[graemek]

Hi,

We've been having real problems with our greenhouse tomatoes this year. Fruits form ok but serm to go bad whilst turning red with splits and black marks (see photos)

Any idea what's causing this and how to avoid in future much appreciated

Graeme

[Lardman]

Picture 1
Looks like bug damage has resulted in bacterial infection and it's gone bad.
Picture 2
Is blossom end rot. If I recall correctly it's a calcium deficiency usually caused by irregular watering. This years heat has caused lots of problems with it.

[mumofstig]

1 looks like slug damage to me.
2.It's Blossom end rot - very common this year because of the very hot weather, specially in greenhouses/polytunnels.
It's caused by not watering enough  or not regularly enough. It's no good giving a heavy watering and then leaving them til they dry out completely, before watering again, cos this is what can happen:(

[JayG]

Agree on both counts. I lost all my first Costolutu Fiorentino fruits to blossom end rot despite (or because of) using an automatic irrigation system in my greenhouse.

Other varieties are fine, as are the CF''s now having supplemented the irrigation with manual watering (if I grow them again I'll make sure they get extra drippers given that they're clearly more prone to BER than other varieties. The hot conditions this year won't have helped either.)