Rotten on the Bottom!

This time of year I often hear people say that all their peppers or tomatoes or eggplants are turning black or mushy or rotten at the bottom.  (They are all in the nightshade group of plants, so they have similar growing needs.)  Sometimes my friends despair of ever being able to grow vegetables and think they have a brown thumb because of it.  This problem is called Blossom-End Rot. It is caused by not enough calcium and magnesium or from your plants not being able to absorb them.

You may have enough of both in your soil but if your soil is TOO acidic, then it can't take up the minerals right. Like us and calcium--we need vitamin D to absorb the calcium right. 

    

Y’all, it is easy to fix!

Lime and Epsom Salts

Buy a bag of lime.  It doesn’t cost much, and it will last your for a few years if you store it out of the weather.  You want it to be calcium carbonate lime--which it probably will be around here. Sprinkle about 2 little handfuls around each tomato and pepper plant. I'd go about an 8 inch radius around each plant so all the roots have access.  This is going to fix two problems; it will correct the pH, and it will supply the needed calcium.

Next, buy a bag of Epsom Salts. Epsom Salts is NOT salt. It is magnesium. Put a handful of that around each plant too. Water it all in good so they will both go down to the roots.  THEN to make it fix the problem quicker, put about a tablespoon in some water in a spray bottle and spray it on the leaves of each plant. They can absorb that magnesium through the leaves!  (It's good for roses too, by the way.)  Don’t do this part during the bright, sunshiny part of the day, or you’ll get little burned places on the leaves from the drops of water acting as little magnifying lenses.  

It won't fix it immediately, but it won't take long at all. I can’t remember if it takes a week, or if it takes two.  You WILL see a change.

Next year when you plant, put one little handful of lime and a half-handful of epsom salts IN the planting hole and about the same amount up top to prevent the problem.  Make this part of your yearly planting routine.  

Don’t let this easily corrected problem discourage you from gardening!  Remember, if you grow it yourself, you know what you’re eating!  

Check out another of my articles on growing peppers and tomatoes.  

How to Plant and Grow Tomatoes (and peppers)  It has everything I know about it in a nutshell.

~Missy