Identify and Treat Blossom-End Rot in Tomatoes | Avoid BER Myths
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- čas přidán 18. 06. 2022
- What do antacids and tomato blossom end rot have to do with each other? Well, it turns out probably nothing. Let's investigate.
In this video, we'll use the most current research available on blossom end rot to compile strategies based on what we know about the biology behind blossom end rot. No antacids required =)
You’ll learn what blossom end rot is (and is *not*), why it occurs, how research has evolved to change our approach and a list of tactics to both prevent and treat it in your tomato garden. We cover watering best practices, soil salinity, appropriate fertilizing, vulnerable varieties and much more.
Written article version of this video if you'd rather read than watch: nextdoorhomestead.com/blog/to...
*Links and resources referenced in this video*
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Why calcium deficiency is not the cause of blossom-end rot in tomato and pepper fruit - a reappraisal: ucanr.edu/sites/SFA/files/294...
Growing Vegetables: Managing Blossom End-Rot [fact sheet]: extension.unh.edu/resource/gr...
A Cellular Hypothesis for the Induction of Blossom-End Rot in Tomato Fruit: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Reduction of calcium deficiency symptoms by exogenous application of calcium chloride solutions: www.researchgate.net/publicat...
Tomato Fertilizer & Feeding Guide: • How to FEED TOMATOES a...
Tomato Varieties that may be less vulnerable to Blossom End Rot: ipm.illinois.edu/diseases/seri...
*Equipment you might want in order to follow this video*
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Jobe’s Organic Tomato Fertilizer: www.amazon.com/Jobes-Organics...
#tomatoes #gardening #homestead #tomatoplants #vegetablegarden - Jak na to + styl
Hi and thank you from Germany. It would be easier to listen for me without background music. Great content and I saved this interesting video in my tomato playlist.
Thank you for the feedback Kati! And I'm so glad you found it interesting 😁
This is probably the biggest problem I run into on CZcams. I understand the attempt to give your content a more polished feel but people with damaged hearing have a harder time separating out noises.
I agree. The music is too loud - really annoying
Yes, I agree about the music. Great content, but I’d prefer if you only used the music during transitions.
Turn on captions🤔
I find that if it rains alot, the blossom sticks to the bottom of the tomato. If you pull the expired blossom off when the fruit is starting to form, at a very early stage, it helps tremendously. And it stopped 50% or more from getting end rot. The bloom sticking to the newly formed fruit wants to hang on, and if it gets wet it causes it to get a mold spot. If that happens it will result in blossom end rot, so pick those dead buds off as soon as fruit forms.
I like that type of music but am unable to finish this video because the music is just too distracting.
Heya! Thank you for letting me know. That's a bummer, but I totally get it.
Loud, distracting music is my vice when I'm editing these videos =) I've got to remember to tone it down!
As a chicken owner, I have alot of crushed oyster shells to supplement the hens diets for their health and strong egg shells. I add a handful of oyster shells into the soil for each tomato plants. I did not add oyster shells for a few other plants to see if this amendment is effective in preventing or correcting BER. So far, the plants with oyster shells have shown no new BER while those that did not get them are still showing BER.
Thank you for sharing! Unrelated to BER, but we sometimes use the crushed granite grit in our raised bed mixes for drainage =)
Excellent and well- researched information, and thanks so much for the references!
Thank you very much and no problem at all =)
Happy gardening!
Ooh I love knowing WHY! 😊 ❤THANK YOU FOR THIS
You are very welcome and thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed =)
Thank you a lot for bringing light to this topic! I enjoyed the video a lot🙏
Oh thank you! I enjoy reading about this topic as well! I think it'd be fun to make another one on this topic some time =)
Came back and watched this great video again. I love your channel!
Thank you for that! I think I'll revisit this topic next year perhaps. I've had a lot of luck this year avoiding the vast majority of BER.
One change has been growing Granadero for our paste tomatoes - they are SO much less susceptible to BER than any of the other many varieties we've tried.
Man I really enjoyed your video. You have a way of explaining things in a way that is super assuring. Keep making excellent vids because I just subscribed to your channel but mostly because it can help people understand gardening from your wealth of experience. Thankyou.
That's really high praise. I appreciate you sharing, especially on this older video! I hope it helped =)
We always got some blossom end rot ever year. I bought a box of powdered milk and gave each plant some. After that we had no blossom end rot so there is that.
Did you sprinkle it on the soil dry, or did you dissolve it in water?
