...tomatoes and a pumped up chest

  

So about three months ago.....you went out to rent a roto-tiller.....worked your backside off all day. Raked in some plant rows in straight line formations.......after you had added an chunk of good ol' fertilizer. It was hot enough during that day that your better half was slapping you with iced tea every hour.

Now for that magical moment....getting the starter veggies in the ground. Tomatoes, cucumbers and all that stuff that the better half demanded to be planted. Little bit of water and in a few months from now.....you be drowning in a pool of veggies. Hell.....we can just see you standing over the garden area with your chest pumped out. You got it. You did it! You ..............blew it!

Say.......did you test the soil of the PH level? It needs to be 6.5 or near there....for the plants to take up it's nutrients and a bunch of other stuff that I dont have time to list. Wrong PH.....you'll get a poor yield and most likely....blossom end  rot to your mators' .It starts with a dry brown lesion the size of a dime, generally increasing in diameter as the condition worsens. In time, lesions often become covered with a black mold.

That chest of yours dont look so pumped up now, does it?

Blossom-end rot is caused by calcium deficiency, usually due to fluctuations in water supply. Because calcium is not a highly "mobile" element in the plant, even brief changes in the water supply can cause blossom-end rot. Droughty soil or damage to the roots from excessive or improper cultivation, for example root pruning, restricts water intake and can prevent plants from getting the calcium they need from the soil. Also, if plants are growing in highly acidic soil or are getting too much water from heavy rain, over-irrigation or high relative humidity, they can develop calcium deficiency and blossom-end rot.

Here's is the fix next time you decide to til the soil:  Apply lime two to four months before planting tomatoes.

Oh wait...you got the rot right now? Here's a imperfect fix...but helps big time: If you experience severe problems with blossom-end rot, remove the infected fruits. Once a fruit develops blossom-end rot it will not re-grow or repair the infected area. Leaving the damaged fruit could serve as an entry point for disease-causing bacteria, fungi and insects.Now...... spray the tomatoes plants with a calcium solution that can be bought at any decent hardware store. Follow mixing directs....and spray at night when it is not hot.

Yeah yeah.......Farmer Deno lost his pumped out chest few times.