Roy is this blossom end rot. The tomatoe is pretty big. I thought blossom end appear a little earlier. What can I do to correct?

By the way the bag you sent really comes in handy collecting vegetables.

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For next year, add handful of bone meal and maybe 3 tablespoons of Epsom salts mixed in the soil before transplanting.

For this year you can pick any affected tomatoes to reduce stress on plants and try 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt mixed with a gallon of water and pour over or spray on leaves of plants once every 2 weeks.

Also look into your water levels for the plant. Try to make sure it is not to wet and roots are sitting in water.

Let me know if this helps. I have run into this problem at the start of the season, but I now put in bone meal and haven't seen it for a few years. I do remember using Epsom salts, but since it was only used once I can vouch that it solved my problem or not. It can go away as the plant matures and gets better at getting nutrients from the soil.

Thanks Roy I will try the Epsom salt and your suggestion for next year. I now have two tomato plants with this problem but not all. I'll let you know if I see an improvement. Boy raising vegetables is a learning opportunity everyday.

I had heard for years that egg shells were a good source of calcium for tomatoes. That said, this year I saved clean egg shells for several weeks prior to transplanting our tomato plants. I ground the shells and put a handful in each hole. Our tomatoes have done very well this year and they have been wet. I have also heard the epsom salt and powdered milk works.

Next year I'd like to avoid this "blossom end rot problem." I was wondering does soft rock phosphate and bone meal do the same thing or should I use both?

I actually started a few tomato plants a couple of months ago from seed trying to see if maybe I could have a harvest in the fall. I planted them in "smart pots" and so far they look good. I added a cup of soft rock phosphate and 13 x 13 x 13 to the mix. Also it's been so hot here that I'm not keeping them in full sun all day. The couple of plants I planted in my raised bed I used the bone meal because at the time I didn't have the rock phosphate. Just wondering if I should use both.

I have seen exactly what you describe. Sometimes it happens as the tomato seems to form, other times when it is getting good sized.

Have you tried spraying with Epsom salt? It is not a guarnteed cure. It may not work, but is better than letting your tomatoes go one by one. I really feel for you. It is a hard thing to see after watching a beautiful plant grow and you think you are just about to get nice fruit.

I have one plant this year that ended up with purple on leaves and curling. This is normally a deficiency of phosphorus. It is in a wine barrel, so it is only that one plant, but I am doing my best to get it phosphorus at a controlled rate so it can use it and nurse the plant back to health.

Epsom Salt didn't work for my two plants.

Sorry that didn't work. Once the season begans it is hard to get calcium to plants. I have heard both success and failures of adding epsom salts. Don't know why it works some times and not others. Probably has to do a combination of things are or are not available to help the absorption of the calcium.

Don't give up. Add a general purpose fertilizer and Epsom salts at the same time.
You already have a mature plant, might was well see if you can get some good fruit by trying different things.

Another thing to think about is over and under watering.

The problem IS the plant not being able to get calcium, but this can be caused by over or under watering. If the calcium is leached away or never gets to the plant, then the bottom rot can occur.

Too much nitrogen can also inhibit the plant from being able to get the calcuim in the soil. This is most often a problem with chemical fertilizers that flood the plant with fertilizers all at once.