Following are the 7 sins and how you can easily avoid them this season.
Sin #1 ? Blossom-end Rot
Blossom-end rot is a dark patch on the blossom-end of the fruit that turns black and leathery over time. The cause is a calcium deficiency in the tomato. Tomatoes become calcium deficient when the weather is too cold or too hot and the water supply is inconsistent. Heavy application of nitrogen fertilizer can also play a role.
How to Avoid It
To avoid blossom-end rot, plant your tomatoes at the appropriate time, not too early in the season. Water and fertilize them evenly and consider using mulch, which will hold water and even out the water supply to the plant. Also, don?t cultivate within one foot of the plant base to avoid root injury.
Sin #2 ? Phosphorous Deficiency
There is plenty of phosphorous in the soil, but it isn?t available to the tomato plant at cool temperatures, and the lack of phosphorous can kill the plant.
How to Avoid It
Don?t plant your tomatoes too early. What that means exactly will depend on your climate, but the soil needs to be warm when you plant your tomatoes. You can also use mulch to warm the soil around your plants.
Sin #3 ? Catfacing
Catfacing refers to holes and scars in the blossom end of the fruit that basically make for an ugly tomato that is often unusable. Larger tomato varieties are more susceptible than smaller ones. The cause isn?t entirely known, but it is thought to be some disturbance of the flowers or flower buds during their development. Cold weather during blossoming, high nitrogen levels and contact with certain herbicides might be to blame.
How to Avoid It
Don?t plant your tomatoes too early in the season and expose them to cold weather. (Are you noticing a theme here?) Also, certain varieties of tomato are more prone to catfacing than others and if you have this problem you should choose another variety that is less susceptible.
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I planted some early girl tomatoes and just went and picked 1 to eat and it tasted terrible!!!!!!!!! Tasted really bitter and was almost like a roma but not shaped like 1 and they are very small. I watered and fed them and the plants are very lush and green and healthy looking, what went wrong? They are in a container