BTW..I forgot to say that there is no evidence of aphids, mites, or any of the other creatures..only the black spots..and the black spots are not actually on the back of the leaf..but you can see them through the leaf

I'm curious. What is your "right blend of soil?"

Beyond that, may well be a water shortage, even though temporary, because all the spots/damage is between the veins.

malorn, did you check for leaf miners? Because that is what I think you have. Pluck a leaf and hold it up to a strong light source and you might see the insect. You can use a scalpel or 'X-Acto' knife and cut through the thin top layer of the leaf and you can then remove the insect for positive ID. It should not affect the quantity or quality of tomatoes and you can remove the leaves if they hurt your eyes.

key words: (ya, I'm a bit of a perfectionist)

----->>>>> relax ... you are out in nature .... you are going to be beating this thing back with a large stick in a few weeks... i ignore mine.. completely .. and they get 8 to 10 to 12 feet long... 6 feet up the cage and often 6 feet back down the cage ...

once outdoors ... you arent in a sterile environment.. and stuff happens... your plants will not remain pristine as YOU might expect ...

these things are SO EASY to grow.. that i have a couple hundred extra coming up from seed in my zone 5 ... i know they technically aren't true to type...

anyway... what if any impact on the overall health of the plant have you noticed.. other than a few discolored leaves??? is it all of them.. or just a few at the bottom??

good luck
ken

Thanks everyone..

jean..for good soil, I researched what soil they did best in and made sure it had the right mixture for ph, compost..etc..when posting here, I noticed that sometimes a soil sample should be taken and I wanted to avoid that answer..(even though I realize that it is a good idea)

Yes, ken...I'm a bit crazy about them at this point, it is only the bottom leaves and as I look at my neighbor, who just threw his into the ground..I realized I was not having fun and did "let go and relax" about them...thanks

now I'll go obsess about my peppers!

Thanks again all!

not to add to your obsession.. but did you know that you could have pulled off all he leaves except the top most and planted the tomatoes completely covering the stem up to a foot down ... because on tomatoes.. they will root along the entire stem ....

i have done it with gangly stock before... go figure..

i pity your peppers... lol ...

i have one gardening theorem which i repeat often: we kill more things with too much love rather than with benign neglect ... except for a few bugs.. veggies are rather bullet proof ... which is why they make good production plants ... so don't drive yourself crazy with it all ... you already know more 'facts' about how to do it than i do ... and i just stick them in the ground...

good luck

and have fun ... ken

malorn said:
"for good soil, I researched what soil they did best in and made sure it had the right mixture for pH, compost"

Okay. But what did you mix and/or do and/or combine, and in what amounts, to get that "soil?"

As to what ken said: "we kill more things with too much love rather than with benign neglect"

So true, so true!

The majority of plant problems -- the range is 75% to 95%, depending upon who is talking -- are abiotic. In other words, not disease or insects or mites. But what the environment or the gardener dishes out, or not.