THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996 TAG: 9607260075
SECTION: HOME & GARDEN PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler
LENGTH: 77 lines
FOR TWO WEEKS, you've been watching two tomatoes in your garden slowly ripen, while your mouth watered for the first luscious BLT made with your own vine-ripened tomatoes.
Then you pick them, and the bottoms are brown and mushy. Or there are holes in the sides from slugs or birds. So disappointing. Have faith - there's hope ahead.
If your tomatoes have black or brown bottoms, the problem is blossom-end rot. The primary symptom is a sunken, dark leathery scar on the bottom. It can occur at any stage of development and is often caused by sudden changes in soil moisture. It is most serious when plants grow rapidly with lots of nitrogen fertilizer and then are hit by hot, dry weather.
Another cause for blossom-end rot is low soil calcium. To prevent blossom-end rot, use plastic or organic mulch to reduce fluctuation in soil moisture and temperature.
Water plants before they show wilt and add calcium nitrate around each plant before watering. It's available in garden centers or seed and feed stores. Even better, add lime or gypsum to your garden this fall so your soil will be right for planting next spring.
If your tomatoes already have blossom-end rot, spray plants with calcium chloride, a product named Blossom Rot Stop or calcium nitrate. Three sprays, seven to 10 days apart, will reduce the problem. Blossom-end rot is usually seen on your first tomatoes and gradually diminishes as the season progresses. Because of the continuing wet summer, there seems to be less blossom-end rot this season.
With tomatoes ripening, it's time now to note any other problems your tomatoes have and try to correct them. Lots of blooms and no fruit is one problem. Another is tomato hornworms eating the foliage.
First, tomatoes need a well-drained site that receives plenty of direct sunlight, preferably all day, but at least seven to 10 hours, say Louisiana State University experts.
When tomatoes receive too little sunlight, few blossoms are formed and many that form fall off before setting fruit.
Your tomato plants should be spaced 2 feet apart. In my small vegetable garden, I've crowded them too close to one another, making it hard to tell when the tomatoes are ripe and even harder to pick. If yours are like that, give them more room next year.
Indeterminate varieties such as Better Boy or Fantastic are long and vining and will continue to grow until frost. If you choose, you can prune them to maintain one vigorous stem. Determinant varieties, such as Celebrity, grow only to about 4 feet but produce abundant fruit in that limited space.
With indeterminate varieties, many gardeners prune out the suckers up to the fourth flower cluster and then let the plant bush out to provide shade for the lower fruit. Suckers are those sprouts that shoot out of the ``V'' between the main stem and side stems. Pruning helps increase the size and earliness of your tomatoes.
If your tomatoes are not setting fruit now, it's most likely due to high temperatures. When daytime temperatures are above 90 degrees and nights are above 72 degrees, most tomatoes refuse to set fruit. Next season try a few Heatwave, Sunmaster or Solar Set varieties, because they set fruit during hot weather.
If you suddenly find the foliage bare on the top stems of your plants, it's most likely a hornworm. It looks just like its name - a big green caterpillar with a horn on one end. Best control is to pick them off by hand and destroy.
If your ripe tomatoes have holes in their sides, it's slug or bird damage. Use slug bait around them and put silver and red scare tape over the vines to scare away the birds.
If you want fall tomatoes, your best bets are the three hot-weather varieties named earlier or cherry tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes set fruit during summer and fall and will bear until frost.
To keep your tomatoes growing into fall, be sure to use good pest control, checking every few days for insect or disease damage and spraying only if necessary. Also make sure to fertilize and water your plants as needed, even though they may not be setting fruit. Use any garden pesticide late in the afternoon so as not to reduce bee activity. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Burpee
Tomatoes by CNB