Bottom Rot for Dummies

Alright, so let's talk about the term "bottom rot." It's actually a gardening term, and it happens when the bottoms of certain fruits, like tomatoes or strawberries, start to decay or rot. When the bottom of the fruit turns black and mushy, it's not good. It's kind of like when you have a spot on a piece of fruit that looks okay from the outside, but then when you flip it over, you see that it's all mushy and yucky. So, bottom rot is when that happens to fruits like tomatoes or strawberries.

It's not great for the plant or the fruit, because it can mean that there's something not quite right with the soil or the way the plant is being taken care of. Sometimes it can happen because the plant isn't getting enough calcium, which is a nutrient that plants need to stay healthy. It's almost like the plant is getting a tummy ache, and then that makes the fruit sick too.

Imagine if you were a plant, and you were feeling a bit under the weather because you didn't have enough of the right food to eat. You might not be able to grow as big and strong as you should, and you might end up with a tummy ache. That's kind of like what happens with bottom rot. The fruit isn't able to grow properly and ends up getting sick because something isn't quite right.

So, bottom rot is like a tummy ache for fruits, and it's not something we want to see in our garden. It's important to take care of our plants and make sure they have everything they need to stay healthy and grow big, tasty fruits. And if we see bottom rot happening, we can try to figure out what might be causing it and help the plant get better.