Dealing With Blossom End Rot, Growing Big Tomatoes And Other Tomato Growing Tips

Here are some tips and tricks to growing big tomatoes, how to stop blossom end rot, and other tomato growing tips!

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I recently had the opportunity to interview Dale of Delectation of Tomatoes.  We had such a great conversation about growing tomatoes and dealing with common issues like blossom end rot, blight, and sun scorch.  Tune in to the podcast below to hear gardening gold:

Or read on to get the highlights from the podcast and learn more about Delectation of Tomatoes.

About Dale:

From an early age, Dale has been fascinated by Nature, by the diversity of living organisms and by ecology. After completing degrees in Zoology, Tropical Ecology, and Forest Resources Science, Dale devoted 20 years to research and management of endangered species, primarily as a professional ornithologist, but also working extensively with plants and many other animal species in 20 U.S. states. He also taught college courses in the biological sciences part-time for several years. Throughout those years, he also pursued his avocation as an avid gardener. Dale returned to Utah for work in 2008 and took an 8-week class called “Grow Utah Farmers: Direct Market Track” which changed the course of his professional life. In February 2011, Delectation of Tomatoes was established as a sole proprietor business entity – essentially as a way to legitimize the gradual process of a hobby taking over life.

About Delectation of Tomatoes:

Now, after more than nine years in business, Delectation of Tomatoes is primarily a small, independent seed company, offering seeds of more than 3,500 varieties of heirloom garden vegetables from around the world, over 1,000 of which are NOT tomatoes!

In the Spring, seedlings of a wide variety of tomatoes, peppers, melons, etc. are on offer, primarily by special order. And during the Summer and Fall, some fresh produce is offered locally here in Utah.

Business objectives for Delectation of Tomatoes include:

• Promote ecologically responsible and sustainable farming methods (local, organic, non-GMO, composting, minimal processing, minimal transportation, minimal waste – an alternative to the big corporate models…)
• Encourage self-reliance, personal responsibility, and local community involvement (backyard gardening, community gardens, CSA’s, year-round growing technology, etc.)
• Enhance human physical health and well being by providing a wide variety of the freshest, tastiest, most nutritious food possible
• Preserve genetic diversity of food crops by preserving, propagating and promoting growing of heirloom varieties
• Inspire others to grow their own gardens through presentations, workshops, and direct consulting.

How did you start your company?

“The Great Recession” served as a wakeup call to be less dependent upon “The System” – just the motivation needed to take those first steps of trying to turn a hobby into a business. The defining spark in this process was winning an online auction for seeds from documented giant tomatoes. Years of growing so-called “Big” tomato varieties advertised in the glitzy mail-order catalogs had never once resulted in anything impressive. Those seeds from auction opened the door to heirloom varieties, and an insatiable curiosity ensued. “Addict” only begins to suggest the results…

What are some of the challenges you have in your climate?  How do you manage them?

The biggest challenge has been moving five times in the past five years with Delectation of Tomatoes, always growing in the backyard gardens of other people – essentially itinerant tenant farming. But in 2020 I moved into a long-term rental arrangement where I have much more autonomy, including the ability to plan for the next growing season.

So this current location in East Carbon has never had a garden, is at high elevation (6,200’) with a short growing season, and is very rural with significant challenges presented by deer, jackrabbits, and other wildlife.

So far, the biggest challenge has been the heat and lack of pollinators. Many thousands of blossoms have just shriveled and died on the vine. I am working on completely enclosing the garden area with chicken wire and bird netting to keep out wildlife. And I’m planning to put up shade cloth, build a large high tunnel, and create a mini-ecosystem that is very attractive to pollinators and natural predators of insect pests.

What is your favorite thing to grow and why?

Obviously I love growing tomatoes, especially the BIG ones. It’s interesting and fun to sample the wide variety of flavors from hundreds of varieties every year. But to be honest, I have a serious sweet tooth and especially enjoy trying many varieties of heirloom melons.

You’re quite well known here in Utah for big tomatoes….can you share some tips in growing them?

On my website, I’ve published a brief guide to growing BIG tomatoes.  These are the major strategies:

1. Seed Selection – only a few open-pollinated and heirloom varieties have any chance of producing 3+ lb. tomatoes. The hybrid varieties depicted in the glitzy ads published in seed catalogs from the big corporate seed companies is not a good starting point.
2. Proper Soil – this is critically important, as tomato vines thrive in soil with high organic matter and a pH of roughly 6.5.
3. Amendments – Mycorrhizal fungal spores, humates, earthworm castings, and many other organic strategies will be much more likely to produce good results than chemical fertilizers.
4. Watering – Tomato vines like consistently moist, but not soggy soil. The soil surface should never be allowed to get bone dry. A good organic mulch is very helpful, and be careful to not use highly alkaline water.
5. Temperature and Sunlight – Tomato vines produce best when daytime temperatures are between 70-85° F. Shade cloth and other strategies can help offset weather conditions outside of this range.
6. Pruning and Thinning – These strategies are essential if you hope to grow anything much over 2 lbs. Be ready to attach a sling of some sort once you have tomatoes approaching softball-size – really big tomatoes can and will pull themselves off the vine.

