Blossom End Rot on Tomatoes

Blossom end rot is a troublesome disease, familiar to most gardeners who have grown tomatoes. The disease is often prevalent in commercial as well as home garden tomatoes, and severe losses may occur if preventive control measures are not undertaken.




Symptoms may occur at any stage in the development of the fruit, but, most commonly, are first seen when the fruit is one-third to one-half full size. As the name of the disease implies, symptoms appear only at the blossom end of the fruit. Initially a small, water-soaked spot appears, which enlarges and darkens rapidly as the fruits develop. The spot may enlarge until it covers as much as onethird to one-half of the entire fruit surface, or the spot may remain small and superficial. Large lesions soon dry out and become flattened, black, and leathery in appearance and texture.



This disease does not spread from plant to plant in the field, nor from fruit to fruit in transit. Since it is of a physiological nature, fungicides and insecticides are useless as control measures. The occurrence of the disease is dependent upon a number of environmental conditions, especially those that affect the supply of water and calcium in the developing fruits. Factors that influence the uptake of water and calcium by the plant have an effect on the incidence and severity of blossom end rot. The disease is especially prevalent when rapidly growing, succulent plants are exposed suddenly to a period of drought. When the roots fail to obtain sufficient water and calcium to be transported up to the rapidly developing fruits, the latter become rotted on their basal ends. Another common predisposing factor is cultivation too close to the plant; this practice destroys valuable roots, which take up water and minerals. Tomatoes planted in cold, heavy soils often have poorly developed root systems. Since they are unable to supply adequate amounts of water and nutrients to plants during times of stress, blossom end rot may result. Soils that contain excessive amounts of soluble salts may predispose tomatoes to the disease, for the availability of calcium to the plants decreases rapidly as total salts in the soil increase.


Rot-Stop Tomato Blossom End Rot


Nutritional Calcium Corrects calcium deficiency. Controls blossom end rot on tomatoes, other vegetables. Apply to developing fruit and foliage after periods of heavy rain or rapid growth.

Glossary of Terms

Acid: An acid soil has a pH below 7.

Aeration: Supplying soil and roots with air or oxygen.

Alkaline: Refers to a soil with a pH over 7.

All-Purpose Fertilizer: A balanced blend of N-P-K;
All purpose fertilizer is used by most growers.

Amendment: Fortifying soil by adding organic
or mineral substances in order to improve texture,
nutrient content or biological activity.

Annual: A plant that normally completes it entire life cycle
one year or less.

Beneficial insects: A good insect that eats bad flower and
vegetable munching insects. Lady Beetles, Praying Mantis,
and Lacewing are all beneficial insects.

Biodegradable: Able to decompose or break down through
natural bacterial or fungal action, substances made of organic
matter are biodegradable.

Bolt: Term used to describe a plant that has gone to seed
prematurely.

Bonsai: A very short dwarfed plant.

Carbon Dioxide: (CO2) A colorless, ordorless, testless gas
in the air necessary for plant life.

Clay: Soil made up of very fine organic mineral particles.
Clay is not suitable for container gardening.

Compaction: Soil condition that results from tightly packing
soil; compact soil allows for only marginal aeration and root
penetration.

Companion Planting: The planting of several plants that
benefit each other.

Compost: A mixture of decayed organic matter.

Cross-Pollinate: Pollinating two plants having different ancestry.

Damping-Off: Disease that attacks young seedlings and cuttings
causing stem rot at base.

Deplete: Exhaust soil of nutrients, making it infertile.

Drainage: Way to empty soil of excess water.

Drip Line: A line around a plant directly under its outermost
branch tips. Roots seldom grow beyond the drip line.

Drip System: A very efficient watering system that employs
a main hose with small water emitters.

Foliar Feeding: Misting fertilizer solution which is absorbed
by the foilage. Best to do in the morning.

Fungus: A lower plant lacking chlorophyll which may attack
green plants; mold, rust, mildew.

Humus: Dark, fertile, partially decomposed plant or
animal matter; humus forms the organic portion of the soil.

Hybrid: An offspring from two plants with different ancestry.

Leaves: The external part of a plant attached to branches
and stems for the purpose of taking in light from the
sun's energy.

Leggy: Abnormally tall internode space, with sparse foilage.

Life cycle: A series of growth stages through which a plant
must pass in its natural lifetime.

Lime: Used in the form of dolomite to raise soil pH.

Loam: Organic soil mixture of crumbly clay, silt and sand.
Gardener's gold.

