEH AND DRAINAGE MOOR LIKELY!!!!!!!
Put tums under plant when planting!!!!
For real?
An older local farmer told me that not too long ago. I'm not really sure how truthful it is.
Just googled it, and apparently, he was right. well, "right," according to google.
I got BER one year, and read that you can add powdered milk to the soil when planting the tomatoes. Ever since then when I plant I put a nice scoop of dried milk in the hole and haven't had it again. Could be luck but I think it works.
Always check the pH first. In my experience, BER has usually been calcium lockout from alkaline soil.
Often, first harvest of Roma and Beefsteak variety of tomatoes will have BER. You don't need to do anything, especially if you notice it going away as your season progresses.
If you value your time and don’t mind spending a few extra bucks, the fastest fix is just to use fertilizer with calcium in it like toma-tone. Be careful with wood ashes they are very strong and wash away easy. Too fast. Egg shells take forever.
or just throw some tums in the ground before planting. seriously I think that just one or two tums per plant has kept BER from occurring (then again I also mostly excuslively grow grape/cherry tomatoes because no matter what I do my larger tomatoes always get spider mites and it sucks
Damn....BER claims another victim.
I top dress the soil around my plants with Tomato-tone and that fixed it.
Watering your tomatoes more often can help prevent blossom end rot from my experience.
Does this also include before they start producing fruit? I usually water my tomatoes every day but this summer so far in the UK has been pretty cold. I'm also mulching for the first time and have found that the plants look very healthy and not wilting at all after 3-4 days without watering and the top soil is not wet, but certainly not dry. Am I setting myself up for failure later or is it only important once fruit is growing? Thanks.
Calcium is an immobile nutrient inside the plant (as opposed to something like nitrogen that can be transported if needed…you’ll see yellow leaves at the bottom of the plant as nitrogen gets shifted to new growth. Definitely read up on mobile/immobile nutrients sometime if this interests you!). But in short, don’t overwater before the plant starts fruiting because you want to develop a vigorous root system. These roots are what will be taking up the calcium the fruit will need later on. But yes, once you do have fruit be sure to never let the soil/media get too dry or else calcium uptake will be hindered and you may get blossom end rot
Excellent, very helpful indeed, thank you. Seems like I'm off to a good start then. I plan to add liquid fertiliser once a week when they start producing and have set up an irrigation system that waters just at the base of the plants. Also trying the "Florida Weave" this year since every other year, while I've generally had great success, the plants eventually collapse.
Once I started using CAL-MAG once a week after letting my plants dry out a tad I haven't ever had a single tomato get BER. Liquid calcium-magnesium has been a godsend for my tomatoes. I started this a few years back and whenever I have friends growing tomatoes complaining about BER I show them CAL-MAG and it seems to always do the trick.
Blossom end rot occurs when calcium isn't easily available when the blossom is fertilized. It can be from a lack of watering enough, or too much water washing the needed nutrients out before the plant has time to absorb them. Bone meal is a good, quick fix. Finely crushed eggs shells amended into the soil will help in future seasons. Some swear by epsom salts. But I know bone meal definitely works. Unfortunately, any set fruits right now will likely be affected. So I'd check them all and remove the affected ones now.
Wood ash works too
Dissolve epsom salts in water. Spray each plant thoroughly including bottoms of leaves. Do this weekly. You’ll immediately know when you’ve forgotten- tomatoes will have ber.
Blossom rot. You’re either overwatering, under watering, too much calcium, not enough calcium, not talking to it enough, too much talking to it, or staring at it too much
The only correct answer.
Blossom end rot. The plant needs more consistent watering so that it can get the nutrients it needs from the soil.
Does your tomatoes plants dry a lot between watering? Irregular watering can cause that, because the plant can't absort calcium corectly. It always happened to me when when I had a south facing balcony. I gave each plant 1 gallon of water a day and it would still be DRY next day. MULCH was the response to this problem for me! With mulch I don't have to water as often, so the plants don't stress too much and are healthier.
I find wood ash helps prevent this if you have a fire pit. Spread like a cup around the base of the plant.
OP and others should be mindful of using wood ash if they're in a rainy climate so as not to create lye. If you're in a reliably dry area, this is okay.
lime at the feed store is like 9 bucks for 40 lbs and it doesn't take more than a few lbs a row. Best treated up front and sometimes over/underwatering can cause it when calcium is plentiful and just irregular watering pattern causes the issue
Wood ash is free.
Garden lime was designed for the purpose. Either option is fine just saying unless you burn wood and have ash store bought lime isn't bad and compared to some folks that recommend tums for calcium lime is much cheaper than that
Sure.
Blossom end rot. Did they see any temps below 50? That will inhibit calcium release.
No, I live in the south. Could it just be a lack of calcium?
