Calcium nitrate for tomato blossom end rot is only effective when applied to the root zone, while the plant is in its flowering stage. Like cork spot, bitter pit makes the fruits look unappealing, but unlike cork spot, bitter pit does interfere with the taste. It’s a safe method of fertilizing, and has few negatives. Read more articles about Soil, Fixes & Fertilizers. So, this holiday season, we created a giving campaign for two of our favorite non-profits who are working to help put food on the tables of hungry families across the U.S. and around the world. With our brand new eBook, featuring our favorite DIY projects for the whole family, we really wanted to create a way to not only show our appreciation for the growing Gardening Know How community, but also unite our community to help every one of our neighbors in need during these unprecedented times. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, All customers get FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon, Great Coral Calcium & Magnesium 2:1 Ratio Products, Source Naturals Coral Calcium & Magnesium 600 mg Dietary Supplement - 45 Tablets, Price and other details may vary based on size and color. It provides two of the most basic nutrients to tomato plants that they need: nitrate nitrogen and calcium. It’s midsummer, your flower beds are blooming beautifully and you’ve got your first little vegetables forming in your garden. Calcium is necessary for plants because it produces strong cell walls and membranes. Ammonium nitrate is often given to plants as their source of nitrogen, but this isn’t always the best idea as the ammonium can interfere with the plant's calcium absorption. Many people like to bury their plants sideways. As the fruit grows, it will become sunken and take on a tough, leathery look. Many growers automatically side dress or top dress their calcium sensitive crops with calcium nitrate. While they don’t affect the taste of the apple, they do interfere with its visual appeal. You can use a compost tea spray to prevent this. Spraying the foliage is preferable to treating the soil for plants that already show signs of nutrient deficiencies, as this is the quickest way to get the nutrients into the plant's system. Remember that if you’re using calcium nitrate to not use any other agricultural chemical on your tomato plants. Spray when the sun is low and plants have been watered sufficiently. Before planting your tomato plants it’s best to learn how to space them apart for the best growing conditions. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. Everything seems like smooth sailing, until you see mushy brown spots on the bottom of your tomatoes. This fertilizer is also suitable for use in greenhouses where there is drip irrigation. Since tomatoes are a garden staple they can benefit from other growing tips to ensure that yours are the largest, and firmest, yet taste good too. The problem appears as discolored depressions on the fruit, and they can range in size. To prepare for it, add calcium nitrate to the soil when planting, then when the tomatoes are about the size of a quarter, and again two weeks after picking the first ripe fruit. Calcium nitrate has many other benefits for the garden, and not just for tomatoes. And What Cannot Be Composted? The tomatoes can also be watered by hand for outdoor gardens. Calcium nitrate can assist the soil in providing minerals in a form that is more easily utilized by the plant, even in difficult clay soil conditions. Calcium nitrate is especially recommended for use in plants that are more susceptible to calcium deficiencies. This is one of the number one reasons why you should be fertilizing your tomato plants with calcium nitrate. Calcium nitrate is water soluble and is often put right into the drip irrigation systems of large tomato producers, so it can be fed right to the root zone of plants. Find more gardening information on Gardening Know How: Keep up to date with all that's happening in and around the garden. A foliar spray of calcium nitrate fertilizer can also be used to treat the calcium or nitrogen deficiency of any plant. Use around half an ounce of salts for each square foot of soil, working it into the top inch of soil around the plants and taking care to avoid it coming into contact with any of the plant's leaves. This is a fertilizer that is made of two different nutrients. To side-dress your plants, follow the same guidelines, but instead of applying it throughout the top layer of soil, apply it in lines or circles around the outer edge of a plant’s base. Is It Worth Using Calcium Nitrate for Tomatoes? They’ll soon raise up as they grow toward the sun. If you have a plant with a calcium deficiency, you may notice symptoms such as flowers prematurely falling from the plant or foliage curling inwards on itself. Calcium Nitrate Fertilizer - Uses, Pros, Cons, and Application Rate, Calcium Nitrate Fertilizer Application Rate, Autumn Blaze Maple Tree - Growing & Care Guide, Clementine Tree Care and Propagation Tips, Crepe Myrtle Pests and Diseases (with Solution and Prevention Tips), Coffee Grounds for Gardening - Pros, Cons, and How to Use Them, Mushroom Compost - What it is, and How to Use it.