Moisture meter: An electronic device that measures the
exact moisture content of a soil at any given point.

Mulch: A protective covering of organic compost, leaves,
or bark. Mulch can be used to retain water in the summer
and heat in the winter.

Nutrient: Plant food, essential elements N-P-K, secondary and
trace elements fundamental to plant life.

Organic: Made of, or derived from or related to living organisms.
In agriculture organic means "natural".

Peat: Partially decomposed vegetation (usually moss) with slow
decay due to extreme moisture and cold.

Perennial: A plant, such as a tree or shrub, which completes its
life cycle over several years.

pH: A scale from 1 to 14 that measures the acid to alkaline
balance of a soil; in general most plants grow best in a
range of 5.5 to 6.8 pH.

pH: Tester Electronic instrument or chemical used to find where
soil is on the pH scale.

Photosynthesis: The building of chemical compounds from
light energy, water, and carbon dioxide.

Pollen: Fine, dust like microspores containing male genes.

Primary Nutrients: N-P-K (Nitrogen - Phosphorus - Potassium)

Prune: Alter the shape and growth pattern of a plant by cutting
stems and shoots.

PVC Pipe: Plastic (polyvinylchloride) pipe that is easy to work
with, readily available and used to pipe water into a garden.

Pyrethrum: Natural insecticide made from the blossoms
of various chrysanthemums.

Root Bound: Roots stifled or inhibited from normal growth,
by the confines of a container.

Roots: Their purpose is to anchor a plant and and provide
a means in which to feed and hydrate a plant.

Secondary Nutrients: Calcium (ca) and Magnesium (mg).

Seed Pod: A dry calyx containing a mature or maturing seed.

Soluble: Able to be dissolved in water.

Spore: Seed like offspring of a fungus.

Sprout: A recently germinated seed.

Stamen: Male, pollen-producing part of a flower.

Serilize: To make sterile by removing dirt, germs,
bacteria.

Stress: A physical or chemical factor that causes extra
exertion by plants.

Tap Root: The main or primary root that grows from the
seed; lateral roots will branch off the tap root.

Terminal Bud: Bud at the growing end of the main stem.

Thin: Cull or weed out weak, slow growing seedlings.

Transpire: The process of giving off water via the underside
of leaves. More transpiration occurs on windy days than
hot days.

Trellis: Frame or netting that trains and supports a plant.

Pruning and fertilizing your Rhododendrons

Spending time in your garden

Spending time in your garden


We get the question all the time “what is one thing they can do to have success in the garden.” “Should we water more, water less, or any number of things.” But the real key to a successful garden is spending time in your garden. Every problem you might have in your garden starts out small; a single aphid, a wilting flower top, and soggy soil next to a leaking pipe. Walking through your garden once a week will enable you to catch these issues before they become problems. Plants for the most part don’t just up in die over night. The plants tell you there is a problem before they pass. If you come across an issue you don’t understand, ask right away. Many problems can be avoided by simply taking action before it spreads. Should you find an issue, ask us. Bring the questioned leaf in a PLASTIC BAG into us. Please seal the plastic bag; you don’t want the problem to spread through your garden, and neither do we.

Spending time in your garden not only allows you to catch these issues but it’s also quite enjoyable. If you don’t enjoy your garden, then you are doing it wrong. We often are asked for plants that need no water, no fertilizer, and no care. One has to wonder why garden at all? Gardens are meant to be enjoyed, so walk amongst your flowers, touch and feel you ferns and coral-bells, taste your herbs and vegetables. It is the one place I can spend time away from all the problems of the world. The garden is meant to be enjoyed by you and your family, let it reflect what you like doing out doors. A play area for the kids, vegetable garden for the family cook, a place to rest and have a nice beverage.

Master Gardener Classes June 2010

Salsa Gardening
Saturday, June 12: 9 a.m. - noon

Join Master Gardener Kristin Rankin for her presentation on growing your own ingredients for south-of-the-border dishes.  Topics will include which peppers to grow for maximum flavor, what herbs to use and how to maintain these in the garden.

Location: Bethell-Delfino Agriculture Bldg. - 311 Fair Lane, Placerville


Natural Pollinators in the Garden
Saturday, June 26: 9 a.m. - noon

Do you want to learn how to attract natural pollinators to your garden?  Master Garden Steve Vandever will give a presentation on how to best accomplish this by using appropriate plantings in the landscape and decreasing, or eliminating, the use of pesticides.

Location: Government Center Hearing Room, Bldg. C - 2850 Fairlane Court, Placerville