my tomatoes this year are growing but the bottom of the fruit is black, why?

Answer 1

Your tomatoes have blossom end rot. It's a common problem with tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, and eggplant. It can be caused by uneven soil moisture, too much nitrogen in the soil, or not enough calcium in the fruit, and you also can find it in young plants trying to establish roots at the same time as they're producing fruit.

You need to keep an eye on the soil moisture and the fertilizer you use. Too much nitrogen in fertilizer will cause the plant to produce a lot of foliage, which requires more water and calcium to be used by the leaves rather than the fruit. Use an all-purpose garden food that's lower in nitrogen and higher in potassium and phosphorus, and contains calcium. If the plants are grown in the ground (not in pots), you can add calcium to the soil using lime or gypsum, and place mulch around the plants to help retain moisture.

Since this isn't a disease, the plants are okay, and you can still eat the tomatoes.. Just cut off the dark area on the bottom. You should get nice, healthy tomatoes without bottom end rot as the season continues.

Answer 2

From Tomato Part I:

14. Q. What causes the black spots on the bottom of my tomatoes?

A. Blossom end rot, caused by improper (fluctuating from too dry to too moist) moisture. Maintain uniform soil moisture as the fruit nears maturity. Remove affected fruit.

Also, from About.com:

"You are describing Blossom End Rot. This it thought to be caused by insufficient calcium. However, don't rush out to by a calcium supplement for your soil. This calcium deficiency is probably caused by irregular watering and a fluctuation in water levels. Water carries calcium throughout the tomato plant. Without enough water, the calcium, which is being used first for foliage growth, doesn't make its way to the fruits. Other factors may include: too much nitrogen fertilizer, too much salt in the soil, root damage and a soil pH that is too high or too far below the optimum 6.5.

There's no saving the rotting fruits. Remove the affected fruits, make sure the plants are getting at least and inch of water per week, correct any other problems, mulch under the plants and you should see improvement."

Good luck!!

Answer 3

I think you have what they call Blossom end rot. This is a Calcium defesency. They best way I have found to get rid of this is to use powered milk. Put a spoon full at bottom of plant and water or mix up powered milk and pour around base of plant. You can not help fruit that has it, but you can help new fruit. Milk is all calcium. Hope this helps. Make sure milk dose not run off. Make sure it sokes in.

Answer 4

Sometimes this is caused from moisture. If you do not have straw around the bottom of the plants, try that. It also helps smother out some of the weeds. Good Luck!