wilkes

That was a nice Copy & Paste article, reminds me of some of the stuff I have read before.

Cause

Blossom-end rot is not caused by a parasitic organism but is a physiologic disorder associated with a low concentration of calcium in the fruit. Calcium is required in relatively large concentrations for normal cell growth. When a rapidly growing fruit is deprived of necessary calcium, the tissues break down, leaving the characteristic dry, sunken lesion at the blossom end. Blossom-end rot is induced when demand for calcium exceeds supply. This may result from low calcium levels or high amounts of competitive cations in the soil, drought stress, or excessive soil moisture fluctuations which reduce uptake and movement of calcium into the plant, or rapid, vegetative growth due to excessive nitrogen fertilization. Management

Maintain the soil pH around 6.5. Liming will supply calcium and will increase the ratio of calcium ions to other competitive ions in the soil.

Use nitrate nitrogen as the fertilizer nitrogen source. Ammoniacal nitrogen may increase blossom-end rot as excess ammonium ions reduce calcium uptake. Avoid over-fertilization as side dressings during early fruiting, especially with ammoniacal forms of nitrogen.

Avoid drought stress and wide fluctuations in soil moisture by using mulches and/or irrigation. Plants generally need about one inch of moisture per week from rain or irrigation for proper growth and development.

Foliar applications of calcium, which are often advocated, are of little value because of poor absorption and movement to fruit where it is needed.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg.../3117.html

summerday everyone is giving you alot of great advice but with my experience your plants are too far gone to help. always try to water your plants in the morning and mid day, tomatoes do not like going to bed wet. better luck next year

You can also top feed the soil with crushed dolomite lime by mixing it with your water.

I always mix in a small handful of agricultural limestone when I plant, but sometimes they get

blossom end rot anyway. Then I water with an Epsom Salt solution (about 2-3 tablespoons to a\

gallon of water. Do this every few days until you see that the tomatoes are no longe rotting.

Go to A&J produce and get Fish Fertilizer. This will stop the rot. It smells terrible, but it really works. We have used it two years in a row and it has done wonders for our tomatoes.

Your problem is blossom end rot and I have seen it a great deal more on plants in pots than those in the ground. It is caused more by extremes in water, so chances are your soil is drying out too much during the day. I have tomatoes in pots and I have to water them at lease twice a day to keep the soil from drying out too much. Some people believe in the calcium sprays (like stop rot), but many people get inconsistent results. I would suggest that you put a drip pan under the pots (you can buy cheap plastic ones at Wal Mart). Also water the plants heavily first thing in the morning and repeat in the afternoon.

It is most likely a fungal problem like blight. Keeping the leaves as dry as possible is the best solution I have found to prevent it and to keep it from spreading. Proper staking helps let air movement dry the leaves. Having a sunny location and mulching to prevent backsplash on the leaves also helps.

Your tomatoes have blossom end rot. Very common in tomatoes. You need to buy a bottle of blossom end rot and mix by the directions and spray the plants once a week for a month. Lowes has it in the garden shop and any hardware store may sell it to. It won't help the tomatoes that already have the spot but it will stop any more young ones from doing that. Good luck.

sounds like a fungal disease from the vines dying. the rot is from calcium deficiency, use lime or bonemeal to raise the Ca level in the soil. You can also use gypsum (hard to find) it raises the calcium without affecting the soil PH like limestone does.

Heat, rain & humidity is what causes the wilt and dying of your tomato vines, not much you can do about it, just pick plants that are disease tolerant.

My tomatoes are not doing well this year but it is a new spot and wow they are tasty. I use mostly organic stuff on them.

tHEY MIGHT HAVE GOT TO MUCH WATER THAT CAN CAUSE THE PROBLEM TOO

You can put lime in the soil that will help but you need to do it before you plant next year.The ones that have gone bad now there is nothing you caN DO

I have some tomatoes on our deck that I have tried to really take care of them. I have fed them and the plants are so pretty. there are some tomatoes on them and now the bottom of the tomatoes are turning brown and looking like they are rotting. is there any thing I can do now that they are getting tomatoes on the plants to prevent this.