I picked these tomatoes on Monday. The tomatoes that formed and grew after I added a calcium supplement to the water are not suffering from blossom end rot. Calcium carbonate is not a cure. Once a tomato begins to rot, it's got it. But the calcium additive can prevent future fruit from rotting. It seems to have worked.
I've lost a lot of the crop to the rot, that's for sure. But at least we're getting some. The problem, as you might be able to see in the photo, is that all of the tomatoes are smaller than they should be. I didn't plant any cherry tomatoes this year, yet many of these tomatoes are no bigger than that. I blame the dry conditions. We had almost no rain to speak of during the growing season. My daily hand watering was obviously not enough. I'm thinking about using soaker hoses next year for a more thorough watering.
They look nice and ripe. Tasty?
ReplyDeleteDrip watering is very successful in our hot dry summers. Very even moisture levels.
They're still beauties. Soaker hoses would make your job so much easier, and the plants so much happier.
ReplyDelete... and then it will be pouring rain! I hope not.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's good news, for these, anyway!
ReplyDeleteAnd what is the taste like compared to previous big successes?
ReplyDeleteAt least you have these and now you know how to solve the tomato problem, or maybe I should say one tomato problem.
ReplyDeleteThey look good in spite of the weather conditions. Soaker hoses are a gardener’s best friend. ;)
ReplyDeleteIf there hadn't been your text beneath the photo, I would have assumed most were cherry tomatoes. How sad, after all your hand watering, too.
ReplyDeleteWe had soaker hoses in Wisconsin and we were very satisfied. Our tomatoes loved them, too.
andrew, yes, they taste good. Drip irrigation is good, but it's not very flexible from season to season when the garden layout changes.
ReplyDeletemitch, I think so. A friend of mine uses them here and is pretty happy with them.
chm, la loi de l'emmerdement maximum, eh ?
judy, yes, not a total loss.
sillygirl, a lot less juicy, but otherwise fine.
evelyn, I've faced blight, sun-burned fruit, and blossom-end rot. What next? :)
bettyann, I need to make a new friend!
mary, that's encouraging!
How delicious! Tomato envy here!
DeleteMy soul swoons !
ReplyDelete