Q: Every year I battle blossom end rot on my tomatoes. What can you recommend?
A: I used to recommend adding a tablespoon of garden lime to the planting hole to provide the calcium that prevents blossom end rot. However, I’ve realized that some gardeners add more than a tablespoonful each year. The result is that they have problems with the resulting alkaline soil, which can cause tomato plant decline. Instead, I now recommend adding a tablespoon of gypsum to the soil before planting. Gypsum adds calcium but does not raise soil pH.
