16/10/2024
My close friend, who lives in another part of the continent, shared with me some pictures of her very first crop of tomatoes grown from seeds given to her by my lovely mother-in-law when she visited Zambia recently. She was so thrilled with the size of her tomatoes, and I sensed how proud she was of her fruitful harvest. However, she expressed concern about blotches of rot on the tomatoes. Her research suggested it was most likely due to a lack of calcium in the soil and too much water. Now, she lives in an area where it rains almost all year round, so that is going to be a problem she needs to address asap. One solution she settled on for her next crop is to plant under a rain cover, where she can manage moisture more effectively.
I was just thinking how ironic it is that tomatoes need water to grow and thrive, but too much of it will rot them. It occurred to me that everything requires the right environment to grow and thrive, with ideal levels and conditions for each component in that environment. No matter how much water you give tomatoes, if it is beyond what they need, it becomes the wrong "ingredient" for their growth. It won’t help them; instead, it will cause them to decay. But that doesn’t make water bad, nor does it make the tomato plant stubborn or "unadaptable". It’s just that in excess, it isn’t what this particular plant variety needs to thrive. But place another crop in the same environment that isn’t working for the tomatoes—let’s say maize…or even a tomato variety more suited to that environment—and it will thrive because a lot of water is exactly what it requires.
In the same way, if the plant is lacking particular nutrients—calcium, for example—feeding it other nutrients, without giving it what it truly needs, may not achieve the desired growth. It will benefit from those nutrients, of course, but the missing ingredient, being what it is most in need of, is the key to creating a thriving environment.
In many ways, we place ourselves in—or stay too long—in environments that are not ideal for our growth. Eventually, we might begin to entertain limiting beliefs about our abilities and the world around us—much like a fish trying to judge itself by its failure to climb trees. The energy it needs to thrive in water is quickly wasted on learning a skill it can never master because it simply isn’t built for that. Being adaptable, flexible, and teachable are great qualities that can help one survive and get ahead in life, but I wonder how much more we could grow if we took the time to examine our circumstances and assess how our environment is affecting our growth.
In appreciating adaptation, what are the parts of the environment that have challenged us to grow in areas of ourselves that were previously stunted? How can we lean into those adaptations to propel us further? Rather than constantly changing ourselves to fit an unfavorable environment, what is within our power to change in that environment so as to make it more conducive to our growth? What is the "water" that is destroying our ability to produce healthy fruit because we are consuming more of it than is ideal for our growth? What is the nutrient we are lacking, that we need to introduce into our lives to become healthier and more fruitful? And just as importantly, what are the things in our environment that just have to go because they don’t serve our growth at all?
If you have managed to read this far, looking for the actual solution to the described problem with the tomatoes, you are in luck 😅. My own brief research showed that the tomato rot described appears to be a case of blossom end rot, which is often caused by calcium deficiency and water stress. It manifests as dark, mushy spots at the bottom of the tomato and can worsen if the plant experiences inconsistent moisture levels, such as fluctuating between heavy rains and dry periods. With frequent rainfall, the excess water can leach calcium from the soil, preventing the plant from absorbing enough of this crucial nutrient. Preventing it involves addressing both calcium availability and water management. Adding calcium to the soil through amendments like crushed eggshells, lime or ash can help, as can using a consistent watering schedule. My friend was also advised that adding molasses to the soil is another beneficial practice.
