I'm an absolute beginner so bear with me.
I've started growing tomatoes but I'm seeing multiple problems:
- Looks like mushrooms are sprouting under the plant.
- The bottom of the fruit is black.
- The leaves at the bottom of the plant are curling.
Here is an array showing the (apparent) mushrooms, the black spots on the bottom of the tomatoes, the curling leaves, and then the overall planter.
Based on looking around online I see that the mushrooms are likely caused by over-watering or too much moisture in the soil, and no opportunity for sunlight to hit the soil. But then item 2 (bottom of fruit is black) is most likely blossom end rot -- see the comments at the end of this post -- and the most likely cause of that is under-watering of the plant. Lastly, my research tells me that the curling leaves are a sign of distress, but there could be multiple causes of that distress.
I had been giving the plant a thorough watering 1x daily (I had no idea of the "correct" watering schedule, this was just a guess). I'm located in Southern California so the days have been very hot and dry lately. I've been giving plant food once every 2 weeks per the directions on the box. Am I over-watering? Under-watering? Or do I perhaps have both problems due to the small size of my planter? Any advice on the underlying problem, and best way to fix it, would be appreciated.