How to Treat Blossom End Rot Before It’s Too Late
Nothing is more frustrating and disheartening than putting a ton of time and effort into your vegetable garden, just to have it ruined by pests or disease. Well, I can absolutely empathize because this very situation happened to me in the form of blossom end rot on my squash.
This issue inspired me to write this article in hopes of saving you from a similar fate. It is important to know how to identify and treat blossom end rot before it ruins your entire vegetable crop. Fortunately, once identified, blossom end rot is pretty easy to treat. So read on so you don’t suffer catastrophic losses in your garden!
What is Blossom End Rot?
Blossom end rot is a common disease that affects fruit and vegetable plants, more specifically, the fruit of the plants. As it’s name would suggest, blossom end rot appears as a brown rotting area beginning on the blossom end of the fruit. (This is the terminal end opposite the stem.) It will work it’s way up the fruit if left unchecked.
Blossom end rot affects many vegetables including squash, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and melons just to name a few. Fortunately, blossom end rot doesn’t spread from plant to plant like fungal diseases.
What Causes Blossom End Rot?
Unlike fungal diseases and diseases caused by insects and mites, blossom end rot is caused by a nutrient deficiency in the plant.
Which nutrient?
Calcium!
Calcium is an important nutrient in vegetable plants because it’s required to create a strong cellular structure in the fruit. When there isn’t enough calcium available, the cells of the fruit become weak and collapse, eventually leading to rot.
Not enough calcium in the soil is an obvious cause of blossom end rot, but a not-so-obvious reason is the over-use of nitrogen.
If you put too much nitrogen fertilizer in your garden, it can compete and prevent the plants from taking up the necessary amounts of calcium.
Another factor that can affect the uptake of calcium is uneven watering practices. Allowing your plants to become too dry or too wet can seriously impact their ability to utilize calcium, even if it is abundantly available.
How to Treat Blossom End Rot
Prevention
Just like with diseases in humans, the best treatment is prevention. You can prevent blossom end rot by fertilizing the soil when you plant with a calcium-rich fertilizer.
Also, it is always a good practice to test your soil with an inexpensive soil nutrient test kit periodically to eliminate any guessing when it comes to which nutrients to add to your garden.
Also, keep your soil consistently moist with a good watering routine to prevent issues of over- or under-watering. Mulching also helps maintain an even moisture level in your soil. I commonly use grass clippings as a mulch.
Treatment
If you notice some of your fruits developing blossom end rot, it is unfortunately non-reversible on the affected fruit. You will have to remove the affected fruit and fix your plant’s calcium levels so the next round of fruit will grow healthy.
If inconsistent watering is part of the problem, then try to improve this by watering on a schedule, and add a layer of mulch around your plants. You can also consider a continuous drip irrigation system to ensure a consistent moisture level.
To improve calcium levels, you can fertilize around your plants with a bone meal or oyster shell fertilizer. Dig a shallow trench around the base of your plants, mix in some fertilizer, and water well.
Another thing you can do is use a calcium-based foliar spray on your plant leaves and fruit to help boost their calcium levels. The calcium solution will absorb into the plant and boost the calcium level, helping to correct the deficiency. If you decide to use a spray, it’s best to do it in the evening when it’s cooled down a little to prevent your plant leaves from burning in the hot sun.
Hopefully, if you’ve followed these treatment recommendations you will see a drastic improvement in the health of your vegetables, and blossom end rot will no longer be an issue!
Conclusion
If your vegetables have fallen victim to blossom end rot, hopefully this article has given you some insight into how to treat it, and prevent it in future crops. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comment section below. Also, if you have any additional tips on how to battle blossom end rot, I’d love to hear them!
Happy Gardening!
Cody,
Thistle Downs Farm