1 gallon is 231 cubic inches, to start. figure out your water needs from there.

the main cause of BER is plant stress. it shows itself as BER in a loss of calcium from the fruit which causes the end to turn into a sodden mass.

this isn't usually caused by a lack of calcium, there was plenty of calcium in the fruit. what happened was stress on the plant caused it to redirect calcium from the fruit into the rest of the plant.

so eliminate the source of stress and BER should go away on its own. often the biggest thing that sets it off is screwy watering. if you want to water your tomatoes, you want the water to make it deep down, so a dripper hose is a good idea.

as to lime, i wouldn't add it right to soil as a side dressing. it's pretty strong stuff and should be worked into the soil when you plant in relatively small amounts. if you want to add calcium to your plants in a side dressing, i'd go with bone meal instead or higher-calcium plant food.

First time gardener here and I am having issues with most of the first fruit on my heirlooms contracting BER. I know the two main causes, over watering and soil acidity.

*****

I'd like to add that it isn't so much overwatering as it is uneven delivery of water, so mulching can help a lot.

And soil acidity is one of the more rare causes of BER.

High up on the list of stresses that can induce BER are uneven delivery of water and overfertilizing ( primarily N), the latter of which causes rapid growth which is a major stress.

BER can be induced by a wide variety of stresses. But as the plants mature they can better handle most of those stresses and so BER disappears, as someone above mentioned.

The problem is not so much uptake of Ca++ from the soil as it is maldistribution of Ca++ within the plant. Few soils are devoid of Ca++ which would necessitate adding it, and yes, if the soil is too acid, again, not all that common, there's competition between various ions, including Ca++, for uptake and bringing up the pH in such soils can solve that problem.

Carolyn

Thanks for the info!

Great, so I hope I don't kill my plants.

Ok, the plants are remarkable, as in they are big healthy, and I mean really. So, too much nitrogen in the dirt?

I generally water deep when I do. Still, with the 231 number I can figure out my amounts more readily. Looks like about 4 gallons a week in the 4x8 bed right off the top of my head.

Bone Meal: is that a quick release/ fast absorbing substance?

OK here are how I built the beds in march.

Dug 6 inches deep in the yard. (Black, very dark clay dirt with some rotten tree roots, no not black walnut) I mixed in 1 3x3 bag of spag-peat, and a bag of composted cow manure.

Covered with plastic and let it set a month.

Next added 6 inch raised beds with another 3x3 bag of peat, and then cow feed lot dirt. 85% composted. Mixed well with existing dirt, waters, and covered with plastic for another month.

Planted the plants Mother's day weekend.

They've grown four feet tall, and two wide and only set a few fruit, aside from the black princes who are loaded and not showing BER. The Krims and Amana oranges are. I removed those gruits. Romas are as well. Two of each plant in bed.

Anything I can do?

I water very evenly, and consistently. My fear there is too much. The cubic number will now be applied.

Hi Tennegreen,

To deliver 1" of water over a 4x8 foot bed will require 20 gallons.

Tom

tennegreen

You should also be aware that some cultivars/varieties of tomatoes are just more prone to developing BER than others. Romas are one of them. Cherries don't seem to develop it at all. I had to throw away my Park's Whopper Tomato seeds because I planted them for two years in a row and had to throw most of the fruit away because of BER. Right next to them were Brandy Boys that had some BER in the beginning but settled down and made high production of delicious tomatoes all through the summer.

So don't worry too much about your soil if some of your plants are developing without BER. Just keep all the plants sufficiently watered and mulch mulch mulch so the soil stays consistently moist under the mulch without rapid rises and falls in the moisture level.

Then give your plants time to settle in for the summer. Some will outgrow their BER tendencies. You'll remember the ones that don't because of your frustration levels!

Tom! 1000 thanks!!!!!!!!!!

Anney, thanks.. this is my first on my own garden, so every little thing is a big deal. I'm silly about it I guess.

Oh, and I have straw on top of the plastic to preserve more moisture and keep the soil cooler than it would be in the heat.

bone meal is a slow-release fertilizer. then again, in side dressing your plants, you don't necessarily want something that absorbs into the soil all at once.

usually when i side dress i dig a small row around the plant and put some bone meal in the very bottom and then add soluble fertilizers like seaweed and guano on top.

as carolyn mentions, sometimes a plant grows too quick and BER occurs from the stress, but that sort of thing will usually stop once the plant is full-size. so you'll lose your first, maybe second cluster of fruits and then the rest will be fine.

and anney's right, some varieties just like the end-rot. what can you do.

Since you here are in New England I suggest you try Cockadoodle DOO 5-4-3 organic fertilizer, it is 9% calcium. It is made in New Hampshire.

Actually I'm in TN.. surprisingly according to the Zone map they have similar ratings.