Can your share tips on how to deal with blossom end rot for new gardeners?

Blossom end rot can be a huge problem for susceptible varieties, such as many prolate, paste-style ones. But it’s also a problem when trying to grow big tomatoes, as the fruits grow very fast and the vines can have difficulty delivering enough calcium ions to the blossom ends of rapidly growing tomatoes.

Without enough calcium, the cell walls collapse, leaving a patch of dead cells. Understanding a bit of soil biochemistry and plant physiology is helpful here. Especially in alkaline soils such as are native to Utah, many cations are in competition for uptake by the roots.

Only the fine feeder roots, located in the top 1-2” of soil, are able to uptake calcium ions. If that top layer of soil is allowed to try out, those feeder roots shut down or die. This is why (speaking from my own bad experience), those first hot, dry summer days with a lot of wind are often followed by a pronounced outbreak of blossom end rot. The conventional advice of “water your tomato vines deeply once a week” is just wrong, horribly wrong, in a hot and dry climate. Much better to water moderately every day or two, or at least every time the surface gets dry. A good organic mulch applied to the surface can also help retain moisture.

What can gardeners do about blight and other tomato diseases?

Early, and especially Late Blight are diseases that are much more common in areas with high humidity levels and high rainfall, so are not generally a major problem in most parts of Utah. However, if you use overhead watering, such as with automatic sprinkling, you are inviting blight and all kinds of other tomato diseases. If at all possible, water only the soil surface. Many other leaf-borne diseases are also exacerbated with overhead watering.

There are numerous insect and microbial diseases that can affect tomatoes. Cornell University has published a very good collection of fact sheets on how to identify, prevent, and treat these diseases:

Get the guide here!

 One of the most serious diseases in many parts of Utah is Curly Top Virus. This viral disease is transmitted by the Beet Leafhopper. There is no effective treatment or spray that can be applied. Feeding by an infected leafhopper for just one minute can result in plant death within a week or two.

Understanding the life cycle of this vector reveals the only effective preventative treatment: use of an insect barrier such as spun polyester row cover fabric. This fabric needs to be applied from about mid-May to mid-July when the leafhoppers are flying.

Many state extension agents will recommend disease-resistant tomato varieties. These are mostly hybrids that are of limited interest for tomato aficionados. In reality, here in Utah at least, the majority of heirloom varieties are just as resistant to diseases as are the hybrids, but theses government institutions usually have very limited experience with heirloom varieties.

Do you have any other tips for beginner gardeners?

Gardening is great exercise and can have many other rewards. But it often ends up being a battle against Nature and ever-looming chaos. The bane of my existence is weeds. So here are a couple of quick tips for saving time, labor, and problems with your plants.

1. Incorporate a LOT of organic matter (compost, manure, etc.) each fall or early spring. I’m talking 6-8” of leaf mold, for example, not 1-2” – that’s just not enough.
2. Once a garden plot is well established with plenty of organic matter, use low-till or no-till. Earthworms love to eat organic matter, they are very effective tillers, and earthworm castings are just about the most perfect fertilizer!. Several inches of compost can be applied to the surface every spring and moved aside temporarily to plant seeds or transplant seedlings.
3. Install a drip irrigation system on a timer. Keep it well maintained and adjusted depending upon the weather. It’s a moderately expensive startup cost, but should result in healthier, more productive plants and can last for many years.
4. Apply a good layer of organic mulch for moisture retention and weed control. In “fluffy”, moist soil, weeds are very easy to pull up. Weed barrier fabric can also be effective; but you’re better off investing in high-quality fabric that will last for many years, rather than using cheap black plastic mulch that fragments and has to be replaced every year.
5. Use shade cloth from mid-June to late-August. At higher elevations, ultraviolet-B radiation is 20-30% higher than at sea level and can really damage pepper and tomato fruits as well as making it rough on plants.
6. If you’re really serious, install a high tunnel. For under $800 and one day of construction, you can easily extend your growing season by up to two months and have far more control with temperature regulation, pest exclusion, moisture levels, etc. Utah State University has great resources for this. In many Northern European countries, most vegetables are grown under plastic. The USA is far behind in this regard, choosing instead to grow much of our vegetables in California, Florida, and Mexico and have it shipped to the rest of the country.

Learn More

Get Dale’s business card by clicking here. Click the “Sample packet, free when you include promotion code”. In “Note to seller” or by email to dale@gianttomatoseeds.com, use the promotion code, Misfit Gardener.

Visit Dale’s blog here.

Check out Delectation of Tomatoes on YouTube.

Shop 2500+ heirloom and open-pollinated seeds at Delectation of Tomatoes.

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