It sounds like it could be tomato rust, but you didn't get any kind of definitive answer because there's not enough information to do any more than make a guess. Do a search - maybe even go to Google Pics to see if that's it. If not, come back with more info. You usually find rust if/when the plants are over-watered, foliage is watered, they are in less than full sun, or after periods of cool weather - especially nights. Al

Dawn, I understand about your Mom. My Dad died when I was 16, so of course, that was tough. My husbands parents both died in their early 60's about 26 months apart, with the death of my husband's grandfather in between. My mother is still living and will turn 97 this July. After my DH retired from the Air Force, we moved back to that area so that we would be there to help out a bit, since my sister has always had to help my mother a lot. Well, we lived there almost 12 years and so did she. We were still young enough to work a few more years and needed to move to do that. Al took a job with the Boy Scouts and covered the three most NE counties in Oklahoma. After a couple of years, he was tired of never being home. I was working at the courthouse so he took a job there. I have not worked for several years but he continued to work until the end of February this year. I stay home but he still has a finger in lots of pies. Oklahoma has a program called "Drug Court" which gives people one last chance when they would otherwise would be going to the pen. He serves on that committee. When he leaves there today, he said he was going to the senior citizens center to help them with a vehicle purchase. He is on that committee also. He heads the male youth program at church. Retirement does not mean relaxing to him, just more time to do what he wants. Yes, when I first discovered the Oklahoma forum, you were covering plants. You don't need that extra stress this year so it is probably best to wait awhile to plant. Oh yes, the tomato challenge! I remember a lot of that down there, but I don't know too many people that garden up here. I have some small gardens around me but they are not too serious about them. One did plant a few toms and squash but that area now has a big building on it. The people behind me are gardeners but are week-enders so they have toms, onions, lettuce, and cucumbers most years. We normally get enough rain that it takes care of itself all summer. They pick it on weekends. A young couple moved in next to them a few years ago, but he is so rude that I can't stand to talk to him. I have tried a few times, but gave it up as a lost cause. Too bad, because he has a large pile of mulched timber in his yard and I know he can never use it all. However, a few years ago at a wedding I was chatting was our former senator and he "braggingly" told me that he tries to get his first tomato by the 4th of July. The chase was on. Every year I tell his wife to go home and tell Rick we are having our first tomato. Love to beat him. I had to laugh about the MANY tomato varities. Earlier this spring, my husband said that he thought by now I would have narrowed my choices and just planted two or three kinds. I hated to let him see me plant anymore seeds. LOL Then a couple of days ago, I said that I had all of these new seeds to try but already had so many planted. He said, "Well I would plant them anyway." He knows I will never find a place to plant all of them and I think he enjoys dropping off the remainder to the senior citizens. One year I had so many weird ones, like stuffers and such. Those people grew them in their flower beds and last year wanted to know if I had more of those. I know this is weird, because this is a paste tomato, but my favorite tasting tomato is Opalka. Everyone talks about planting them to use them for paste, but I am wondering just how many take that weird looking tomato to their table. Most of the winter I buy Roma in the store, but occasionally spring for a $3 box of small grapes. I don't like Roma and have no desire to grow them, but my husband thinks we should always plant them. I told him I would plant 2 in the garden and if he wanted anything else he would have to grow them in pots. He agreed. Can you believe it, with all of those other great choices. Actually Opalka is really his favorite also. This is the only location where I have grown it so I don't know what it is like elsewhere. I plan to take better care of my garden this year, so by the end of the year I may be sorry I planted so many. During our Air Force years, I didn't always have a garden so when I did I tried to plant everything. I have narrowed that down a lot and I don't try to do that. Some things I just must have tho. In the spring I need lettuce, broccoli, and sugar snap peas, and I usually plant a few onions and potatoes. The summer garden needs cucumbers, squash, okra, a few green beans and lots and lots of tomatoes and peppers. I always think I will plant a fall garden, but I am usually worn out by then. Besides you have to start when it's hot for some of those things. Guess I am too old and too lazy for that. I do enjoy growing things tho. I have a two new beans to try this year. One is Red Noodle yard long which I understand is really from the pea family instead of bean family, but I have never grown it. The other is called Insuk Wang Kong that a man sent me from Washington. It came from his Korean wife's family and didn't have a name. She just called it a king bean because of the size. Zeedman and "our Oklahoma macmex" named it Insuk Wang Kong. Insuk is her name and the other part is king bean, I think. Anyway, I saw a picture of the bean growing and I just had to get some to try. It is a climber and has red blossoms. I can't wait to try it. It produces the biggest shelled beans I have ever seen.

Calif I would never suggest you go up to people and ask for business or hand them a flyer unsolicitated - not ethical but if you find an opportunity where they bring it up by all means take it I have seen people milling at both of those sales and when they hear someone say "oh I was looking for "such and such" and the tell them they don't have it then another person started talking with them and said they know where they can get it and gave them a folded up flyer Also a few times I have heard people say "I wouldn't buy those tiny leggy plants" and a person said me too - that's why I grow my own and after awhile told them they might have some extra plants they could sell them if they were interested - of course they said yes and she gave them a list I bought some that way before after seeing the persons plants later that day I even think one guy had plants out in the parking lot in his truck but I think that is not cool When I went to pick up plants once were 4 other people buying from her that had been at the Arboretum earlier and they were still complaining - 1 guy bought 3 doz plants right when I was there - the person selling said she and her husband have had people show from both places before and have close to 100 people from a 2 year period that now order from them at the first of the season - I wish I had kept their # or directions as this last year I was moving and had to buy plants - what a year for wimpy tiny plants So don't just go around soliciting from their customers - wait until or if you hear a cue - talk with the customers about what they have grown - what they like - offer suggestions while you are walking around - you'll be surprised where that leads you - and then maybe next year you have some customers at the start of the season Dennis

Do coffee grounds repel pests?- I do not know, the caffeine and smell may repel something. A camel non-filter cigarette has been used to de-worm goats because the nicotine does kill intestinal parasites, but I have not heard anything about caffeine or coffee. Earth worms do love grinds mixed into the soil, but I do not see them in any of my piles of straight grinds. If the flavor of the ammendment carried thru to the taste of the fruit, my tomatoes would taste like the underside of a horses tail!!