A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 BER or Worms?

hey guys, my tomato plants i was nosing around in and noticed a few tomatoes were cracked down the sides and some of the tomatoes have these lesions on the bottoms and a few on the sides of the tomatoes. It looks rotted, its black, and you can see the seeds inside of the lesions. ALso looks kinda moldy maybe? The pictures not very clear but thats the best description i can give! (click on the picture to see fullsize)

Although I'm not an expert it might be that you have BER which allowed worms/fungus/mold to creep inside the tomato. I'm sure that someone will come around and be more specific or helpful.

Dano, that just looks like regular environmental deformities like catfacing. Can be from weather conditions at fruit set or poor pollination. Really doesn't look like ber.

What variety is that? Some varieties are more prone to that happening.

oh shoot. . . i wanna say theyre beefsteak tomatoes?

i did obviously pick these and throw these out, but what about hte ones that are just split down the middle? I was reading up on them from some google searches and it said that the splitting is just from rapid growth rates followed by slow periods then another rapid period. Are these infectiouse? Disease proned?

Thnx guys!

How are you tomatoes doing now Danno??
Are all the tomatoes doing it,
or just that set in the photo's??

not all the tomatoes are doing it. . its hit and miss. some of the tomatoes that were the first to pop out are doing fine, some others that are newly emerging have already shown spots/lesions on them. others are doing great. . its hit and miss really!

I'm watering what i THINK to be fine. . not heavily, and only keeping the soil moist. Its not raining all that much here, so i can keep good track on watering. I know i'm not UNDERWATERING cuz nothing is wilting at all. . however the tomatoe leaves keep going curled/uncurling every few days (watering problem?)

Been fertilizing them with ESPOMA's tomatoe tone. so i know its not a calcium deficiency in the soil. . this must be just a physiological thingymabob? :p

Thnx!

What is your soil like?

Do you have clay base under it?
Or how is your drainage??

drainage is very very good. it doesnt puddle for more than a minute with a really good soaking of water!

The soil was simply the tilled under grass that i had in my backyard, which consists of blackdirt as far as i can dig down! I tilled in some compost/manure mix that i baught from home depot. I've taken PH samples and its at like 6.4 for acidity and i water (so i presume) quite well. I really do think after talking to other people, and reading up on this sort of thing, that its a trait of tomatoes (in hopes anyways!) I braught it to the local plant nursery down the road and they said that it was NOT blossem end rot. . .

there is no clay in my soil at all. I have dug down about 5' deep (to put in a egress window for a basement bedroom. . man what a project!) And nothing but black rich dirt

disease and pest guide
might help