Thank you for the video. I had a little BER last year but my real problem was early blight. I wanted to get as much production as possible out of the bed I had my tomatoes in, planted them really close and ended up with next to nothing.
That's super frustrating, it's always something isn't it? I probably got a little ambitious with my tomato spacing and a little to generous with the pepper and eggplant spacing this year \=
@@NextdoorHomestead gotta push the boundaries.
I've been using Tomatoe tone and bone meal on initial transplantings. When blossoms appear, I use 0-10-10 Alaska fish oil. This seems to work well on my Parks Whoppers. This year I've gotten some ber but they are mostly at the top of the plant so I'm going to try reducing the intensity of the sunlight with a cover rated at 40% reduction in sunlight.
Thanks for the informative video, it really helps me to understand the cause and treatments for Ber..
Absolutely no problem! It seems like you've got a good process for feeding and protection anyhow - nice work!
How do you like the Parks Whopper by the by? I'm intrigued by the relative short maturity timeline =)
I just read an argument on Facebook a few days ago about what to do about BER. I read everything from adding to the soil such as eggshells, Tums, aspirin and Epsom salt. Then the argument turned to calcium uptake and whether watering caused BER or cracking. I've recently changed my away from using Epsom salt on my tomatoes. Now it sounds like I need to learn even more about BER. I've been trying to water regularly to prevent the plants from getting dry. I've also been trellising and pruning. This video was definitely interesting and informative. There are so many people who swear that they have BER figured out, but it seems the reality is they are just getting lucky with their treatment.
First off, I just had a great time checking out your channel! Y'all have a ton of cool projects going on it looks like =)
BER does seem to create a lot of arguments, doesn't it? I'm 100% certain I don't have it figured out but hopefully sharing what I learn can help a few folks out down the line.
Cheers!
I’m really confused about why people use Epsom salt. Epsom salt is magnesium not calcium. I’ve heard you should use hydrogen peroxide.
Calcium or uneven watering
@@AjArpopP52magnesium helps transport of nutrients in soil..
So even if there is enough calcium I soil.... It doesn't matter unless it can travel thru the plant. (That's the theory anyway)
I had too small a pot with 2 San Marzano tomato seedlings that grew fast. I decided (as a 1 yr newbie) that I better try to upset their whole lives and give them their own, proper sided pots. It must have stressed them out. All the 1st set of fruit had BER. Talk about timely information. Thank you. I had no idea this type of tomato tends to be more vulnerable. Last season I did choose mostly all cherries. Zone 10a Florida. I did remember a video somewhere that mentioned shade cloth. I doubled up tulle and tied that to the tomato cages. It seems to be working to shade them enough. Man, everything you are saying is spot on to my issues. LOL and yes the other day I thought well spray the leaves with Cal-Mag.
I *love* San Marzanos, but for me, I sure wouldn't mind replacing them with something a bit more resilient. We're trying a hybrid called pozzano this year.
I would hope (and assume!) your next set of fruit are less impacted by BER!
10a Florida is definitely not the easiest climate but I think you'll get great results with all the good experimentation you're doing =)
@@NextdoorHomestead I have not heard of Pizzano, so I appreciate the insight on what an experienced gardener wants to try.
Right now everything is new. I want to add these San Marzanos to the Romas I have frozen from my last round of tomatoes. Yep, I have never made my own tomato paste or sauce either. 😁 YET! Working on it. Everyone just kept suggesting ooooh only non-GMO, Heirloom varieties. I can see the need for that if I'm wanting to save seeds. I have saved all sorts of seeds. However, I can keep experimenting with different types, which is honestly what I like about gardening the most.
The new fruit coming on the 2 San Marzano plants show no signs of further BER. I check daily. Now I'm off to Google Pozzano tomatoes. Have an awesome week.
@@melodylamour6123 Yay! So glad to hear the BER is letting off =)
Good luck with the canning this year! Hopefully we'll be doing lots of the same =)
Great music and also ber advice!
THANK YOU! The music in this video annoyed a lot of folks (understandably...) but it's nice to hear some enjoyed it too =)
Mother Nature is really socking it to my garden this year. I didn't have an issue at all with BER last year. This year it's hotter than the devils buttcrack out there and the plants are having troubles dealing with it. Last week really did a number on my Romas. Every single one I started from my own seeds and even the 7 store bought and including the 20 I grew for my mom and gave her ALL have BER. The store bought Supersteaks, Betterboys and cherry tomatoes are fine. These Romas are little finicky buggers. Hopefully I still get a harvest. Time will tell. There are still plenty of green maters out there but I must've removed 60 tomatoes between yesterday and today.
