I have 2 -30 ft row of tomatoes. One row is celebrities and beefsteak- all are beautiful and almost ready to harvest. The other row is roma
tomatoes and all are full of blossom end rot. I have treated all the same with fertilization and water, but why is one row different? Is it just the variety? I have grown all from seed at the same time. This is a new garden with organic garden soil. No problem with bugs so far this year.
I am also growing beets, cucumbers, okra, bush beans, and carrots with no problems on any of these plants. What do I need to do about the roma tomatoes? Should I pull all out and start over? I have never had a problem with this variety before.
problem with blossom end rot
In my experience Roma is very susceptable to BER- after fighting it 2 years I quit growing them. Several varieties will have a few at the beginning with BER but the plant will outgrow it. If it isn't too widespread just pull the bad ones off and see what happens down the line- Good luck.
Most paste tomatoes have a tendency to get BER, at least that has been my experience. Just like JoParrott said, the first few fruits will usually show BER but then the plant grows out of it. Alot of people believe it has something to do with a lack of calcium uptake by the plant from the soil. Come visit the Tomato Forum and post your question and maybe Dr. Carolyn Male will explain further. :)
Thanks to both of you. I will post on the tomato forum.
Susie2 - This is my 5th year growing Roma type tomatoes, and so far, this year I don't seem to have BER.
Each season I've added more and more calcium to the soil in the form of crab shell, which I purchase by the bucket from Worm's Way.
http://wormsway.com/detail.aspx?t=prod&sku=NHC410
I do add a little lime each year, plus I find the tomatoes seem to like lots of Seabird Guano which I purchase from Home Harvest.
http://homeharvest.com/guano.htm
I save egg shells all year and crush up about a dozen for each tomato hole I dig.
Last year I had beautiful romas that were almost ready to harvest. Then........the floods came and ruined all.
This year I moved my garden area with new organic soil and have a lovely garden. The roma tomatos are the only ones that
have BER. I did treat with bone meal but now am seeing the new fruit without it. I guess the plant is maturing. I also posted on the tomato forum and got educated more on growing this variety.
Thanks to all for the info.