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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BDub" data-source="post: 158106" data-attributes="member: 448">Preventing Rotten TomatoesOne of the greatest joys in summer isto harvest your first ripe tomato —unless the tomato is rotten.Blossom end rot is the No. #1threat to tomato plants in our gardenstoday. Our drought has made mattersmuch worse this year.Blossom end rot is most oftenassociated with a lack of calcium inthe fruits. Without enough calcium intheir cell walls, the tomato fruitscollapse at their bottoms.Blossom end rot also is associatedwith drought, high temperatures andlow humidities. All of these factorsare occurring throughout NorthDakota.What’s the answer? We need toget more calcium to the fruits.Some gardeners try to prevent thisrot by adding calcium to the soil.They sprinkle eggshells and Tumsnear the plants. This approach isn’tbad but does little good because mostsoils in North Dakota have anabundance of calcium already inthem.Other gardeners add Epsom saltsto the soil, but the magnesium inEpsom salts may worsen thesituation.The best strategy to reduceblossom end rot is to irrigateproperly.The uptake of calcium in the soilby tomato roots depends on theuptake of water. Irrigate regularly.Avoid extremes of waterlogged anddroughty soil. Mulch to maintainconsistent levels of moisture in thesoil.Cultivate shallowly. Don’t damagethe roots of your tomato vines. Weneed these roots to absorb thecalcium in the soil solution.Your fertilization practices canmake a difference. Do notoverfertilize.Tomato leaves compete withtomato fruits for calcium in the vine.Overfertilization will lead to vines fullof leaves that will take calcium fromthe vine before fruits can get it.As a general rule, do not sidedresstomato vines until their first fruits areset.Avoid fertilizers containingammonium nitrate, a very commonsource of nitrogen. Ammonium ionscompete with calcium ions for thelimited areas on roots where nutrientsare absorbed. Calcium nitrate is abetter choice.Calcium sprays are available thatmay prevent blossom end rot, buttheir effectiveness is inconsistent.Follow the instructions on the label.The bottoms of tomato fruits may rot due to a lack of calcium.You can prepare your own spray ifyou want to give it a try. Mix 4tablespoons of calcium nitrate pergallon of water. Spray fruits, notleaves, two to three times a week. Thekey time is when tomatoes are dime-sized or smaller.Now is a good time to inspectyour tomatoes to see if they arerotten. The first cluster of fruits ismost often damaged. Remove anyrotten fruits.Subsequent clusters of fruits aremuch less susceptible to blossom endrot. As summer progresses, the vine’snetwork of roots expands, allowing itto absorb more calcium into theplant. The leaves and fruits on thevine are in better balance later insummer, too.Focus your attention on irrigatingyour garden when needed and don’toverfertilize. Soon you will beenjoying lots of tasty tomatoes thissummer.2 NDSU Yard & Garden Report August</blockquote>

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