🍅 Blossom End Rot: It's Not What Most People Think

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If you've ever gone out to check on your tomatoes and found the bottom of the fruit looking dark, sunken, or rotted... that's blossom end rot (also called BER). And I think it's one of the most 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 issues in the garden.

I'm currently dealing with this in my own garden, so it felt like the perfect opportunity to clear this up!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: "𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗶𝘂𝗺"

The most common thing you'll see people say is that blossom end rot is a calcium deficiency, so you need to add more calcium to your soil.

You'll find all sorts of remedies:

Drop Tums (antacid tablets) in the ground near your tomato plants
Pour milk into the soil or spray it on the leaves
Add bone meal or crushed eggshells

and so on...

These recommendations 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 aren't wrong, because yes, blossom end rot 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 have to do with calcium. And the plant IS having trouble getting enough of it.

BUT, in most cases, there IS enough calcium 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹. Especially if you've been adding compost, using organic fertilizers, and taking care of your soil health.

👉 The real issue is almost always 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴.

𝗦𝗼, 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴?

Plants absorb nutrients through water. When the watering is off, everything else struggles.

𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿: Dry soil means the plant has no way to pull nutrients up through its roots. No water = no nutrient uptake.

𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿: Excess water can actually wash/leach nutrients out of your soil. Waterlogged soil also makes it hard for roots to absorb nutrients properly 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 they're present.

Both extremes produce the same result: the plant can't get enough calcium to the developing fruit, and you end up with blossom end rot. (Boo).

✨ A consistent, appropriate watering schedule is one of the most powerful things you can do for your garden. ✨

If you want more guidance on how and when to water, I covered this in detail in my recent post on watering HERE.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗲𝘀

Blossom end rot shows up most frequently in tomatoes, but you can also see it in peppers, zucchini / summer squash, eggplant, and melons.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝘆 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻?

Here in North Texas, we've received 5.4 inches of rain so far in June, which is 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵.

After two solid months of above-normal rainfall, my soil has been losing nutrients faster than my plants can keep up.

I lined up the tomatoes in the photo attached so you can see the range of how blossom end rot can be mild or pretty severe.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗗𝗼 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗜𝘁?

𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: Good news, this is a really easy fix. Simply adjust your watering routine, keep the soil consistently moist, and give your plants a little time to stabilize. You may start to see improvement in new fruit fairly quickly. (Though, unfortunately you can't stop it in the fruit it's already affected.)

𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 (𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄): Reduce the amount of water your plants receive (if you can control it), and help replenish what's been lost.

Here's a few options:

𝗕𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗹 adds phosphorus and slow-release calcium back into the soil
𝗟𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗿 gives a more immediate nutrient boost when your soil is depleted
𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 is always a good move for rebuilding overall soil health

Keep in mind: bone meal, eggshells, and similar organic amendments take 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 to break down and become available to your plants. (Think weeks, months, or even longer). This is not an overnight fix, you're replenishing the soil for the long haul.

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁?

Sometimes! It depends on how bad it is.

If only a small portion of the bottom is affected, you can cut that part off and eat the rest. The undamaged fruit is perfectly fine.

If the damage is extensive, or if the rot has spread 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 the fruit (yes, internal blossom end rot is a real thing), it's best to discard it.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀

Blossom end rot looks alarming, but it's one of the most fixable problems in the garden. (Yay!)

Yes, losing some fruit is genuinely disappointing, I won't sugarcoat that. But this is your plant 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, telling you it needs something. Once you figure out the cause, you can address it and usually get back on track.

Your garden is always teaching you something. This is just one of the lessons. 🌱

𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲?

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🍅 Blossom End Rot: It's Not What Most People Think