Yet Another Cycling Forum

Random Musings => Miscellany => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: jamesld8 on 12 June, 2016, 07:08:02 pm

Title: Tomato blossom end rot...
Post by: jamesld8 on 12 June, 2016, 07:08:02 pm
last year I grew 2 tomatos per 5 l pot and ended up with about half getting blossom end rot; having read up a bit about it discovered it can occur due to irregular watering, calcium deficiency.

So this year I`ve put one plant per 5l pot and been careful with regular watering; a full truss has set on each plant with tomatos size large marbles, and what the fxxx most are showing signs of blossom end rot, blackened at end. >:(

So please what should I do, remove blackened end ones, leave and cut out rot when they`re ripe ? I lost half the crop last year to this and hoped to do so much better this year , so far NBG. Variety is Ailsa Craig raised from seed

Real disappointed at this :( 
Title: Re: Tomato blossom end rot...
Post by: rafletcher on 13 June, 2016, 10:30:01 am
Looks like you just have to up the watering to keep the soil moist...

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=395   
Title: Re: Tomato blossom end rot...
Post by: Bledlow on 13 June, 2016, 01:10:03 pm
5 litre pot is minimalist for tomatoes IMO, so 2 in each pot was pushing it. I've seen 10 litre pots which were mostly tomato roots, & that makes keeping them watered difficult, since there's not much soil/compost to hold water. I had 'em in pots of at least 15 litres last year, one at a time.
Title: Re: Tomato blossom end rot...
Post by: jamesld8 on 13 June, 2016, 05:58:48 pm
5 litre pot is a minimalist for tomatoes IMO. so 2 in each pot was pushing it. I've seen 10 litre pots which were mostly tomato roots, & that makes keeping them watered difficult, since there's not much soil/compost to hold water. I had 'em in pots of at least 15 litres last year, one at a time.

that would make sense---although they are 1 per 5l pot and soil is moist I`ve just cut back a number of large  lower leave fronds and noticed that a lot of roots are near the soil surface, ie they are looking very potbound :(  another lesson for next year....not much I can really do now as plants are a metre high with three trusses set on each
Title: Re: Tomato blossom end rot...
Post by: Bledlow on 14 June, 2016, 01:08:46 pm
Still possible to transfer them to bigger pots. I bet that if you turned them out (carefully!) you'd find that the root balls would take just about everything with them. Biggest problem would be handling plants that big without breaking them. Maybe a two person job.

I expect they'll survive as they are, though. Just have to keep watering. Pots in trays to provide a water reservoir?