The only problem I've had thus far is when I added hydrated lime to the gutter, in between the plants as I didn't want the first plant to 'get all of it'. The mix was 2 cups hydrated lime mixed up in a three gallon watering can.
YIPERS! that is more than I should have used, why do I listen to the intertubes instead of going to the source? Most 'authorities' say about 1 cup for a whole 'Earth Box'.
By the end of the day the poor thing had pretty much collapsed. I was bereft!
I have heard it said that you should only add hydrated lime AFTER you notice blossom end rot, but I use a lot of peat moss in my mix, to keep the media fluffy, and the stuff is pretty far onto the pH scale (4.5 or 5).
So I pretreated with hydrated lime - I knew that the pH was off, and probably acidic and I was right. I tested some of the soil near the top of the pot, and even adding 1 cup of garden lime to the original media mix didn't balance it. But, either that plant was way sensitive to hydrated lime, or I added too much. I expect the latter. The other plants, as I have said, are fine, and that lovely first plant is also back in the game and putting out blossoms to beat the band.
Anyway, I searched the inter-tubes and found someone else who posted to Dave's Garden forum, who had this happen. I won't say that she was berated for saying it, but she was 'informed' that it "could not be the hydrated lime". It must be some fungal, bacterial or other blight. But she stuck to her guns, covered her plant during the hot part of the day and it recovered after a few days.
I followed her method and sure enough, the plant recovered after 5 days being partly shaded. Each day I allowed it to sit in the sun a little longer. By the 5th day all was well and it is still kicking names and taking butt!
I am going to need to build a temporary greenhouse over this to avoid frost damage. We do get frost here in Hill Country, Texas. I'd like to get a full harvest of tomatoes around Christmas. Wouldn't a nice basket of fresh home-grown tomatoes be a nice gift?
