any help with the cause of this problem of brown spots on these hanging tomato plants...plants are growing in 5 gal buckets upside down...thanks...virginia
brown spots on tomatoes...causes?
Looks like blossom-end rot to me. Usually caused by uneven watering or not enough calcium in the soil. You might want to post this on the tomato forum as well.
thanks for the answer fiber...i will post this on the tomato forum...virginia
looks just like blossom end rot. - add calcium. crush up some tums and water them in. the problem in combines with excess water. i had the problem last year and added the tums and the second and third harvests went fine.. but the tomatoes that already had the rot never recovered.
good luck
-joe-
Does blossom end rot appear on sides of tomatoes? Looks as though only one of the maters has the rot where the blossom was, another has the rot on the side, the third one looks okay.
That is classic Blossom End Rot.
It usually lessens as the season goes on and the plant gets better at distributing nutrients (including calcium) to the plant and fruit.
When container growing, I always recommend the addition of dolomitic lime. A small handful for each container each season. Considering your container mix is probably pine bark or peat moss based, the lime will help with the pH of the soil and certainly not make it too basic.
Often (but not always), soil already has sufficient calcium, the plant is just unable to utilize it and properly distribute it to the leaves and maturing fruit. I'm not sure how much crushing up a Tums tablet would do.
thanks for all the input...will follow advice...virginia
ps...feldon love you garden set up...especially like the makeshift greenhouses over your tomatoes...how do you work those soaker hoses...on a timer? virginia
I just hook up directly, come back inside, set the oven timer to 15 minutes, rinse repeat :)
only 3 tomato beds
Hey Virg, I like your set-up!! Looks like you know what your doing. How does the upside-down tomatoe thing work for you? Is it really any better?
thanks good...i really like growing my tomatoes this way...easy on the back...easy picking, easy pruning those side shoots...the only thing i'd say to the con is that they are heavy on the watering...more often than in ground...i'm in the process of doing cucumbers, squash and zucchini in hanging buckets...so far so good...i've found that doing the other veggies it's best to drill your holes around the bottom side instead of out the bottom like the tomatoes...i've got 3 to 4 plants around the bottom side filled with coconut coir and potting soil and a dose of heavy mulch on top. fertilize weekly with MG...
Hi Virginbred,
I sometimes get blossom end rot on my tomatoes too. I find that if I water down some 1 or 2% milk and water them with it, it helps.
Good luck!
I haven't even got tomatoes outside yet - still waiting for our last frost date (May 28 or so).
Deb
I had blossom end rot on tomatoes and peppers one year. A garden supply center set me up with a calcium foliar spray that worked like magic. The next year they recommended that I put ground up shells in each hole I dug. Last year the shells came in a bucket, this year I got a 50 lb. bag. The shells worked very well.
"The next year they recommended that I put ground up shells in each hole I dug. Last year the shells came in a bucket, this year I got a 50 lb. bag. The shells worked very well."
oh wow...i just bought ground up oyster shell for my chickens...i think i could use that in my buckets? i like the milk idea too...thanks for the in put...virginia
Might try dried, crushed eggshell mixed into the soil. It seems to work well for me.
Lots of cool ideas. I'll have to try some of these other methods as well.
i've got plenty of egg shells!