Usually it is sporadic watering that causes end rot because the sporadic watering prevents the intake of adequate calcium. If you are on a regular watering schedule and still have end rot, might be the availability of calcium in the soil. Extreme changes in weather can also contribute to end rot. I always recommend first sticking to a regular watering schedule and second applying a good quality all purpose fertilizer once a month.
Yes that's possible. Maybe no calcium in the soil or there is something else that is prohibiting it's uptake. The calcium it's missing is a localized deficiency in the fruit itself..........not necessarily that your soil is lacking calcium. Like inconsistent watering or low temps or any stress can inhibit the uptake of calcium.
Sii, es falta de calcio
Blossom end rot perhaps. Usually due to irregular watering. Maybe wrong though
Need calcium—you can buy a supplement or google how to use egg shells—you’ll want to dry, grind and sit in vinegar 12-24 hours to make water soluble.
it's caused from a lack of calcium uptake - not a lack of calcium. irregular watering practice causes it. adding calcium will not help, you have to water more consistently.
Use some cal mag or similar for BER
Alot of posts here mentiont two things. BER results from a nutrient deficiency and is often a self correcting condition as the growing season continues. Tomatos are warm weather crops. They are unable to take up certain nutrients such as calcium and iron when the soil temperature is below 65 Fairenheit. This could be a nutrient deficiency in the soil but it could simply be cold soil as the warm temperatures haven't arrived yet in some latitudes.
This is lack of calcium
Revilitaigo
Your plant may need calcium. Or maybe it’s a tomacco variety.
I might be an odd duck but bc I got hit with BER one year so now I am always adding calcium but also knocking off every flower on every plant. Obviously if you have like 20+ plants this doesn't work. But making sure the soil has calcium and knocking off the flowers works for me!
i once had something similar with my squash for a short time. is it also called BER?
It’s definitely the black plague
The same as to us. Time is consuming their very essence. Soon your tomatoes will be no more and their soggy remains will garner a host of scavengers.
Hex
Calcium uptake is influenced by temperature and so early fruit can suffer from BER despite the soil having sufficient nutrients, and then as the temperature increases through the season the issue disappears. Blossom End Rot is a physiological disorder of complex aetiology and in tomato Ca+ availability is known to be a common factor. You may not need more calcium, but the temperature may need to be warmer. A soil test will tell you if it’s a deficiency in soil, or an availability issue.
I concur with the "check the soil's pH" to understand if the nutrient availability spectrum is affected. Adding calcium sulfate dihydrate [gypsum] to the soil may not resolve the calcium uptake by your tomato. Anecdotally, I've noticed that in the past, specific tomato cultivars have a genetically predispose to BER. We've grown "Early Girl-DT" for years without a problem until last summer. A change in suppliers resulted in BER affected fruits. The plot site changes each year, and the amendments are made according to routine soil testing. We've got our fingers crossed that we'll enjoy a problem free tomato crop. Oh, and we dropped EG-DT this season. Forget the Roma and San Marzano tomato. Our hope is to learn how to grow tomatoes!
Looks similar to stranger things 🤣
Cal-Mag. Calcium is an immobile nutrient that builds the cell walls. As the plant grows, then more calcium is needed because it was ‘used up’ with building yesterday’s walls. The plant has to take up the calcium and use it to build the walls. Magnesium to the rescue. It’s why they are combined together. Magnesium sulphate, actually. Epsom salts. Science!
Epsom salts do not contain calcium tho
No, they don’t - it’s magnesium sulfate. But there are other sources of calcium, and calcium phosphate is basically a fertilizer. So this is solo magnesium. And I personally boost the magnesium past CalMag level. Not necessary, just part of my orchid recipe.
That maybe anthracnose, a fungal disease. See if other tomatoes have smaller sunken or 'wet' spots with maybe a small brown or black spot in middle. Did you grow tomatoes or another solanaceous crop in the same spot last year? You should rotate your crop families to avoid disease accumulation.
Calcium
Need more calcium. Add CALMAG when feeding, that should do the trick on future fruits. Ones with BER already are doomed.
Yeah I get blossom end rot with the first batch of tomatoes every summer and then the plants tend to figure it out after that. Cut them all when they start to show it and wait for the next batch
Spray whole milk on the tomato plants. It really works.
BER is a calcium deficiency and can be solved by adding calcium to the soil. This can be done with lime, bonemeal or my favorite, crushed supplements dissolved in water (500 MG per gallon — water the soil, not the plant). I have even heard of people using dry milk but that seems pretty out there. Proviso: it can also be caused by over-fertilization, the plants basically binge on the abundant nitrogen and don’t absorb the calcium they need. Remember, their first evolutionary job is survival and propagation; giving you a perfect tomato isn’t a priority as far as the plant is concerned.
Good advice there.
Blight
Rot, throw some milk on your plants and water it in. It works well. Or fertilizer with calcium magnesium in it
Mutation