# Root rot in Potted Tomato Plants



## TreeJunkie (Jul 12, 2004)

Over the past two weeks i've noticed a drastic decline in several of my potted tomato plants. On some tomatoes i've noticed the bottom portion of the tomato has turned dark and mushy. The plants are showing severe yellowing and a fair amount of dieback.

Someone suggested to me this could be Root rot, however i'm not very familiar w/ this and i'm not noticing any symptoms around the soil for me to conclude this. Does anyone have any possible answers to my problem?


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## SilverBlue (Jul 12, 2004)

BER 
Blossom end rot due to poor root structure and calcium deficiency.

There should be lots of info on the web to look at. What do you use to fertilize? and what kind of tomatoes?


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## TreeJunkie (Jul 12, 2004)

Two different types of Toms.,,,The BeefMaster are showing the worst symptoms,and Celebrity are the other variety. 

I've been fertilizing w/ Schultz/ Bloom Plus 10/60/10, fertilizing once or twice monthly.

I'll read up on that tonight.


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## rumination (Jul 12, 2004)

Whoa! 10-60-10? Promoting bloom and fruit is all good, but that's a wee bit unbalanced! 

It may be a bit late for this batch, but you could try giving them a dose of seaweed extract (diluted as per instructions for root drench and foliar spray). Some of those micronutrients may help them out.

With potted veggies I have found the key is making the right media. Regular potting soil is not usually your best bet. Try one part sharp sand, one part garden soil, one part compost. Depending on your soil type/climate you can then add the appropriate amounts of vermiculite/perlite to get the right texture. I always did potted veggies organically and would also add amendments such as rock phosphate, greensand, blood/bone/feather/cottonseed meal, etc to the mix. With that stuff in there all they needed was occasional sprays of fish emulsion and seaweed extract to keep em happy and productive. 

Another thing to be aware of is your watering schedule. Potted tomatoes like to dry out a little bit before getting wet again. If they're super moist all the time that might be another part of the problem.

I am by no means an expert but have had some good harvests in the past so I hope some of that helps. Good luck!


Edit: Whoops! Just realized that I read your post wrong. I saw the root rot in the subject line and didn't see the fruit rot in the text. So it does sound like blossom end rot is your problem. Forget everything I said and give your plants a light dose of agricultural lime as a side dressing. BER can also occur if you underwater, as opposed to overwatering like I first suggested. I gotta learn to read more carefully...


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## TreeJunkie (Jul 12, 2004)

> _Originally posted by rumination _
> *. Forget everything I said and give your plants a light dose of agricultural lime as a side dressing. BER can also occur if you underwater, as opposed to overwatering like I first suggested. I gotta learn to read more carefully... *



How and where do i go about getting ahold of what i need here. What's the procedure that i should use?

Thanks for the great tips, You really sound like a pro. Next year i'm going to go for your growing medium concoction. Can most of these products be found at a good indoor, or hydroponics shop?


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## SilverBlue (Jul 13, 2004)

No, lime will not alleviate the problem now as it needs to be broken down into the soluble form the plants can take up and it’s too late, plus the disease /nutrient or pH problem needs to be addressed as well. Kelp extract along with fish emulsion should help somewhat to relieve the plant stress especially if you foliar feed the plants, the fish will have some of the calcium needed but it won’t save the fruits already in trouble.

Any pics of the leaf problem?


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## rumination (Jul 13, 2004)

SilverBlue is definitely right about giving the kelp and fish emulsion ASAP, especially as they would hopefully address whatever nutrient deficiency might be contributing to the leaf problem (which I also missed in my first reading). I would still add a little ag lime, or actually some bonemeal might be better, as a top dressing in case the plants do manage to recover sufficiently. I am not familiar with the cultivars you named but if they are indeterminate varieties they should fruit consistently for most of the growing season and you would still have the chance of getting some tasty tomaters. You should also back off on the inorganic fert as the salts it leaves behind can impair calcium uptake. Removing affected fruits immediately will also leave more energy for the plants for further flower/fruits.

The seaweed/kelp extract, fish emulsion, and other amendments I named are usually available at most well stocked garden supply stores. 

I ain't no pro, just a goofball who likes to grow his own. Good luck.


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## TreeJunkie (Jul 13, 2004)

This is a pic of some of the fruit from my BeefMaster plant, this plant is showing the worst decline. It is in approx a 6-8 gallon pot. My other plants are only in 3-4 gallon pots.


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## TreeJunkie (Jul 13, 2004)

These are the Two Celebrity plants, They have shown quite a bit of die back, however no fruit rot.


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## SilverBlue (Jul 13, 2004)

Ok the plants have blight, which is a fungal disease, you should still be able to harvest some tomatoes though. Fish&kelp extract should help, do you have any local stores that sell organic products? Garden center or hydroponics stores?


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## TreeJunkie (Jul 13, 2004)

I do know of one hydroponic store, however, their hours of op suck, thus if there is something i can pick up at earl may or walmart, this would work best. Foliar spraying


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## TreeJunkie (Jul 13, 2004)

I'm gonna run out and see if i can pick up some of the fish and kelp extract, if they have some bone meal i'll go for that also. Chat later about how to apply.


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## TreeJunkie (Jul 13, 2004)

After running over to the Hydro store, and picking up some of the things i was advised i'm back and short 38.00, these are gonna be expensive toms, i spent a little extra and purchased the Cal-Mag Plus, rather than the bone meal, the lady tells me it should work faster as bone meal can take a while. Any how , here's a shot of the goods.


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## rumination (Jul 14, 2004)

Ahhh...liquid fish! You're in for a real aromatic treat.


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## jimmyq (Jul 14, 2004)

if its blight, you have to watch your source water, rain water and over spray... keep the plants as protected as possible and yeah, usethe cal mag, it works great.


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