Leaves that touch the soil often look like that one... if they are higher up and never been in contact with the soil, it could be disease from splashback. A mulch around the plant will help.

As for the "root fingers", if they were the shallow planted ones, you can mound up soil and they will grow roots. If you have any cheap pots, you can even cut the bottom out, slit the side to put the pot around the plant, tape it back together and fill with a good soil/compost mix. You can cover over the new suckers and they will either die off or sprout through and form another vine, or you can remove and replant, though it may not produce much in MI unless they are a good size to start with... but it's not like you need more plants, do you? lol.

The stem with the spots could be a disease, please see the Problem Solver link in the Growing Tomatoes subforum, Tomato Pests & Diseases forum. A link is below to many sites. Also while you're visiting that thread, click on the "Return to Tomato Pests & Diseases Form link to see similar threads.

Hope this helps.

Mark

Here is a link that might be useful: HELP!!! Tomato Problem Solver 2 thread in the Tomato Pests & Diseases subforum

P.S. The ones in the ground are a little crowded but I've grown maters as close as a foot apart if you prune them enough and train them up a string or stake. I'd be more concerned with the ones in containers needing more room, unless you just have them that close together just to water them. You didn't state what varieties you have or if determinate (bush) or indeterminate (tall vining types.) This will affect what type of spacing & pruning is needed.

Mark

I have mostly indeterminate, only 4 Romas that are in the ground (caged). I have them close together now. I'm trying to figure out the best stake/cage system and then I'll move them to my larger deck-- spread farther apart.
tomatoes I have...
Champion
Yellow Pear (11-yikes!)
Super Sweet (4)
Red Grape
Big Boy
Big Beef
Better Boy
Early Girl- just one
Bonnie's Best
Roma
Rutgers
Super Fantastic
Glamour
Celebrity
Golden Jubilee
Pink Brandywine
Supersonic

I guess I planted late... June 2-9?

Thanks Mark!

Wow, where should I start?

#1. Is that organic soil in your pots? Looks like it but that needs to be potted soil NOT garden soil. make sure.

#2. Those pots are waaay to small for Tomatoes, sorry to say that but they'll only get worse as time goes on.

#3. What is in your soil? Looks very rocky and hard. Maybe the maters in ground don't have suffcient nutrients or the roots are running into boulders, rocks, and unpenetrated soil. I suggest building that whole area up with fresh top soil and Lobster Compost for next year.

#4. Definetly didn't plant deep enough. If you got the time, I suggest replanting. Tomato roots are strong enough to survive it but please re-read #3 if you're doing that.

#5. Why do you have black garbage bags in the pot?? Holy cow, that's making them even warmer. Unless you're in temps not getting above 65, that's a bad idea.

#6. I'm not an expert on diseases but I'm sure if you follow 1-5, you might not have any.

Thanks for the advice. I bought the plants from a small nursery and the lady told me those pots would be big enough as long as I watered them well. The soil is a mixture of potting soil, top soil, a little lime.
On the garbage bags... I figured I'd get a comment or two on that. They're planted in a bushel basket with drainage holes through the bag and basket. It's funny, but they're the best looking plants I have- except for the root fingers on the stem. I planted jalepenos last year like that and they turned out fine.
I mulched the ground garden yesterday with red pine mulch and it looks much better. I'm not sure where to get ahold of lobster compost. Would that be common in Michigan? Or is that an Atlantic coast thing? Thanks again.

I've had tomatoes in containers that were much bigger than yours (can't remember what size) and I got smallish plants and few fruits. I vowed that if I were to grow tomatoes in containers again I'd use bigger containers. Instead I got a yard. :D I also second the soil amendment advise, but you can use any good compost.

organic_carissa, Ok

#1. "Top Soil" - there's one problem. Not good for pots!

#2. "garbage Bags best Looking Plants" - Get rid of them. Period. No need.

#3. "Lobster Compost" - See link below, they have retailers in Michigan too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lobster Compost

I think you're better off saving your money and getting any old compost in bulk, it's much cheaper.

* Some people have success growing in small pots, and some don't. If you spend a couple of hours searching and reading you will find many personal accounts of both. (so dont bother, I did it for you 2 years ago!) Do what you can do this year, and see how it works for you. You will have to water more, and will get fewer tomatoes, but with 69 plants I think youÂll have enough? If you have time and resources, try a couple of plants in 5-gallon buckets and see if you like the difference.

