P
Peace perfect peace
Greetings you rotten end rotters,
We've seen a lot lately talk about end rot on tomatoes ,
I feel i should point out peppers and cucumbers can also be affected,
Now as ive said many times on this forum most of the advice given for all questions is given in good spirit "But " given by amateure gardeners only,
All advice given is given trying to help,
I myself have been gardening for many years and all my learning was from two very important ways, (A) and i feel this is very much needed,
The Interest and wanting to grow my best of everything i grow,
''(B) Using this keen interest to know who are the professonal people and how to know the location of such information, these people 'forums' do the publishing as a career and have a vast interest in passing on the information they've studied and have learned over many years on many gardening subjects,
But i do understand that both some people just can't follow such information from these forums due to the text and the way its explained,
Ive a friend who has never read a book from cover to cover, when i asked him " why" He said he fell asleep after a few pages and nothing sunk in.
So ive pointed anyone who wants to get 100 % information on any gardening subject. To WWW. RHS GARDENING FORUM And then print in the subject your asking about,
Tomatoe end blossom rot known as ER.
I chose one of many good forums the RHS forum for the information im about to give in a very simple way, (check out anything i say at the above site)
Firstly tomatoe end rot, Is not an infection, now having said this it points us in the direction of the growers mistake in the growing of the tomatoe in this case,
So lets start from the very start "The Seed's"
If you we're to sow the seed's in just complete bone dry compost/ soil Would you have any idea why the seed after a week has'nt grown ?
The seed has enough food in the pod to get it started in life, but without moisture that seed pod isn't going to burst into life,
Once the seed has started its life off it then becomes the growers job to make sure he/she understands what that plant needs throughout its life so it can produce good end product in this case a tomatoe,
Lets understand what end rot is, its the inner build up of the tomatoe being caused by a wet area, and this area is very much like a bleed , this bleeding is caused by a few things "but" all are from lack of something and not infection or insects,
If from the root system the plant is not getting enough water or the correct feeds (and the word feed meaning all the chemicles that plant needs to grow and produce its fruit/ Flowers etc) and build up its own defence system,
Watering the plant
Tomatoes are a greedy plant both for food and water, they can't and wont live without being kept moist, if the weather produces extreme heat then the grower needs to expect to water that plant 3 or 4 times a day, the ideal PH soil/compost is 6.5 to 7.0 a good mulch will retain moisture,
Now this watering must be kept regular, if you see the plant drooping over even if its not produced flowers yet, you've just invited E.R into the stems of that plant via the root system,
And if the plants in fruit but small again you've caused the plants inner hormon system to be damaged and as we said earlier on 'bleed" a water fluid and this "bleed" spreading more and more towards the end of the fruit and black or grey skin is the next sign and the fruit and plant is ready for the grave yard in plant land (burn the plant)
PLANT LOCATION
Again ER. has another problem with the grower, its location,
If you have to plant in pots think more of a tub rather than a pot the size of a cup and saucer, the size and spread of the root system "and this also meaning the depth at least 6inch down wards for the roots to spread and a good width spread, if the roots can't spread and the grower of indoor plants have a vast forest of leaves spreading all over the place above the soil base "like the rain forest" what do you expect? The roots are putting all their strength into a forest of leaves and has'nt much left for fruit and again the plants inner build up of its hormon system will suffer, The leave system bends and curls due to heat circulation,
As the plants growing you should be pricking out the leaves below and above the main stem, the plant needs an even room temp, above 50deg and up tp 70deg but an even room temp and water /plant moisture checked, never to dry out "not even for a few mins" and not up and down temp, If for some reason you cant move the plant then a fan may help,
Direct sun is another factor that need to be looked at, if the plant has'nt any shade then the leaves get burnt and again the plants inner system kicks in and problems kick out. Leaving wet drips on the actual fruit will also cause white marks on the skin of the tomatoe and rot, (Remember this is'nt bacteria, Its bad growing conditions caused by the grower)
So we've location water/moisture/feeding/ Now its compost/soil
Compost/soil
We have looked at the above must know's now the plants compost/soil needs from pre the plant even being grown,
Lets look at what the plant needs to be a good healthy plant,
The plant as it grows has a built in immune system of its own and if the plant recieves all the care and feed etc it needs and its located in a good growing area Then why wouldn't we supply this plant with the correct amount both width and depth of the best compost/soil we can ?
This compost/soil must have the correct chemicle feeds for both growth and to help continue to build the plants defence system against bacteria etc
Remember when the plants very young and small "the immune system at this time in the plants life is also small, it has'nt grown strong yet,
(And some bad human growers)
Now a point you must under stand many many plants die through over watering or not keeping the plant watered at the right times, And over feeding
This again can cause problems, (How many people do you know who over eat and over eat and later in life have problems? Well its the same for plants over feeding isnt a good thing)
Preperation of any growing area is a big factor in growing, do your home work and preper the ground etc early rather than when the plants in the growing area,
If your plants have suffered from any bacteria or end rot "Dont try using this soil/compost again," your just spreading more bacteria etc,"
Some people think when the snows are here we gardeners join the Hedge hoggs etc and sleep all winter, NO NO NO, clean your pots /use lime on the beds get into being hygiene friendly to your garden and yourself,
Well its a long answer to a question ive read so much on here and along with Chuck ive tried to give good advice and i hope this is going to help you understand
gardening really is a worth while hobby and you and only you will know whats in your home grown food chain,
Good gardening to you all?
