Blossom-end Rot spoils more than Tomatoes

 

This summer’s perfect tomato eludes me. A couple have come close. But 

my winter dreams of ripe red globes nurtured, ripened and delicious are 

ruined by blossom-end rot (BER). 

I dug in special tomato fertilizer to the planting mix. I switched to high calcium

 fertilizer mid-season.  I relished the smell of the growing plants. I counted the

 pearl-sized fruit. And as the tell-tale spots began, I added dried milk to my 

watering can.  As a last resort, I crushed anti-acid tablets high in calcium and 

dug them in around the plants. I hope they like the fruit flavors. 

Oh, fellow gardeners, you know the keen disappointment when you are robbed 

of the once-a-year gastronomic prize. 

Now I’m in rescue mode, picking fruit that shows signs of the rot. I let them 

ripen just a bit more, and cut off the browned portion. At least I’m getting a 

delicious sample if not the bounty.

I find that red tomatoes with flat brown bottoms make for apt analogies.

Consider these.                   

disagreement:friendship::BER:tomato

You have a wonderful friend. Then some disagreement or disappointment 

occurs to spoil it. Rather than give up, I try to put the conflict aside, and 

rescue the good that's left.

disease:body::BER:tomato 

A disease in a healthy body is like a rot. Preserving life may require 

bombarding it with medication, or poisons like chemo, or cutting out the 

sickness. Thus the organism can be saved, if not restored.

cancelled vacation plans:summer::BER:tomato

We cancelled our summer plans one by one because we wanted to avoid 

possible corona-virus infection. We finally threw up our hands and declared 

we’d enjoy the pleasures at a later time. The hoped for trips are postponed, 

not eliminated. We rescued the dreams. 

disappointment:life::BER:tomato

On a grand scale, life has disappointments the feel like bruises and look 

like scars. But if I cut out the festering bitterness, some of the sweet 

satisfaction can be preserved. 

What analogy could you write? Add it as comment on Facebook if you can.