This year i put small 1 ft tall copper antenna next to each plant , had a bumper crop this year, less bugs almost no rot , and that's been a problem in the past.
I get alot of BER for my cherry plants in my Earthboxes this year, the sad thing is I know the reason too. Just love watering my tomatoes plants too much, it's something I already know just a bad habit. The raised beds soil disperse the water well so those plants in soil don't have that problem, with container there is that goldilocks zone of moisture to thrive for and how you formulate the grow mix is a big factor. The great thing with grow bags is there is so much aeration it does protect against overwatering. I've always used container trays with the grow bags I find it give the perfect balance. Calcium is generally not the problem from what I see, especially when the plant look very healthy with little diseases, many gardeners already use good soil and probably too much fertilizers.
Thanks for the Heads up fella. My Roma's are getting this rot but my cherry tomatoes & Manitoba reds are doing great. I only planted these romas for my wife's who wants to make bruschetta & spaghetti sauces. 🍅🍅 74+ hunter expat for food only
That was an interesting article! Blossom end rot is definitely not as cut and dry of an issue as everyone has been taught. So, in 3.2 they sprayed tomatoes with abscisic acid as a stress inhibitor, and it helped with BER. Is there a way to boost that in the plant naturally, or could it be produced by mycorrhizal fungi or bacteria in the soil? What other stress inhibitors exist? I've heard of gibberellic acid being used on seeds, but had no idea it is also related to plant stress.
Knight of the Sun.
Have a great summer weekend.
Heya, you too! Hope you get out in the garden =)
@@NextdoorHomestead
Thanks. Just picked up some chicken manure yesterday.
Thank you! Luckily my tomatoes are fine at the moment, but I'm really struggling with BER on all of my squash and even pumpkin plants this year! I've tried giving them fertilizers with extra calcium and plenty crushed eggshells from my hens, but nothing is working. I can see the end rot starting on the flower before it has even bloomed. Zucchinis are producing like crazy, but all of the fruits keep rotting away before they even have a chance to get pollinated! 😫
Are there any other signs of stress? Like insect damage, leaf discoloration, droopiness, or dry foliage? May be a sign of lack of water or some other problem unfortunately =)
@@NextdoorHomestead Nothing obvious like that, no. Not even powdery mildew. Currently playing around with my water system and adding some extra mulch hoping that will do the trick. It has been way warmer and dryer here than usual, so maybe that's it.
@@BellaCWI had the same problem this year on my squash plants but after I pruned my plants it stopped. Get rid of sone of the leaves so the pollinators can find the blooms.
Ed, does anyone dissolve lime-calcium-eggshells with vinegar? does this neutralize the calcium? seems to have helped by pouring the water diluted mix under the plants.
I've got the BER pretty bad on my Romas this year. Been year after year growing Romas from seed that didn't get BER. Hopefully in the long run this results in a stronger plant resistant to the Tucson nuclear death rays we get from our angle oriented towards the sun all summer, and soil that is effectively unfit for life.
Romas are tough for BER! That's really cool that you're developing a resistant landrace though. We're not Tucson hot but at a certain point, yeah, it's all just nuclear death rays to the tomatoes. I'm trying some more heat tolerant varieties this year and will share later in the season how they do =)
@Nextdoor Homestead You're definitely right about the cherry tomatoes. I'd like a permanent year after year variety of "wild" nondomestic tomatoe bush that takes the plant back to its healthy roots, before humans tuned it into a pug. :p
Allegedly tomatoes once grew in Tucson wild alongside Chiltepin.
We still have the wild wolf berry or American Goji but it's hard to promote appreciable yields from those guys.
@@BrandanLee Total aside here, and I know not what you meant, but there are some really cool projects experimenting with incorporating mutations found in wild tomato species! We're growing one this year called Valentine that has a trait from a wild tomato that results in extra lycopene. I just think it's a cool idea =)
@@NextdoorHomestead I love returning to the wild varieties. There is still a ton of value there to be discovered and brought into the expanding library of human led breeding.
@@BrandanLeeSorry I am so late to the conversation, but I have had great results with an heirloom called Amish Paste. When the rest of my plants had BER, Amish Paste did not. There are probably many more out there, and I have tried many heirlooms, but for me, this one worked the best.
