Preventing blossom end rot

D

dragon49

Some of my pods suffer from blossom end rot, but only at the end of the season.  This is a recurring theme throughout the seasons.  This year, I went organic, treating the soil with Chicken poop and compost. In past years, I used commercial fertilizer.  It appears to me that my soil runs eventually runs out of Calcium.  What is the best way to prevent this for future seasons?  I'd prefer to use something organic, rather than dump a bunch of Cal-Mag into the soil.
 
You know I've been a fan of Botanicare's CalMag since I started using it on my chiles. But this year really sealed it for me - "organic" or not, I will use CalMag from now on. Why? We had a lot of rain earlier this season and it rained so much I didn't really need to water my plants. My thought was to let the rain water them a while then move them out of the rain once production kicked in. Only I got really distracted from my grow with the National meets I was preparing for. Then one day I went out to look at the pods on the plants and found they were all soft, wrinkled and mushy - an early sign of BER. Oops. So I bettered my ways and started watering them with CalMag, not really expecting much of the pods that were mushy, but perhaps any new pods that developed would be fine. Well, the pods that had been mushy firmed up quite nicely. The ones that were wrinkled still show signs of those wrinkles as compared to the newer pods, but they are firm. Wow.
 
I don't know if you'd get the same dramatic results from limestone, crush egg shells, or anything else organic because of the need for those things to break down into something usable by the plants. CalMag is immediately usable, so I will keep using it. BOOM! You want to use something else? It's a free country - - - go right ahead!  :D
 
If you want to try and keep it sort of organic you can try dried egg shells. Crush them up fine and plant your plants on top of them or add to the soil, they will slowly break down releasing the calcium and also slightly buffer the PH.
 
Blossom end rot is a moisture issue not a calcium issue.  Calcium deficencies can interfere with moisture uptake but this is rare.  The funny thing is that people often treat this with epson salt because magnesium is necassary for calcium uptake.  It is a very convoluted way of dealing with what amounts to uneven watering.  The best way to deal with blossom end rot is with 3-4in of mulch.  If you are not mulching your plants you should be for more reasons than i care to go into here but I digress, chilli plants are subtropical forest floor plants.  That means a constant level of moisture and dappled shade.  Most problems growing plants in general is from trying to grow them in conditions they didnt evolve in.  Why do chilli plants need staking, because they are ment to be shoulder to shoulder with other plants, why do pods sunscald, again forest floor conditions, not neat evenly spaced rows in full sun.  Chilis do require a good bit of calcium but whats in the soil is usually sufficient.  The problem with liquid products like CalMag is that its water soluble so it washes away when you water or it rains.  Organic Bonemeal is the best calcium supplement there is IMO.  Its granulated so it stays put and is slowly released over time.  I only use CalMag when Ive severly neglected a plant and visual signs like discoloration of leaves is apparent.
 
Topsmoke said:
Blossom end rot is a moisture issue not a calcium issue.  Calcium deficencies can interfere with moisture uptake but this is rare.  The funny thing is that people often treat this with epson salt because magnesium is necassary for calcium uptake.  It is a very convoluted way of dealing with what amounts to uneven watering.  The best way to deal with blossom end rot is with 3-4in of mulch.  If you are not mulching your plants you should be for more reasons than i care to go into here but I digress, chilli plants are subtropical forest floor plants.  That means a constant level of moisture and dappled shade.  Most problems growing plants in general is from trying to grow them in conditions they didnt evolve in.  Why do chilli plants need staking, because they are ment to be shoulder to shoulder with other plants, why do pods sunscald, again forest floor conditions, not neat evenly spaced rows in full sun.  Chilis do require a good bit of calcium but whats in the soil is usually sufficient.  The problem with liquid products like CalMag is that its water soluble so it washes away when you water or it rains.  Organic Bonemeal is the best calcium supplement there is IMO.  Its granulated so it stays put and is slowly released over time.  I only use CalMag when Ive severly neglected a plant and visual signs like discoloration of leaves is apparent.
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This makes sense to me that it is a moisture issue, as it simply appears that the end of the Pepper that is rotted, simply had too much moisture, which caused it it to rot.  I really like your reply, but can you explain why my Peppers only get Blossom End rot at the end of the season?  The weather has been consistent all season and our sprinkler system is on the same timer, so watering isn't inconsistent.   Last season I mulched and it killed one of my Oregano patches and I had the worst season ever, so I'll never mulch again.
 
The moisture issue refers to a lack of moisture in the soil, causing the plant to be unable to use the calcium in the soil, not too much moisture. This certainly is the most common cause of BER, especially in tomatoes.
 
