As I often do when I am perplexed by a gardening problem, I went to Google to find out if I was alone about having BER only on my San Marzano tomatoes (which, by the way, are considered to be heirloom tomatoes), and to find out what, if anything, I am doing wrong.
I discovered that I am not alone. Even more surpisingly, I discovered that there has been a scientific study that found that resistance to BER is controlled by a pair of dominant genes. In fact, a new tomato gene has been designated as BER. Wow! You could have knocked me over with a feather.
The BER problem does affect other vegetables such as bell peppers, squash, and other fruiting types of veggies. But, my checking out a GardenWeb Forum on the issue indicated that many people are having a BER problem mainly with the sauce and paste varieties of tomatoes. San Marzanos are the classic Italian paste tomato. As noted above, all of these tomato varieties seem to tilt toward having BER imbedded within their genes and no matter what you do or the weather conditions, you are probably going to get some BER.
When I first planted San Marzanos a few years ago, I had a bumper crop and not one hint of BER. We put up so much sauce in our small chest freezer that we almost had no room for anything else. The next year the BER showed up and I was completely speechless because i did not know what was happening. I did some quick research and I instituted a regular watering program and this helped to rescue the season for me. I could not believe that I did not have enough calcium in my soil. This year I added plenty of bone meal and compost to the planting holes and I thought I was doing OK on the watering. But the BER showed up again in force. The shocking thing is that not all of the green tomatoes on the same plant are getting it. I just do not get it.
One commenter on GardenWeb stated that we should not be too attached to the idea that we must plant paste varieties to get good sauce. There are lots of other tomatoes that will make good sauce for you and are not susceptible to BER. Finally, many of the comments I saw seemed to indicate that people may be abandoning paste tomatoes altogether because of the BER problem in favor of finding others that are not so prone to this issue.
I am ready to jump ship myself and I will not be buying or planting any San Marzanos next year.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Cracking the Tomato Code
Not much garden work done today because I had 3 long meetings to attend connected with my volunteer work with our local library.
But I did notice that some of my tomatoes are beginning to turn red and my plants have been in the ground since early May.
My neighbor has several tomato plants and they are no where as big as mine, but she does not have any sign at all of whitefly damage or blossom end rot. In fact, BER only seems to show up on my San Marzanos. Also, my neighbor has resigned herself to not having very much of a harvest. Elsewhere, people seem to be having a great tomato harvest and the tomatoes I saw growing at Harmony Farm Supply (my favorite nursery) on July 18, 2015, when I attended their Customer Appreciation Day and gardening workshops, were healthy and beautiful. I have no idea what they are putting into the soil, but they are using drip irrigation.
So what do I do to crack the tomato code?
1. Am I growing the right tomatoes for my area? I seem to remember reading somewhere, a long time ago (I hope I can find that article), that we should only be growing cherry tomato varieties up here on the North Coast.
2. What kind of fertilizer should I be using?
3. Are my tomatoes getting enough sun?
4. Do I have to install a trip irrigation system?
5. I have had a serious whitefly problem (on all tomato plants) and BER problem (only on the San Marzanos) two years in a row. What do I do to stop these issues in the future?
6. Are heirloom tomatoes turning out to be really better? Or, have we been sold a bill of goods again by marketing hype?
I just do not know what is going on here but Iam determined to find out.
But I did notice that some of my tomatoes are beginning to turn red and my plants have been in the ground since early May.
My neighbor has several tomato plants and they are no where as big as mine, but she does not have any sign at all of whitefly damage or blossom end rot. In fact, BER only seems to show up on my San Marzanos. Also, my neighbor has resigned herself to not having very much of a harvest. Elsewhere, people seem to be having a great tomato harvest and the tomatoes I saw growing at Harmony Farm Supply (my favorite nursery) on July 18, 2015, when I attended their Customer Appreciation Day and gardening workshops, were healthy and beautiful. I have no idea what they are putting into the soil, but they are using drip irrigation.
So what do I do to crack the tomato code?
1. Am I growing the right tomatoes for my area? I seem to remember reading somewhere, a long time ago (I hope I can find that article), that we should only be growing cherry tomato varieties up here on the North Coast.
2. What kind of fertilizer should I be using?
3. Are my tomatoes getting enough sun?
4. Do I have to install a trip irrigation system?
5. I have had a serious whitefly problem (on all tomato plants) and BER problem (only on the San Marzanos) two years in a row. What do I do to stop these issues in the future?
6. Are heirloom tomatoes turning out to be really better? Or, have we been sold a bill of goods again by marketing hype?
I just do not know what is going on here but Iam determined to find out.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Blossom End Rot Torture
That scream of angst you are hearing is coming from me as I water my garden.
