Backup replacements might not be a bad idea. But they will grow out of it. I had 3 plants that were damaged with 2,4-D this spring. One plant did not make it and the others didnt look like they would. They are loading up with fruit right now but are way behind my other plants.
They both really bushed out and took off once they recovered.

kterlep

In your shoes, I guess I'd get a couple of replacements, too. Do you have a place where you can plant them as well as the damaged ones? Are any of them (including possible replacements, determinates) eligible for container growing? It would be nice to have too many tomatoes rather than not enough. If you planted a determinate in a large container, you could count on that one to produce pretty much all at the same time. And an indeterminate cherry tomato will produce oddles until it dies if you want to go that route. All isn't lost.

I always have "too many tomatoes" - so I think I'll go over to the place across the street that sells seedlings (for $1.50 a 6 pack for old-fashioned varieties) and pick up a few varieties I don't have...that way, I am getting some varieties I don't have plus I'm covering my losses. I also have some last-minute seedlings of varieties I hadn't planned to plant that are in the 2nd leaf stage that did not get hit, so I have those as well. I have 2 beds of 24, and then a 2nd string bed of 24...and then a half dozen cherry tomatoes right up by the house. :)

yeah I have room. :)

Is there any difference between the shrinky-dink sort of damage and the curly-top sort of damage? I have, for example, the two different kinds of damage on black krim seedlings...is there one kind of damage which they are more likely to pull out of?

kterlep

I think the test is the top-growth, which you should see pretty soon. If it looks normal, you're probably okay even if the lower leaves look hinky. If it's twisted or curled or otherwise damaged-looking, it's probably not going to give you the tomatoes you want. This test works for nearly all distressing conditions that we aren't sure will destroy the plants or not.

I guess I'll plant them out, go away for 10 days (I'm leaving for a trip, my husband will be home, he's not the gardener but can turn the hose on), and decide what to do when I come home...

Thanks guys.

It looks like the curly-top has relaxed and the shrinky-dink leaves have grown into larger (but still slightly distorted) leaves...maybe that's the process...

I'll try to take a picture before I leave..

Thanks,
Kate

Kate, I see you're in a zone 5 area so curly top isn't an issue for you. I assume you have all your plants out hardening off and without a picture it's hard to tell what the problem might be.

Could it be 2,4-D damage? Possibly, but that's easy to confuse with CMV infection and at this time of the year I have a hard time seeing how ALL your plants could be CMV infected or indeed how ALL of your plants could be affected identically with 2, 4-D.

So at this point I'm leaning towards an environmental issue until you're able to show me some pictures that say something else. ( smile)

I'm also in a zone 5 with a May 15th average last frost but never plant out until around the first of June, weather permitting, b'c of the many years when there have been late frosts and I always had more plants than I could protect from frosts.

Carolyn

Thanks- I'm going away for 10 days, my daughter and husband will be home and all they can do is water (so the plants won't be getting "too much love"). They were planted yesterday (our 90% last frost avg date and then we had a frost advisory, lol). forecasts for my trip are daily high of 70-74, low of 49-52 with some rain, which is decent... probably the best thing for the plants that I will be gone, since I tend to be hands-off but I've never also needed to do anything to them...outside of a little speck I've never had a problem.

I guess when I get home they will either be pulling out of it or worse.

Is there something other than 2-4,D that could be causing this? I suppose I could ask my husband to take one of the extras down to the extension office while I'm gone (poor hubby always gets sent on the weirdest gardening errands)...tomato autopsy? lol....

Sorry I didn't post a picture, my camera is full and I don't have a way to download the pictures off the card (grumble)...

Is there something other than 2-4,D that could be causing this?

Possibly. You'd be surprised by what an excessive amount of magnesium will do to tomato plants. Have you added epsom salt or any kind of fertilizer that has alot of magnesium in it?

EG