How to treat brown marks on tomatoes?

[ibs8]

 

 

Hi team, 

It’s my first time growing tomatoes this year. I have planted Apollo tomatoes and they have started to fruit. I’ve noticed these brown marks on this set of tomatoes. the other set of tomatoes small do not have these marks. Any advice? Watering every 1-2 days depending on weather, liquid fertiliser every 1-2weeks and tomatoes dust every 1-2weeks. Any advice is welcomed! 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @ibs8. It's fantastic to have you join us and many thanks for your question on tomatoe care.

Great job getting your first tomato crop started. Apollo tomatoes are a lovely variety to grow. The brown marks on your green fruit look like they could be either blossom end rot or sunscald, both fairly common issues in young tomatoes. Blossom end rot usually appears as brown, leathery patches at the bottom of the fruit and is caused by a calcium imbalance, often made worse by irregular watering. Try to keep the soil evenly moist rather than letting it dry out entirely between waterings.

Sunscald, on the other hand, looks like pale brown or papery patches on the sides of fruit exposed to strong sunlight. It’s not harmful but can affect appearance. Keeping the foliage healthy will help shade the fruit and reduce the risk. Since your tomatoes are still small and green, there’s a good chance they’ll recover and continue to grow well. Just stay consistent with watering, avoid over-fertilising, and monitor new fruit for any further signs of damage.

Let me tag @Noelle and @mich1972.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Noelle]

Hi @ibs8 

The marks on your tomatoes don't look too troubling at this stage and I wouldn't be too worried about them. The excellent advice given by @MitchellMc  about  watering and feeding is the way to go! You should have lovely homegrown tomatoes on the table well before Christmas!

[ibs8]

Thanks @MitchellMc & @Noelle  ! 

I’ll leave them for now and see how they go, I didn’t consider blossom end rot given it’s on the sides of the tomatoes ( see addition pics). I’m currently using Yates thrive veggie and herb liquid fertiliser which has calcium however I’m unsure whether it has enough calcium 🤔  ? 

Also would fruit netting bags be suitable to protect the tomatoes from pests ? 

Thank you so much 

 

 

[EricL]

Hello @ibs8 

I propose looking at the Scotts Osmocote Plus Organics 3.5kg Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Plant Food & Soil Improver and the Scotts Osmocote 2.5L Pour+Feed for Tomato & Herb which are specifically designed for tomato plants. The fruit netting bags should be sufficient to protect the fruits on your plant.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric