Cat-facing and Blossom End Rot Tomatoes

Cat-facing

Both of these photographs are examples of Physiological conditions especially affecting large tomatoes and Brandywine is one of them.

The first photo is a condition called Cat-facing which could be caused by cool day and night temperatures around 15-18°C 60-65 °F which I believe is the cause. This tomato was one of the first to flower during a one week period of very cold weather in June. High nitrogen in the soil and over pruning could be another cause, but I have ruled them out in this case. 

With the cat face removed, the tomato was delicious! Do you see the cat face? Perhaps one of those long-haired flat faced Himalayan cats?  😄

Blossom end rot (BER)

The second photo was taken by Justin, a dedicated tomato grower, who experienced Blossom end rot (BER) on his first Brandywine tomatoes. This Physiological disorder is caused by lack of calcium within the plant. This can happen when the pH is outside the ideal range of (pH 6.2-6.5). The addition of lime will raise the pH and add calcium, however, if you believe your soil is within the pH range, then the cause may be lack of water when the plant is growing quickly. We are experiencing prolonged hot weather 29-34°C  84-93 °F therefore moisture variations or drought stress can reduce calcium uptake. One recommendation to prevent this disorder is to add calcium based agricultural gypsum and ground egg shells when planting, but nothing is guaranteed. Also, adding Epsom Salts at the planting and watering stages will help with the intake of nutrients to the plant. The good news is, BER is usually limited to the first clusters of flowers and dissipates with the following flower sets. Who would have thought, tomatoes and science together!  Garden on my friend.