My cousin gave me a “tip”* on preventing blossom end rot years ago & I just don’t have the issue any more. It’s dried milk! Evidently the calcium in the dried milk is in a form the plants can readily take up.
My cousin scratched a couple tablespoons in the dirt (top dressing) when planting, then watered it in. When I plant tomatoes, I take the dirt from the hole, put it in a 5-gallon bucket, add my amendments (dried milk, Tomato Tone, some organic fertilizer), mix it up & use the mix to refill the hole around the tomato plants, then water in. You can also mix up the milk with water & water the plants with it if the plants are already in the ground.
* At the local country store, my cousin ran into an elderly country farmer, known for his beautiful tomatoes. When asked how he avoided blossom end rot, he explained his use of dried milk. After successfully using dried milk, my cousin passed the tip on to me when he visited during tomato growing season.
FReepers are the best! So many great ideas, all of which I’ve copied-and-printed, and all of which I’ll be using come spring. I honestly didn’t know about calcium previously. I thought it was because of this summer’s Okla. heat, then after the heat finally broke, the ground had such heavy dew and the baby melons sat in the wet grass overnight.
Heh. There are people who are “green thumbs”, and then there’s me, who is “ALL thumbs”. :-)