We've seen a lot lately talk about end rot on tomatoes ,
I feel i should point out peppers and cucumbers can also be affected,
Now as ive said many times on this forum most of the advice given for all questions is given in good spirit "But " given by amateure gardeners only,
All advice given is given trying to help,
I myself have been gardening for many years and all my learning was from two very important ways, (A) and i feel this is very much needed,
The Interest and wanting to grow my best of everything i grow,
''(B) Using this keen interest to know who are the professonal people and how to know the location of such information, these people 'forums' do the publishing as a career and have a vast interest in passing on the information they've studied and have learned over many years on many gardening subjects,
But i do understand that both some people just can't follow such information from these forums due to the text and the way its explained,
Ive a friend who has never read a book from cover to cover, when i asked him " why" He said he fell asleep after a few pages and nothing sunk in.
So ive pointed anyone who wants to get 100 % information on any gardening subject. To WWW. RHS GARDENING FORUM And then print in the subject your asking about,
Tomatoe end blossom rot known as ER.
I chose one of many good forums the RHS forum for the information im about to give in a very simple way, (check out anything i say at the above site)
Firstly tomatoe end rot, Is not an infection, now having said this it points us in the direction of the growers mistake in the growing of the tomatoe in this case,
So lets start from the very start "The Seed's"
If you we're to sow the seed's in just complete bone dry compost/ soil Would you have any idea why the seed after a week has'nt grown ?
The seed has enough food in the pod to get it started in life, but without moisture that seed pod isn't going to burst into life,
Once the seed has started its life off it then becomes the growers job to make sure he/she understands what that plant needs throughout its life so it can produce good end product in this case a tomatoe,
Lets understand what end rot is, its the inner build up of the tomatoe being caused by a wet area, and this area is very much like a bleed , this bleeding is caused by a few things "but" all are from lack of something and not infection or insects,
If from the root system the plant is not getting enough water or the correct feeds (and the word feed meaning all the chemicles that plant needs to grow and produce its fruit/ Flowers etc) and build up its own defence system,
Watering the plant
Tomatoes are a greedy plant both for food and water, they can't and wont live without being kept moist, if the weather produces extreme heat then the grower needs to expect to water that plant 3 or 4 times a day, the ideal PH soil/compost is 6.5 to 7.0 a good mulch will retain moisture,
Now this watering must be kept regular, if you see the plant drooping over even if its not produced flowers yet, you've just invited E.R into the stems of that plant via the root system,
And if the plants in fruit but small again you've caused the plants inner hormon system to be damaged and as we said earlier on 'bleed" a water fluid and this "bleed" spreading more and more towards the end of the fruit and black or grey skin is the next sign and the fruit and plant is ready for the grave yard in plant land (burn the plant)
PLANT LOCATION
Again ER. has another problem with the grower, its location,
If you have to plant in pots think more of a tub rather than a pot the size of a cup and saucer, the size and spread of the root system "and this also meaning the depth at least 6inch down wards for the roots to spread and a good width spread, if the roots can't spread and the grower of indoor plants have a vast forest of leaves spreading all over the place above the soil base "like the rain forest" what do you expect? The roots are putting all their strength into a forest of leaves and has'nt much left for fruit and again the plants inner build up of its hormon system will suffer, The leave system bends and curls due to heat circulation,
As the plants growing you should be pricking out the leaves below and above the main stem, the plant needs an even room temp, above 50deg and up tp 70deg but an even room temp and water /plant moisture checked, never to dry out "not even for a few mins" and not up and down temp, If for some reason you cant move the plant then a fan may help,
Direct sun is another factor that need to be looked at, if the plant has'nt any shade then the leaves get burnt and again the plants inner system kicks in and problems kick out. Leaving wet drips on the actual fruit will also cause white marks on the skin of the tomatoe and rot, (Remember this is'nt bacteria, Its bad growing conditions caused by the grower)
So we've location water/moisture/feeding/ Now its compost/soil
Compost/soil
We have looked at the above must know's now the plants compost/soil needs from pre the plant even being grown,
Lets look at what the plant needs to be a good healthy plant,
The plant as it grows has a built in immune system of its own and if the plant recieves all the care and feed etc it needs and its located in a good growing area Then why wouldn't we supply this plant with the correct amount both width and depth of the best compost/soil we can ?
This compost/soil must have the correct chemicle feeds for both growth and to help continue to build the plants defence system against bacteria etc
Remember when the plants very young and small "the immune system at this time in the plants life is also small, it has'nt grown strong yet,
(And some bad human growers
)Now a point you must under stand many many plants die through over watering or not keeping the plant watered at the right times, And over feeding
This again can cause problems, (How many people do you know who over eat and over eat and later in life have problems? Well its the same for plants over feeding isnt a good thing)
Preperation of any growing area is a big factor in growing, do your home work and preper the ground etc early rather than when the plants in the growing area,
If your plants have suffered from any bacteria or end rot "Dont try using this soil/compost again," your just spreading more bacteria etc,"
Some people think when the snows are here we gardeners join the Hedge hoggs etc and sleep all winter, NO NO NO, clean your pots /use lime on the beds get into being hygiene friendly to your garden and yourself,
Well its a long answer to a question ive read so much on here and along with Chuck ive tried to give good advice and i hope this is going to help you understand
gardening really is a worth while hobby and you and only you will know whats in your home grown food chain,
Good gardening to you all?