Tomato Blossom End Rot

It’s August and those of us who garden might be encountering tomato blossom end rot.  Yuk!  What to do?  As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, I like to keep things simple.  So here is what I do to battle this nasty disease.

If this is the case for you, never fear, the plant may still have time to produce some good fruit.  Pick off this bad fruit and toss it.  And then fertilize your plant with a fertilizer that is made for tomatoes.  Why one for tomatoes?  Because it will have just a tad more calcium than a fertilizer made for “all vegetables”.  See this post of mine for what I use.  I keep the fertilizing process very simple in my garden.  First, I’m not a master gardener so keeping it simple works better for me.  And, I have a very busy life with my full time job, caring for my mother and my volunteering gigs so “keeping it simple” is my garden way.  Also I have a fairly small gardening budget so I can’t spent a lot on fertilizer (and some are very expensive).

So why is this blossom end rot occurring?  I believe

Growing Warm Season Vegetables

Colorado State University Extention

Yes, there are some veggies you can put in the ground as early as April.  But others need to WAIT until the temperatures at night are 50 degrees or higher.  Check out the link above for information on what can go in the ground AFTER the last frost date here in the Front Range.  If you are like me and don’t want to check the weather forecast, just shoot for Mother’s Day, knowing that there is little chance of a freeze overnight.  Little chance, but not impossible.

Believe me, I’ve made the mistake of putting in peppers FAR TOO EARLY.  But that is what you have to be willing to do when you garden — BE WILLING TO MAKE MISTAKES.

Vegetable Planting Guide for Colorado

June 15, 2014

Please, pretty please go to the link above for a chart that indicates WHEN you can plant your veggies.  Probably the biggest mistake a Colorado gardener makes is planting veggies at the wrong time.  For example, it took me years to learn that I can plant peas in early April for a June harvest (and again in mid/late July) for a fall harvest!