What is on the bottom of my tomatoes, still on the vine, looks like they're spoiled?

Question

Non have ripened yet." Early Girl, Roma, & Better Boy, are the types. I've been using Miraical Grow, from the get go.

Answer 1

It could be rotting from the tomatoes touching the ground, but if they're not touching the ground...It may be "Blossom-End Rot" a calcium deficiency due to soil moisture problems that prevent calcium from making its way to the fruits. It can occur even when there is abundant calcium in the soil. Poor drainage, root damage and soil pH that is too high or too far below the optimum 6.5 , inconsistent watering or too much nitrogen, magnesium, potassium, sodium, ammonium salts, or a deficiency of soluble calcium salts, cause a decrease in calcium & can be contributing factors.

Does this describe your tomatoes? "The first visible symptoms of the disorder is a small darkened or water-soaked area around the blossom end of the fruit, appearing about time the fruit begins to ripen. The spot darkens, enlarges, and becomes sunken as the fruits mature. Large lesions may show concentric rings. The affected tissue is leathery and firm unless invaded by secondary decay organisms." *

Remove affected fruits to improve the development of other healthy fruit on the plant. You can correct the problem by improving drainage, watering plants consistently as needed, & mulching plants to conserve moisture & to provide a more uniform water supply. To provide calcium, eggshells can be crushed and added to the soil. Foliar sprays of calcium won't correct blossom-end rot once it has occurred on the fruit, but it can help prevent the condition from occurring on developing fruit. Soil-applied treatments and prevention by cultural practices are generally preferred over sprays. Chelated calcium solutions also provide an excellent source of calcium.

Gypsum & compost improves drainage. Water early in the day, & give plants room so they don't stay wet. Fluctuations in soil moisture during periods of rapid plant growth create moisture stress and limits calcium distribution to the fruit. Make sure the plants are getting at least and inch of water per week. If fertilizer is needed, reduce nitrogen levels by using 5-10-10 fertilizer in place of 10-10-10. Windy conditions in the spring coupled with low relative humidity can cause high transpiration rates that can induce blossom-end rot, as does planting too early while the soil is still cold or undergoing severe hardening off.

Fortunately, by the time a second set of fruit begins developing, your plants will have expanded and developed a root system capable of gathering and delivering calcium to the tomatoes.
Good luck! Hope this helps.

Answer 2

In our area it is referred to as Black rot. It is due to too much moisture or your tomatoes from laying on or too close to the ground. Cage or stake your plant so all of the stems and tomatoes are at least 8 inches off the ground. Also, pinching the leaves off your plants helps to prevent this. By removing all the leaves that hang down. Do not remove the shoots that point up because they are the ones that produce new fruit. This will allow much more sunlight on all of the plant and will help the plant to get rid of dew and moisture and allow ample sun to dry the plant. The fruit that already has this condition is unusable and needs to be removed. Also try putting newspaper around the ground of the plants to help fight cutworms and other aphids and insects. The ink will fight them off and the paper provides a mulch to fight weeds. At the end of the gardening season, you can just till the paper into the ground to help compost the soil. One more home remedy. Get a new spray bottle, fill with water and one Tablspoon of dish detergent ( do not use antibacterial !) and spray your plants. This will kill any aphids and neutralize alot of insects. Plus when the plant is watered, it will create nitrogen in the ground. Hope this is helpful. Good Luck.

Answer 3

Hi! What does it look like on the bottom? Is it dark spots?could be a virus or germ growing on them! Are there white spots all over them? Could be water marks on them! Are they laying on the ground? Could be stains from laying in the dirt! (make sure that you stake them and tie them, to keep them from laying on the ground). It could be a few things! Good Luck to you!