What is wrong with my patio tomato plant?
Question:I went out today and two of my new tomaotos looked like they were turning black. The plant looks fine, the other blooms look fine, but the fruit is turning black starting from the bottom halfway to the stem. I grew these last year with no problems.
Answers:
You may be watering the plant too much. Excessive moisture can cause this. Here is something from another website:
Most modern tomato varieties are resistant to many diseases common to tomatoes. There are two weather-related problems that crop up in tomatoes in our west coast climate:
1. Blossom-end Rot: Many people confuse this condition with blight, but blossom-end rot is not a disease that is passed from plant to plant. It starts out as a green-gray watermark on the bottom (blossom end) of the fruit and eventually turns into a flat or concave leathery patch which can turn black and spoil the entire fruit. Blossom-end rot is induced when demand for calcium exceeds supply. This may result from low calcium levels, drought stress, or excessive soil moisture fluctuations which reduce uptake and movement of calcium into the plant, or rapid, vegetative growth due to excessive nitrogen fertilization. The addition of lime to the soil before planting and consistent watering, especially during hot spells, can help to prevent this condition.
2. Late Blight: The first sign of late blight usually appears as a dark lesion on the stem of the plant which spreads to the leaves and quickly spreads to the fruit. Ten years ago, after several cool, wet summers, it was almost impossible to grow tomatoes outdoors in the Comox Valley. Overnight what promised to be a bumper crop of tomatoes turned into a rotten mess. The warm, dry summers that we have enjoyed for the past few years has helped to eradicate the spores of this disease, but we should be aware that late blight can still raise its ugly head. The best way to prevent blight is to keep your plants dry and well ventilated. We erected our first greenhouse after losing a crop to late blight in 1993. If blight should occur in your garden, remove all fruit and plant material and do not plant tomatoes (or peppers, eggplant, and potatoes) in that area the following year.
Your tomatoes have a fungal infection. They may all get infected and the entire crop will die. I am sorry for the bad news. Next season avoid planting tomatoes on the same patch. Grow another vegetable of a different species from tomatoes. It's called crop rotation.
Have you tried contacting your local USDA extension service? They have volunteers that should be able to answer your question, if you take in one of the fruits and maybe a picture of the whole plant or a leaf sample. Or maybe over the phone if your problem is common in your area this year. You can find them in the government section of the phonebook.
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