Some topsoil in a pot is fine, it depends on the "lightness" and drainage of the rest of the mix. If thereÂs a lot of vermiculite or wood chunks, the drainage should be good. Pots usually dry out very fast, and if yours seem to stay soggy an inch or so under the surface, (even if youÂve held off on watering) thatÂs bad for your roots. If you canÂt repot with vermiculite mixed in (and I would be very disinclined to do so), adding more drainage holes (theyÂll need to be about ¼ inch) will help with drainage. Is this the same soil mix you used last year? If your pepper plants were ok then, I wouldnÂt worry too much.

Since all your containers are black, and the soil is black, I don't think there's any difference in "blackness" between the bushels w/black bags and the pots. There is more soil, so maybe thatÂs why you noticed a difference last year. It could be drying out slower than in the smaller pots (and apparently being a good thing, as opposed to perpetually soggy soil). With all your plants, a little experimentation seems fine. Take notes!

* Tomatoes want to grow. They want to make tomatoes. Even with small pots and whatever is imperfect about your soil, as long as you water some, fertilize some, and they're growing in some sun, you will get tomatoes!

Even if those bad looking leaves are disease that will spread all over your plants, your plants are going to make a few tomatoes for you. Of course, we want gorgeous huge plants and early perfect tomatoes and we want to be the people who grew an 8' plant with 453 tomatoes on it, weighing 1,005.23 pounds. Most of us wonÂt get thatÂI wonÂt! With 4 hours of sunlight, you wonÂt see many tomatoes on those plants. You should see some, though. The 8-hour plants should be a lot better.

* To try to get those 453 tomatoes: Is your soil clay? (itÂs very grey, thatÂs why I'm guessing clay) How much did you loosen it, and how loose is it still? Those plants that were planted shallowly are going to be okÂthey are making more roots. If you have unlimited time, then dig up the shallow plants and put them in more deeply. But the plant can fix the root thing on its own. (I really donÂt think you should be digging up your garden at this date) If you can, you should avoid compacting your soil any more, as you are walking right where the roots want to grow. Stepping stones will distribute your weight, and youÂll have fewer areas compacted. I donÂt think you should try to loosen anything at this point, as roots are probably growing there now.

For next year, add everything to your soil that you can. This autumn, grow a cover crop or pile on fresh manure (or get aged manure in the spring). Make a lot of compost, or buy it. This year, when you planted, did you add manure, and a dry fertilizer, like Espoma? If not, feed all the plants with fish emulsion periodically. (If you did, you can still do some emulsion, or you should add more Espoma periodically) If you have sandy soil, maybe do the emulsion every 2 weeksÂit just washes away. With clay soil, do it less often, but if you havenÂt done it lately, do it at fruit set, which will be soon, right?

You really should get mulch down soon. Disease can be transmitted to the plant by the splashing up of dirt. (and that is probably why you have spotty yellow leaves) You can spray preventatively with Serenade or with compost tea, and Serenade is supposed to be able to cure disease after itÂs established, but I havenÂt tested it. You can use grass clippings as mulch, but only if you know there was no broadleaf weedkiller applied to it.

Another way to try a lot of different varieties is to double or triple plant: each hole gets 2 or 3 varieties. No plant grows as big or full as it could, but you get to try more types of tomatoes.

I hope some of this rambling helps. Whatever you have the time, energy, money and inclination to do, do it, but with what you have right now, youÂre going to get tomatoes. Just keep fertilizing. (But not too much! :) )

IT is also a good practice to cut off branches about 10 inches from the soil, as this is where most deseses come from on tomatos. Hang in there you will do fine.bill w.

stage_rat-- Thank you, I truly appreciate the advice. The 'garden' area was covered with spagnum peat, manure, and I added garden lime. It is harder, or clay-like, towards the end where the photo was taken. I've since mulched the entire area.
And, I went around to all the Meijer bakeries in my area gathering 5 gallon buckets. I will conduct the experiment you mentioned. I did read about cover crops and plan to plant snow peas this fall, because I hope to use the same area next year for the tomatoes.
Yes, I should definitely have plenty of tomatoes-- even if each plant produces just a few. I just have a tendency to be a little aggressive when I set my mind to something. This will certainly be a great learning experience. Thanks again for the kind reassurance and advice.

We love growing tomatoes. We purchasered a garden book called "Rodale's Garden Amswers". This book helps with solutions with vegetables, fruits, and herbs. It talks about soil testing, working with the soil, composting, buying plants and seeds, diseases, different kinds of pest and much more. This book is a must for anyone who wants to grow gardens.