Frequently Asked Questions
Question
Q
Why do my tomatoes have brown spots on the bottom?
Answer(s)
A
This brown/black spot is called BER (blossom end rot), caused by a calcium deficiency within the fruit of the plant. Utah soils have plenty of calcium, but for some reason calcium was not translocated during early fruit set. Failure to translocate calcium occurs during times of stress: transplanting, cool cloudy weather, root rot, or drought. Soil enriched with high quality organic matter reduces BER because it retains moisture while also providing aeration to roots. Mulch helps prevent BER by reducing swings in soil moisture, plus it sustains soil organic matter for good aeration.
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- Do you have tips for growing cauliflower and celery?
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- Our neighborhood has a group that meets once a month and learns about a topic of interest. In March we are planning on learning about gardening. My question is do you have volunteers who would be willing to come out and teach us about the basics of gardening(soil prep., planting times, pest control, etc.)?
- I want to put pre emergent down on my garden to control weeds and the tomato seeds from last year. The snow has melted. Is now the time and what should I use?
- I planted a garden last year and some animal kept eating it and we didn't yield anything from it. Aside from putting a fence around the garden is there anything else I could do?
- Earlier this season we sprayed with Dursban, can we still eat the fruit?
Note: These questions are a portion of the questions available at the master page.
