How to Treat & Prevent Blossom End Rot- Gardening Week #5

Blossom end rot is a common problem that primarily affects tomatoes, although it can also occur in peppers and eggplants. It manifests as a black rot at the bottom of the fruit, where the blossom was located.

Yes, tomatoes with blossom end rot are still edible if you cut off the bottom part where the rot is. The rest of the tomato is fine for consumption.

Blossom end rot in tomatoes is caused by a calcium deficiency in the plant. Watering issues can contribute to this problem by making calcium unavailable to the plant, which ultimately leads to the deficiency.

To prevent blossom end rot, you should rotate your tomato crops to different garden beds each year, as tomatoes uptake a lot of calcium and could deplete it in the soil if planted in the same spot repeatedly. Adding calcium to your soil, such as using eggshells or other calcium-rich amendments, can also help.

Yes, you can treat blossom end rot on already planted tomatoes by adding calcium to the soil around them. You can water your tomatoes with milk, as it contains dissolved calcium that plants can quickly uptake. Other options include using bone meal, which is made from crushed-up bones and contains calcium.

To make calcium available to your tomato plants, the soil pH should be between 6.5 and 7. You can adjust the soil pH by adding lime to raise it, or lower the pH with acidifying composts, such as cotton burr compost, peat moss, or homemade compost enriched with acidic materials like coffee.

Watering your tomato plants regularly and providing a layer of mulch can help maintain consistent moisture levels and prevent rapid drying, which helps to prevent blossom end rot. Even with these precautions, high temperatures or other environmental factors may still cause the condition, but these practices can reduce the risk.