Storm Damage

Apparently while I went about my business today in Dunwoody, a storm raged through Decatur and took down 3 of my tomato plants, broke one of the pots, broke limbs off another, and destroyed the pepper plant. I’m going to see what I can do to salvage the Ceylon in the broken pot. Details to come.

Frustrating BER Problems

Casualties

Still trying to figure out how to fix this blossom end rot problem.  Some of the tomatoes are even beginning to ripen, but much of the early fruit comes out with a big sad spot where the blossom was.  I’m blaming the plentiful rain that we have had this spring and am hoping that I can stop this from happening to the later fruit.  I think that the PatioF is the worst offender, so it may be on the chopping block for next year.  We shall see.

Thirsty plants

Meanwhile, every day that I come home and it hasn’t been raining, they are all very thirsty and wilted.  I think they need more frequent water because they are in containers rather than in the ground, even though they are mulched.

Blossom End Rot?!

Dreaded blossom end rot

Oh no!  I have discovered blossom end rot on 2 of my Patio F plants and one Tumbling Tom.  With some research it looks like this is due to a shortage of calcium to the plant because of period of heavy rain and then some dryness.  The solution: Mulching all the plants and spraying affected plants with calcium spray (purchased in a bottle at Lowe’s).  Hopefully we’ll have a good report next time.

Variety 2: Patio F

This dwarf variety is one of America’s most popular varieties ever for growing on patios, decks, courtyards, or wherever garden space is limited. Plants have attractive, deep green foliage and only become about 2 ft. tall, but produce large harvests of bright red, 3 to 4 oz. flavorful tomatoes. Outstanding for growing in containers — one that measures at least 12 inches wide works best. Determinate. 70 days.