Tomato End Rot Solution!

[Mtnboomer]

So one of the most common problems with growing tomatoes is that dreaded black spot on their bottoms (end rot) that seems to show up out of nowhere during the hot dry spells of summer particularly after a wet spring.

I always knew growing up that it was due to a calcium deficiency. We would usually have to suffer through that season and then add lime, egg shells, and calcium granules to correct it for next season.

Well, this year is the 1st occurrence of the black spot (reminds me of the dance the crew in "Pirates of the Caribbean" do when the Kraken is released after Jack Sparrow). There are treatments on the shelf you can find but they can be expensive in my opinion for what you get and have shown little improvement for me. But I found a treatment that is so simple yet makes sense and works. Milk! (Thank you internet!)

For those of you whom already knew this, where have you been all my life . For those of you that dont, just pour 2 cups of milk & 4 cups water onto the soil surface beneath each plant for an initial treatment. Then follow up with 1 cup of milk in 9 cups water every 2 wks thereafter.
This remedy may have saved this year's harvest for me and so I felt compelled to share it with anyone unaware of its effectiveness.
I have been in a garden since i could walk and am still learning new things. I love it!

 

[Isadora]

Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[JDGreene]

Too much nitrogen can cause that too. Chances are that the dirt had plenty of calcium but the plant couldn't absorb or properly use it, such as too much nitrogen or the pH was way off or some other reason.

City or well water (if you water your plants) should already contain a lot of calcium and magnesium for the plant as you probably know that if you have hard water.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Too much nitrogen can cause that too. Chances are that the dirt had plenty of calcium but the plant couldn't absorb or properly use it, such as too much nitrogen or the pH was way off or some other reason.

City or well water (if you water your plants) should already contain a lot of calcium and magnesium for the plant as you probably know that if you have hard water.

I add all my soil amendments in the fall. The only fertilizer I use is chicken litter from the coop. I apply it in october only allowing it to rest all winter for 6mos before spring planting.
I do a soil test every 3 yrs to ensure the ph is staying between 6.5-7 and lime accordingly and measure fertility.
We are on a well with very hard water but i do not irrigate unless absolutely necessary to conserve the aquifer.
Too much nitrogen may have been an issue this year with my potatoes so i wouldn't rule it out.

 

[JDGreene]

I add all my soil amendments in the fall. The only fertilizer I use is chicken litter from the coop. I apply it in october only allowing it to rest all winter for 6mos before spring planting.
I do a soil test every 3 yrs to ensure the ph is staying between 6.5-7 and lime accordingly and measure fertility.
We are on a well with very hard water but i do not irrigate unless absolutely necessary to conserve the aquifer.
Too much nitrogen may have been an issue this year with my potatoes so i wouldn't rule it out.

Seems like you're on top of things. Potatoes are kinda picky about any nitrogen so no surprise. It really sounds like your tomatoes don't have enough nitrogen to me if all you do is fetilize in the fall. How much litter/poop are you applying per how may sq ft?

 

[svh]

Tums dissolved in water gives an awesome free calcium bump, that the plants absorb immediately, when sprayed on the leaves.

I use this as a preventative treatment as soon as fruit starts to form.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Seems like you're on top of things. Potatoes are kinda picky about any nitrogen so no surprise. It really sounds like your tomatoes don't have enough nitrogen to me if all you do is fetilize in the fall. How much litter/poop are you applying per how may sq ft?

About 40-50 lbs of non-composted litter (includes bedding) for 3300 sf.
Fertilizer recommendations every three years usually comes in at 200-300 lbs per acre. Which would only be about 20-25lbs, but given that the majority of the litter is bedding, it seemed like i was close enough.

The plants themselves look amazing. Soil fertility has not been an issue after the initial year i started the garden. It was converted cow pasture. The soil is heavy clay compacted from hooves. It took 6 tillings to get the ground broken up enough to plant and buckets upon buckets of rock taken out. The initial recommendation was 600lbs per ace! Thats mountain land for you. Our topsoil is less than 3" deep in most places.
Even so, from year one, I have always had an awesome garden, not to toot my own horn too much.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Seems like you're on top of things. Potatoes are kinda picky about any nitrogen so no surprise. It really sounds like your tomatoes don't have enough nitrogen to me if all you do is fetilize in the fall. How much litter/poop are you applying per how may sq ft?

I also rotate crops so that my peas and beans fix nitrogen for me around the garden. Rarely is the same thing planted in the same area 2 yrs in a row.

Ive also experimented this year with clover as a living mulch with excellent results, another nitrogen fixing legume that now has a permanent home in my garden.

My compost "pile" (30' x 30') is starting to finally provide usable quality at a sufficient scale to be added to the garden. Next spring i should be able to add the entire volume to garden prior to tilling.

I try to avoid using synthetic fertilizer or purchasing compost etc. because of the costs.

 

[JDGreene]

If the chicken litter is half poop and half litter, that is something like N 0.8 P 1.0 K 0.5.

Vegetable crop handbook says to broadcast and till in 50 lbs/acre of N. If these are true, that is 473 lbs of chicken litter in 3300 ft2. Then it states to sidedress with about half of that when the first fruit sets for a total of 75 lbs/acre of N which is 710 lbs of chicken litter in 3300 ft2.

If you are putting 50 lbs of chicken litter in 3300 ft2, then that is about 5 lbs/acre of N, 6 lbs/acre of P, 3 lbs/acre of K.

I'm not trying to persuade you to do something different but just to put out some figures to compare against.

 

[Mtnboomer]

If the chicken litter is half poop and half litter, that is something like N 0.8 P 1.0 K 0.5.

Vegetable crop handbook says to broadcast and till in 50 lbs/acre of N. If these are true, that is 473 lbs of chicken litter in 3300 ft2. Then it states to sidedress with about half of that when the first fruit sets for a total of 75 lbs/acre of N which is 710 lbs of chicken litter in 3300 ft2.

If you are putting 50 lbs of chicken litter in 3300 ft2, then that is about 5 lbs/acre of N, 6 lbs/acre of P, 3 lbs/acre of K.

I'm not trying to persuade you to do something different but just to put out some figures to compare against.

No i totally appreciate it and i am always up for making adjustments. The stalks of my corn are nearly 10ft tall and the tomato plants are 6ft tall by 3-4ft in diameter. Everything in the garden has that rich deep green you hope for in your garden plants and production has been awesome which is why im lead to believe its not a fertility issue. The tomato plants are laden with big beautiful fruit only some have/had end rot.

Last week (before milk) i harvested about 80 tomatoes and threw 1/4 away with end rot beyond saving. This week (after milk) so far i have pulled 135 tomatoes and only had 5 with end rot.