Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Alstro,

From what I've read, end rot is actually from poor watering, not from soil calcium. So look at evening out waterings? Maybe watering a little less or more?

I read that too. I do have an EarthBox so it has been pretty consistent but that's not to say it they may not have dried out a time or two. Deb

Poor watering is a cause because it interrupts calcium uptake from what I've read.

Alstro,

How are you watering your Earthboxes? Do you have one of their automatic watering systems, or do you manually water them? It is amazing how fast the water gets used up out of those reservoirs, once the plants get large, and the heat gets really bad. I have a drip irrigation system that I set up, with emitters in the fill tubes, and timers watering every 12 hours. With tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants the EBs would dry out with just one watering a day. This is why I put most of those in my "homemade" EBs, which have a deeper reservoir. And I watch them, to make sure that they are staying moist, as emitters can clog.

The consensus on BER is that it is a combination of irregular watering and calcium insufficiency, and, as Pete stated, maybe the drying out causes the calcium intake to be interrupted (as well as other nutrients). Something that I have noticed is that certain varieties of tomatoes are particularly susceptible to BER, though they usually grow out of it. I have several varieties this season that have had some of their early fruits with BER, yet one variety that is usually prone - Sweet Carneros Pink - has not had one bad fruit, even the ones in the ground! Yet I have done the same thing to those in the ground and the EBs in previous years, adding some dolomite and some other nutrients to the soil when planting. Go figure! And in the past I have had a couple varieties that simply would not outgrow it, and I just never grew them again!

Something that I do that helps, I'm sure (though I have never done any side by side experiments with and without, to prove it) is to add a tsp. of calcium nitrate to the EBs once a week. I got this tip from the Earthbox forum, from a fellow - gardendoc - who has hundreds of Earthboxes and similar containers, and he calls this giving the tomatoes a "snack". It adds the calcium, as well as nitrogen to the water, and the tomatoes seem to benefit from it, as I have very little BER in those. I also add it to the eggplants and cucumbers, as I figure that it can't hurt.

Speaking of tomatoes, mine are starting to ripen big time! and those cherry tomatoes are going crazy, though I think that storm I had a couple days ago may have killed one of those. Only 5 instead of 6 plants won't matter too much.

Here's two day's worth of those three small fruited tomatoes - Green Tiger, Sunrise, and Sunsugar:

Dave,

I hate you.

Due to having more than 20 nights below 60F since mid-May, my tomatoes are stunted and barely producing.

Oh, well, at least I have plenty of lettuce and snap peas.

Dave, thanks for the info. My earthboxes are on my balcony with no source of water. I have 50 gallon rain buckets I use but there is not enough pressure to do auto-watering. Sure wish I had that capability. I will try the calcium nitrate (though I think it's too late this year). Deb

My greens have been gone for a couple of weeks, most longer, and last week I turned them into the ground as "green manure".

It is getting very hot here the next several days, with the heat index over 100, so I'm hoping the tomatoes don't feel the effects of this. I have gotten a number of seeds from gardeners, for varieties that are supposedly heat resistant. I harvested about a dozen ripe tomatoes today, plus eggplants, cucumbers, okra, bitter melons, Indian gherkins, and the first chocolate habaneros of the season. I figured that I'd go out today, rather than in that intense heat the next few days. But then, those cherry tomatoes will be loaded.

My tomatoes got taken out by a storm. I'm really mad because they were nuclear tomatoes leading up to the tragedy.

My herbs have been bolting like crazy this summer too. Too much rain and not enough consistent sun I think.

I lost a couple of tomatoes, as well as peppers, to windstorms this season. I would get horrible winds, and not even any rain to go with them! A couple days later, I'd see a plant turning brown. But then, this is why I plant WAAAAAY more than I really need, at least of things I can't live without.

Chris pulled out all of my dead tomato plants on the weekend. Nothing sadder than half grown beefsteak tomatoes on dead vines. Stupid wind!

I've managed to rescue the herbs through severe pruning.