dragon49 said:
This makes sense to me that it is a moisture issue, as it simply appears that the end of the Pepper that is rotted, simply had too much moisture, which caused it it to rot.  I really like your reply, but can you explain why my Peppers only get Blossom End rot at the end of the season?  The weather has been consistent all season and our sprinkler system is on the same timer, so watering isn't inconsistent.   Last season I mulched and it killed one of my Oregano patches and I had the worst season ever, so I'll never mulch again.
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  Wild fluctuations in moisture availability is usually the culprit (too little followed by too much).  If nothing has changed as you say than I can only speculate perhaps the moisture levels are too low for the size of your plants which is why your seeing it at the end of the season as the plants reach full size and heavy fruiting.  You could either increase their water regime or prune the plant back to see if it helps.  Calcium could be the cause but it seems unlikely.  A plant actually uses very small quantities of soil bound nutrients, it synthesis the bulk of its make up from water and sunlight.  I dont understand how you killed oregano with mulch unless you buried the plant but even then oregano is pretty tenacious.  Mulch is the number one thing you can do to improve any growing situation.  It releases water when the soil is too dry and wicks it away when soil is too wet.  It improves soil nutrition and tilth through decomposition, increases biological activity in soil by provideing habitat, reduces weeds and the spread of soil borne pathogens and fosters growth of the most important player of all mycorrhizae fungus.  The soil is alive. Any organism needs a protective skin and mulch is just that.
Topsmoke said:
  Wild fluctuations in moisture availability is usually the culprit (too little followed by too much).  If nothing has changed as you say than I can only speculate perhaps the moisture levels are too low for the size of your plants which is why your seeing it at the end of the season as the plants reach full size and heavy fruiting.  You could either increase their water regime or prune the plant back to see if it helps.  Calcium could be the cause but it seems unlikely.  A plant actually uses very small quantities of soil bound nutrients, it synthesis the bulk of its make up from water and sunlight.  I dont understand how you killed oregano with mulch unless you buried the plant but even then oregano is pretty tenacious.  Mulch is the number one thing you can do to improve any growing situation.  It releases water when the soil is too dry and wicks it away when soil is too wet.  It improves soil nutrition and tilth through decomposition, increases biological activity in soil by provideing habitat, reduces weeds and the spread of soil borne pathogens and fosters growth of the most important player of all mycorrhizae fungus.  The soil is alive. Any organism needs a protective skin and mulch is just that.
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I actually just did alittle further research into the problem and found this http://ucanr.edu/sites/placernevadasmallfarms/files/86509.pdf. Apparently calcium moves through the plant through transpiration. Water transpires from leaves much faster than the fruits therefore the calcium ends up there.  Seems like again the problem is caused by removing the plant from its naturally slightly shady enviroment (30% shade showed an increase in pepper production in a university of georgia study).  This also explains why larger thick walled peppers are more likely to suffer from BER.  I never see BER or almost any problems in small peppers like birds eye or thai or even cayenne.  Now keep in mind that BER looks almost identical in tomatos and peppers, the end turns brown black and sunken.  If your chillies are fine outside but black brown and moldy inside this is not BER, it's a fungus that forms on the flower itself which is how it ends up inside the pod.  The only way i know how to prevent this is with a fungicide application prior to fruiting which i do not do nor condone, one for my own personal safety and two because of the threat it poses to pollinators.
 
Topsmoke said:
  Wild fluctuations in moisture availability is usually the culprit (too little followed by too much).  If nothing has changed as you say than I can only speculate perhaps the moisture levels are too low for the size of your plants which is why your seeing it at the end of the season as the plants reach full size and heavy fruiting.  You could either increase their water regime or prune the plant back to see if it helps.  Calcium could be the cause but it seems unlikely.  A plant actually uses very small quantities of soil bound nutrients, it synthesis the bulk of its make up from water and sunlight.  I dont understand how you killed oregano with mulch unless you buried the plant but even then oregano is pretty tenacious.  Mulch is the number one thing you can do to improve any growing situation.  It releases water when the soil is too dry and wicks it away when soil is too wet.  It improves soil nutrition and tilth through decomposition, increases biological activity in soil by provideing habitat, reduces weeds and the spread of soil borne pathogens and fosters growth of the most important player of all mycorrhizae fungus.  The soil is alive. Any organism needs a protective skin and mulch is just that.

I actually just did alittle further research into the problem and found this http://ucanr.edu/sites/placernevadasmallfarms/files/86509.pdf. Apparently calcium moves through the plant through transpiration. Water transpires from leaves much faster than the fruits therefore the calcium ends up there.  Seems like again the problem is caused by removing the plant from its naturally slightly shady enviroment (30% shade showed an increase in pepper production in a university of georgia study).  This also explains why larger thick walled peppers are more likely to suffer from BER.  I never see BER or almost any problems in small peppers like birds eye or thai or even cayenne.  Now keep in mind that BER looks almost identical in tomatos and peppers, the end turns brown black and sunken.  If your chillies are fine outside but black brown and moldy inside this is not BER, it's a fungus that forms on the flower itself which is how it ends up inside the pod.  The only way i know how to prevent this is with a fungicide application prior to fruiting which i do not do nor condone, one for my own personal safety and two because of the threat it poses to pollinators.
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Thanks for all the research.  I definitely have BER as the damage is on the outside.  My plants are small, but I tend to cram a lot into my small growing space, so perhaps the soil nutrients don't last all season.
 
dragon49 said:
Thanks for all the research.  I definitely have BER as the damage is on the outside.  My plants are small, but I tend to cram a lot into my small growing space, so perhaps the soil nutrients don't last all season.
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got a pic?
 
Topsmoke said:
got a pic?
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I have a few pics from this season, but can't find any.  Here are 2 pics from last year.  On one pod in each picture, the end is rotted.
 

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Im really surprised to see it on smaller pods like that.  You said this is a reoccurring problem so is it a location problem?  Have you tried growing in different parts of your property?  Im wondering if the location you are growing in has drainage issues.  If growing some where else isn't an option you should try to incorporate more organic material which will help maintain more even moisture levels.  or even adding something like perilite.  Raised beds could help if the site is soggy, sunken if its dry.
 
Topsmoke said:
Im really surprised to see it on smaller pods like that.  You said this is a reoccurring problem so is it a location problem?  Have you tried growing in different parts of your property?  Im wondering if the location you are growing in has drainage issues.  If growing some where else isn't an option you should try to incorporate more organic material which will help maintain more even moisture levels.  or even adding something like perilite.  Raised beds could help if the site is soggy, sunken if its dry.
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It is only a location problem at the end of the season, but I don't have a lot of area to plant.  I hate perlite, but will consider other adding other organic material next season.
 
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