Tomato fruit rotting at the bottom

Tomatoes rotting at their ends? Could be blossom end rot

Ever find your tomatoes are growing but seem to be rotting from the bottom up. If it's not fruit fly, you might have a case of blossom end rot. The good news is thankfully it's not a disease that will wipe out your crop and can be easily remedied.

Causes of Blossom End Rot

Blossom end rot, it's caused from a calcium imbalance in your plant. And often it's not necessary the lack of calcium, but more so the ability of the plant to take up the calcium which is while often you'll find it might come on after you've had a lot of rain and then all a sudden you don't get any (or you go nuts watering and then forget or get busy). So some causes could be:
  • Watering inconsistency
  • Too much nitrogen in the soil
  • Roots being disturbed
  • Too low or too high PH
Tomatoes may not be the only target for this deficiency, it can also be found in some eggplant, capsicums and squash (but don't mistake it for lack of pollination either which is super common for squash).

What to do with the fruit that is affected by Blossom End rot

Chuck it. Unfortunately once the fruit has developed the issue at the flowering stage there is no turning back. Hopefully you notice it before the plant puts too much energy into growing the fruit and then it can get to work on producing more fruit.

Prevention of Blossom End rot

Prevent it by making sure your dirt is amazing and your watering is consistent (which I know is hard when it's rainy season). If you're certain that watering consistently is not the issue, add some Dolomite Lime (not the garden lime) to get your calcium right (or try ground egg shells as a natural remedy). Have you had issues with blossom end rot in your garden?
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