I wonder if the horn worm affects the blossom end rot. Before i noticed my plum tomatoes end rot, i found a horn worm on the plant.
Thankfully I've never suffered from this, use a home made garden compost and lay it down each winter to do it's thing ahead of the spring. I do wonder if poor soil and inedaquate nutrients are half the problem.
They are very likely major components / risk factors! Good compost certainly helps grow happy plants =)
As a non-native speaker the loud and busy background music made it quite difficult to understand the information. Would be lovely to just have it as an intro and then focus on your voice. Thanks! And thank you for the great information on BER. I was panicking yesterday when I saw the first fruits with BER on my greenhouse container plants (Brandywine).
I'm sorry to hear the music interfered with the information Tanja! Thanks for letting me know - I'll try to adjust for the next one.
And here's to hoping your BER is short lived!
Agree. I have to pause the video due to the background music. It gives me headache. Searching for tips on the comment section
Cherry tomatoes all split when we have a few days of heavy rain
INTERESTING :)
THANK YOU FOR SHARING :)
I DID A THUMB-UP ABOUT THE VIDEO AND SUBSCRIBED TO THE CHANNEL :)
THANK YOU FROM ISRAEL :)
Amazing video and information . but that loud music backround driving me crazy .. sorry
Genuine apology for the loud music! Still trying to get the hang of video editing 0_o
It’s early, but I’ve lost 10 or 12 tomatoes. San Marzano, just like you named here.
Luckily they were small enough that I don’t feel bad.
The next group popping out seems ok.
My cherry tomatoes look great though
Frustrating isn't it? We are trialing a new variety of paste tomatoes this year and they seem very prone to BER. I'm glad your San Marzanos are recovering, we have a few growing and I'm super excited for them.
Cheers!
@@NextdoorHomestead thanks! We went to a sidewalk sale/craft market in May and my wife pick out the San Marzano’s and tomatillos for the garden. I usually do Roma’s in like cliché tomatoes.
But I figured I try something new and it’s getting a little bit late in the summer. Do you know what I mean but the heat knocks everything down and someone says why don’t you just go buy the tomatoes and I go where is the fun in that?
@@NextdoorHomestead yeah 10 or 12 on a plant that I put out 50 or 60 really isn’t that big of a deal. My truck cherry tomatoes have a whole bunch that will all be ready at one time.
@@tompatchak8706 Hahaha oh, I *Definitely* know what you mean. I hope you like the san marzanos when all is said and done. I like them over Romas every day of the year ;)
@@NextdoorHomestead I’ll give um a shoot
I use Parks Whopper for the bun size fruit and great taste. They seem to be consistent year to year and disease resistant. I also sprinkle a little baking soda around the edge of the grow bag in to sweeten them a little. We have had (in southwestern Virginia) wet and humid climate followed by recent 90+ temps for a week.
Thank you! I may just try them out next year - always on the lookout for new varieties to test.
Cheers!
From my experiance BER is most likely caused by inconsistant moisture. i haven't had the problem since I started using drip irragation. I also treat my tomatoes and onions with a pellatized gypsum which also prvides sulfer
Thanks for sharing Zee! Moisture and pH levels are definite risk factors!
I rarely have BER. I have clay soil and use mulch. While the clay soil likely contains plenty of available calcium, it also doesn't dry out all that quickly, so consistent watering is easier to manage.
You're right about the cherry tomatoes not getting blossom end rot but they are a pain to pick
We're "lucky" enough that marauding children get them before they ever end up inside ;)
What's going on when the tops of the plant are curling under?
Just the tip of the growing vine or the leaves themselves? Leaf curl can have a lot of causes unfortunately.
Soil sulfer and alittle cal nitrate
In my experience BER is mostly caused by inconsistant water because the calcium is not being able to be absored by the plant
Thank you for sharing your experience! I hope you enjoyed the video =)
Calcium deficiency is the problem.
CORRECT
I enjoyed the banjo in the background
Me too 😁
What about BER in hydroponic tomatoes?
I'm afraid I just don't have the hydroponic expertise to provide commentary on the practicalities of avoiding it. But the root causes of the disease should be consistent.
Did you ever try making a BLT with cherry toms? :•| It's the only time of the year that I eat bacon! I used to have a nice garden+I was eating BLT's from Sep-Dec! But, I had to move+ now have some containers. This is the FIRST year I've ever encountered this. I think I bought Big Daddy Hybrids this year? I don't remember, but they are supposed to get 15 ounces. I was at a farmers market+ they were charging $4/ pound! Thats like 1 tom. Eye yi yi.
