[Sheila53]

Since I haven't seen our resident garden expert (Kimberley aka Gardenwife) around, I'm hoping that someone else here is an avid gardener. So I'm growing tomatoes in our raised bed and the ones that are red all have a rotten area on the end--the green ones don't yet. Does anyone know what causes this? My DH set up soaker hoses in the bed, and they're on for 10 min. each day. I'm thinking that's too much water? I read that tomatoes like a deep soak every so often, but that beans do better with shallow, frequent watering. Unfortunately, we have beans at one end of the raised bed, tomatoes in the other end, and squash in between.

Our cherry tomatoes, which are right next to the other tomatoes, are doing wonderfully well, and we have lots of them. No rotten spots at all, no problems with them except that there are so many, the branches of the plant are all falling down.

[raebeaR]

Hi, Sheila,

It's hard to say exactly without seeing the plant, but yes, I'd start by backing off the watering. Better to water every several days for 20-30 minutes than just a little bit of water too often. You don't say whether or not the soil you used is retaining water... tomatoes do not like wet feet (neither do beans, for that matter!).

If your soil is rich and sandy to allow water to pass through, then it's probably not the 10-minute daily watering. Tomatoes are frequently affected by verticillium wilt and that can sometimes affect the fruit. Or it could be another type of fungus disease.

Tomatoes love rich, acid soil, hot dry weather interspersed with good periods of watering and lots of air circulating in between their leaves. Your beans will tolerate more abuse... spoil the tomatoes and see what happens.

One last thing: What varieties did you plant? Oftimes, heirloom varieties are more prone to rot and disease than hybrid varieties -- but they taste so much better, it's worth the loss!

Hope this helps, Rae

[maryblu]

Well, Sheila, I am not only an avid gardener, but I played one (on TV only once, but on radio a lot...lol) for the U of M Extension Service millions of years ago.....actually 30, but this one is a classic. This time of the year all I needed for the phone was a message on Dutch Elm Disease and Blossom End Rot and I could take a nap.

This is a physiological disease called "Blossom End Rot" and I don't need to see the plant at all. It is caused by erratic watering or by too much cultivation, which injurs roots. Keep in mind that the tomato fruit is more than 85-90% water, so the plant is extremely sensitive to water fluctuations while fruits are forming. Also know that tomato roots are shallow and spreading, so it is important not to run the tiller through rows. If DH didn't do that, then the problem is one of watering. A raised bed without mulch dries out more quickly than if it were flush with the rest of the landscape (for a couple of reasons) and a soaker hose does not put out much water in 10 minutes. You can easily check the soil moisture with your finger, as you would a potted house plant. My guess is that if you did that in the middle of the day, you would find the soil not only dry, but hot.

In general, flowers and vegetables, your lawn, and every other plant in your yard do better with one long, soaker watering per week rather than frequent, shallow irrigation. Why? Because shallow watering results in shallow root systems. On the other hand, one soaker (an inch per week) puts water deeper in the soil, encouraging roots to grow deeper for that moisture. When the roots grow deeper, they are not so sensitive to the dry conditions that occur first in the uppermost part of the soil.

If you are going to continue with the raised bed, then my advice is to mulch it. By all means, keep using the soaker hose; it keeps moisture off the leaves and helps control diseases. Just water for a longer period of time and check the moisture in the soil often.

As for the Cherry Tomatoes, I have never seen Blossom End Rot on a one.

I am not the avid tomato grower here: SO uses a soaker hose, grass clipping for mulch, and for the second year has over 10 foot tomato plants with abundant fruit, no Blossom End Rot to be found. Now, anyone with a good salsa recipe??

Mary

[Sheila53]

Thanks!! I looked up blossom end rot and, yup, that's exactly what's happening. So we'll change the watering schedule and add some mulch. Luckily, the stuff I read said that often the first ripened tomatoes have it, but later on in the season, the other tomatoes should be good. Crossing my fingers!

[maryblu]

Good luck, Sheila,

Now, if you could just help me keep my mouth shut........so to speak.

[MugCanDoIt]

I am so discusted with my tomato situation I could puke. The rabbits and squirrels have devoured them, I got 3 tomaotes off it all year so far. Next year I am determined to enclose them in a mesh type fence. How I am going to make it , I don't know. My husband wont help me do it and I am not that crafty, but I am determined to do it next year! I wanted to have enough to freeze and make dinners with them and such. What a bummer!!

[Janny O]

Sheila-
I'm coming over!! I want a garden so bad! ****, I just want to SEE a garden.

[AuntChuChu]

I heard that lack of calcium in the soil can cause blossom end rot. It was suggested to me that I add Epsom Salts sparingly around the stem and work it in. Can't hurt if it doesn't help!

[Angelina 19]

I love tomatoes!