Not all varieties are equally susceptible to BER so I can understand why it's just your Hillbilly fruits that have BER.

But adding lime to the soil is not going to help prevent BER unless the soil in that raised bed had NO Ca++ or the soil was so acidic that it bound the Ca++ in the soil, and both of those conditions are quite rare.

The problem with BER is not one of root uptake, rather, it's the distribution of Ca++ in the tissues of the plant that's the problem.

As that plant contiues to mature the stresses that can induce BER such as uneven delivery of water, too much nitrogen, growing in too rich soils, etc., will hopefully disappear since more mature plants tend to be able to deal with those stresses better.

Carolyn

Like you I only have one variety with any BER this year - Homestead. Hardly the one I would have expected it on out of my many varieties. I also have Amish Pastes and San Marzanos growing too and no BER on them.

*shrugs* Sometimes it just happens but it always goes away and trying to "fix" it usually only makes it worse.

Dave

Thanks for the advice. SO too-rich soil can cause BER? Should I take it easy on the compost next year? They've been growing very fast, already almost 6 feet high and it's not even july 1.

Usually BER works its way out. The earliest tomatoes might have it, and then the later ones are fine.

I have grown Hillbilly tomatos for 4 years now...
The scarring / rot is caused by the fruit growing around the bloom and causing a scar. I think it is the nature of this tomato to have something _like_ BER. The blooms of this plant are very firm and woody. I started pulling them off after they turn brown.

Try a test and pluck a couple blooms.

I've only had BER on one variety - Stupice. In my case, it was probably caused by over-watering and under-fertilizing. Plus, that plant exploded with tomatoes, so it was probably pretty stressed. It did go away after I lost about 8-10 tomatoes.

Thanks for the advice. SO too-rich soil can cause BER?

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Yes, or too much fertilizer. And that's b'c it makes the plants grow too fast which is a stress to the plants and any stresses to the plants as I mentioned above can make the fruits more susceptible to BER.

But again, not all varieties are equally susceptible to BER. No, I don't have a list. LOL

Carolyn