BER myths

by Norm
(Washington)

While I agree with most of the information on the pages of https://www.tomatodirt.com/blossom-end-rot.html, I am not sure about one section.

According to WSU, spraying calcium products on tomatoes with BER is not effective. You may believe it is working because later production doesn't have the BER on fruits, but there seems to be no validated evidence to support spaying the plants with calcium. BER as a condition is more often related to water issues, too much nitrogen at the wrong stage of growth, transplant (spring) issues with too cool soils, cultivating too close to roots, etc. Most soils have sufficient calcium; to know for sure find a lab and take a soil sample.

Oh, and for those (like me) who in the past applied milk or dried milk around tomato root zones or plants --- milk is not an effective source of calcium for tomatoes.