Tomato Trouble? Don’t Panic, It’s Probably Blossom End Rot!

You wait all spring for those first homegrown tomatoes, and just when they’re starting to ripen… you notice an ugly black spot on the bottom of the fruit. Ugh! Before you assume it’s a disease or that your tomato plant is doomed, take a deep breath. Chances are you’re looking at blossom end rot, and it happens to even the most experienced gardeners. In fact, no tomato variety is completely immune. All it takes is forgetting to water for a couple of hot summer mornings, and Mother Nature can remind us who’s really in charge.

Blossom end rot appears as a dark, sunken, leathery spot on the blossom end (the bottom) of the tomato. While it’s often blamed on a calcium deficiency, the real culprit is usually inconsistent watering. When the soil repeatedly dries out and is then soaked again, the plant can’t move calcium evenly into developing fruit. The calcium may already be in your soil, but if the plant can’t absorb it consistently, those tomatoes suffer.

The best way to prevent blossom end rot is to keep your soil evenly moist throughout the growing season. Deep watering, mulching around your plants, and checking containers daily during hot weather all go a long way toward preventing the problem. Container-grown tomatoes are especially prone to blossom end rot because pots dry out much faster than garden beds.

If blossom end rot has already made an appearance, don’t give up on the season. Remove the affected fruit so your plant can focus its energy on producing healthy new tomatoes. We also recommend Bonide Rot-Stop, a ready-to-use calcium spray that helps supply calcium directly to developing fruit while you get your watering routine back on track. Stop by Lakeview and our Garden Geeks will be happy to help you get your tomatoes back on the road to a delicious harvest. After all, every gardener has a tomato story. blossom end rot just happens to be one of the most common!

Garden Geek Tip: Water tomatoes deeply in the morning whenever possible, and try to keep the soil moisture consistent. Your tomatoes don’t mind a hot day nearly as much as they mind alternating between drought and a swimming pool!