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Post by OJ (Original Junkie). on Aug 13, 2011 19:53:30 GMT -5
Last year as well as this year it seems. I wait and wait for my maters to ripen, and then when they finally start to ripen, they all succumb to rot on the bottom. Went out and picked 23 maters today and every one of them were rotten. What is the reason for this, too much rain, not enough rain, too hot? I mean what the heck is going on?
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Post by SPLASH on Aug 14, 2011 14:43:12 GMT -5
It's called Blossom end rot and you'll see it refferred to as BER on gardening forums. I don't have this problem, but have read about it. People discuss the watering or lack of like you were thinking, but the problem is much deeper. It's the soil. You need a soil sample. We have a Michigan State University extension in Downtown Flint. I plan on talking with them and having the soil tested from both of Mom's gardens next year. I don't know exactly what it costs, but have heard it's not much at all, all over the country. I have read from the bigtime organic composters ways to correct the soil, but that takes a few years to do. Another suggestion I have seen is crop rotation. Seeing the size of your garden, I wouldn't grow tomatoes in it at all next year and maybe try just a couple plants spread away from eachother the next. Once you pull all this years plants, throw the tomato plants away, don't leave in the garden. try to get as much of the roots out too. Throw grass clippings, leaves and your chicken poo in there and let it sit all winter. Once the ground thaws till it in, let it sit a couple weeks and then get your soil sample. Once you get the sample tested the pros will tell you what to do. I learned something this year myself. The raised bed I grew melons in last year, didn't produce a single melon this year. I tried pumpkin, watermelon, and cantaloupe and got NOTHING! Aat the end of the bed I grew Silver Queen corn. Those plants are 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 foot tall and ears are growing now. Reason the corn grew and melons didnt................ Melons suck all the phosphate out of the soil to produce fruit. Last years melons did this. Corn only needs nitrogen. Since the melons last year didn't take much nitrogen, it was there for the corn. So my bigest lesson learned this season is that crop rotation is just as important if not more in our small gardens as it is in a farm field. Next year that raised bed will not get a single melon or any curcubit family plant in it. It may just end up being corn and tomatoes.
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Post by SPLASH on Feb 26, 2012 14:28:00 GMT -5
I was at the Family Farm and Home in swartz Creek yesterday and found a one time use soil testing kit for $5. Pretty simple, just get dirt from 4" below the surface of your garden and add it in the test tube, break open a capsule and add that powder, add water and shake. Let settle for a minute or two and compare to the chart. It has 4 tubes. A nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, and ph. I'm going to test the raised bed that grew corn great last year, but melons and squash horrible. Depending on what I see and what I can do to ammend the soil quickly will determine what I plant in there this year. That place is also where I sent you the pic from.
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