I have Blossom End Rot (BER) only on my San Marzano tomato plants - 5 of them. On each of the plants, some of the green tomatoes have BER and some do not. And, this is occurring even right next to each other on the same plant. What is going on here? I scream inside so as not to torture my neighbors, but I still feel like I am in one of Grand Inquisitor Torquemada's chambers.
I thought I had prepared for BER by using bone meal in each planting bed and adding in lots of compost. But that does not seemed to have worked as I thought. I can only assume that inconsistent watering and the amount of watering is the problem that I have to work on.
Last year I had a very severe BER problem that shocked me to the core I had never seen this problem before) and I was able to harvest a small crop of San Marzanos after I stepped up my watering of those plants. I have started a daily watering program. In addition, I am including worm casting fertilizer in my watering cans (1 tablespoon per gallon of water) to help these tomatoes to produce beautiful ripe tomatoes that are free from BER. I can only hope it works.
Gardening is supposed to bring a smile to your face everyday. It is not supposed to be a daily visit to a torture chamber.
I have Blossom End Rot (BER) only on my San Marzano tomato plants - 5 of them. On each of the plants, some of the green tomatoes have BER and some do not. And, this is occurring even right next to each other on the same plant. What is going on here? I scream inside so as not to torture my neighbors, but I still feel like I am in one of Grand Inquisitor Torquemada's chambers.
I thought I had prepared for BER by using bone meal in each planting bed and adding in lots of compost. But that does not seemed to have worked as I thought. I can only assume that inconsistent watering and the amount of watering is the problem that I have to work on.
Last year I had a very severe BER problem that shocked me to the core I had never seen this problem before) and I was able to harvest a small crop of San Marzanos after I stepped up my watering of those plants. I have started a daily watering program. In addition, I am including worm casting fertilizer in my watering cans (1 tablespoon per gallon of water) to help these tomatoes to produce beautiful ripe tomatoes that are free from BER. I can only hope it works.
Gardening is supposed to bring a smile to your face everyday. It is not supposed to be a daily visit to a torture chamber.
Monday, July 27, 2015
Summer Heat and Watering the Garden
We are beginning a major heatwave here in Guerneville this week and I am spending lots of time to make sure that everything is getting watered.
With regard to watering:
1. I do not have a drip irrigation system, so I am still watering by hand.
2. I have been very concerned about chlorine and other chemicals in my water. I purchased six, 5 gallon buckets that I fill daily with water using my hose. The chlorine evaporates overnight and I water in the morning by pouring the water from the buckets into watering cans. It is hard work, but I am trying to minimize the amount of chlorine that goes into my soil. I tell people that I can smell the chlorine in my Sweetwater Springs Springs Water District water. The District is really overdoing the chlorine.
3. I still use the water directly from the hose on perennials, but I am trying to cut down on that.
4. No overhead watering in the veggie garden.
5. Consistent daily watering, I have come to believe, will help solve my blossom end rot problem (BER) on my San Marzano tomatoes. The BER can also be caused by a lack of calcium in the soil and I took steps this year to make sure there is plenty of calcium in my soil.
6. Mulch, mulch, mulch, mulch, and mulch some more to conserve water.
7. If you are not seeing worms in the several inches of your soil means that you are not mulching enough and your soil is too dry.
8. I am using gray water from my house to water my plants in pots and perennials in the ground.
With regard to watering:
1. I do not have a drip irrigation system, so I am still watering by hand.
2. I have been very concerned about chlorine and other chemicals in my water. I purchased six, 5 gallon buckets that I fill daily with water using my hose. The chlorine evaporates overnight and I water in the morning by pouring the water from the buckets into watering cans. It is hard work, but I am trying to minimize the amount of chlorine that goes into my soil. I tell people that I can smell the chlorine in my Sweetwater Springs Springs Water District water. The District is really overdoing the chlorine.
3. I still use the water directly from the hose on perennials, but I am trying to cut down on that.
4. No overhead watering in the veggie garden.
5. Consistent daily watering, I have come to believe, will help solve my blossom end rot problem (BER) on my San Marzano tomatoes. The BER can also be caused by a lack of calcium in the soil and I took steps this year to make sure there is plenty of calcium in my soil.
6. Mulch, mulch, mulch, mulch, and mulch some more to conserve water.
7. If you are not seeing worms in the several inches of your soil means that you are not mulching enough and your soil is too dry.
8. I am using gray water from my house to water my plants in pots and perennials in the ground.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)