I never have done a BLT with cherry toms, but tell you what, that sounds amazing right now. We don't eat much meat at home honestly but I might have to pick up a pack of bacon before the seasons out =)
Good luck with the BER =(. I know it can be super frustrating!
@@NextdoorHomestead Thank you buddy! Yeah, my 1st ones started turning red, so I looked at them and DAM! The bottom 1/2's were black on all 3. I cut the black parts out, just to get a taste+ they were DELICIOUS! A little sweet( compared to the tangyness that I like) +they were only baseball size, but I have a bunch growing that look healthy, so I will see. So, your main point was to water regularly?
@@turtleman5111 Honestly, main point is that BER doesn't appear to be a simple disease of low calcium. It's about making conditions favorable for the plant (watering included), being patient if the first clusters have BER, and trying a different variety if nothing else work ;)
Noise permeates video. Loud Boise!
Sorry about that. Definitely had the music too loud on some of my earlier videos. Happy gardening!
Please, less music..otherwise good info and it's appreciated
100%. I've toned it down, I promise =)
Just watched this video. The background music is basically unnecessary in all videos.
We just want to hear the information.
Went out to my 25 tomato plants ( various varieties) (all in pots this year), looking for the BER.
Found it on every single fruit that was turnings red. Looked at a green fruit, and it looks like it might be starting to get it.
According to Millennial Gardener, I used bone meal, some granulated vegetable mix, and worm castings when I potted them.
We haven't had much rain for weeks and I water the plants morning and evening knowing that potted plants can be dry on the bottom and I should be bottom watering them, but there are just too many.
I wonder if I'm over-watering them
We're in a heat spell here on the border between Spokane and Coeur d' Alene hitting 103 yesterday and mostly in the 90s in the late afternoon. Nights cool off well.
I just took the BER fruits, cut off the BER part, and ate them. They tasted like tomatoes. Just not really ripe, but tasty. At least they weren't store-bought cardboard like what they're pushing all the time...YUCK!
I swear I'll never ever again eat a tomato I haven't grown myself
ED, have ber every year and haven,t figured it out yet. always use epsom salt, lime, fertilize. after the first fruits rot, always have plenty good tasteing tom. the heirloom cherokee purple most all rotted, which i think are not disease resistant. early girl, pink girl, and celebrity did lot better. pinks are my favorite. always have good flavored tomata with few white spots/huge cores. wish i could stop the BER.
Every time I had blossom end rot it was allready winter and had heavy rain. So that tells you something there, to much rain, too cold soil and it couldn't absorb calcium. I'm situation there was nothing that could be done. And I didn't care.
This is a great video but the background music is so distracting. I have tinnitus and it’s driving me crazy.
That's such a bummer to hear - sorry about the noise. I've toned down the music a lot in more recent videos but still learning this whole video editing thing.
Still a great video
Music is very annoying
Heya, thanks for the feedback! We've started to tone down the tunes in newer videos =)
I give them a drink of milk works for me so far
ugggg hate the banjo crap in the background distracting and literally makes you difficult to understand
Thanks for the heads up!
Background music very distracting. Sorry. Just annoying.
Hey fair enough, I've toned down the volume more recently. Cheers
Pls Skip the disturbing music😂
Lose the tunes, they're not very good anyway.
If you want to avoid blossom end rot then do three things. 1. Use a decent growth media such as levington f2 compost.
2. Once the first fruit forms start feeding with Hoagland's solution bi weekly and nothing else.
3. When you water / feed ALWAYS feed from below and only use rainwater or RO water at room temperature.
You will not only have perfect tomatoes but the plants will also look fantastic with no intervein chlorosis or curling of leaves.
10+ years research experience on GM tomato plants
Thank you for sharing!
For those that want an easy fix for BER. Buy some calcium chloride and make a 1 millimolar concentration in your tomato feed. This concentration is the optimal amount to prevent BER.
No one yet understands the mechanism behind BER.
honestly the garden is a peaceful place...please no music.
You talk to fast, to.understand you.
Yeah, fair enough =) I do sometimes!
Takes you way too long to get to the subject.
Get to the point
Music and listening to your rambling gives me a headache. Loose the music and shorten the talk
Too much talking and not enough info. Just wanted to know solution. Too much hype.
Why in God's green earth do you force your listeners to try to hear you and comprehend what you are saying through all that loud, obnoxious, and totally irritating and unnecessary noise?