I will add the soil in the tomato containers not doing so well never seems to dry out the same as the container holding 5-6 tomatoes. It is the same peat based (think pro mix) potting mix but I am wary of over watering even though they are in full sun. Strangely I maybe water them only 2 x a week where the other one is twice a day and is doing much better as pictures don't lie.

I guess I am wondering if I should move the newly planted beefmasters into a shadier location to avoid what occured to the wilted dried crisp leaves of the other ones that are in full sun that used to be as healthy and green as the Beefmasters are now?

They look cooked, starved and starting to blight to me.

You're running out of time on these but to learn for sure what happened, you can treat them differently in hopes of finding the trigger.

You can stick your finger down in the pot to check for overheating and moisture.

Give one a shadier spot, one some fertilizer, one more water, maybe put some thermal protection underneith etc.

Best of Luck!

Explain thermal protection? Yes the soil seems warm but it also seems warm on the ones grouped together in the pot that seems to be thriving. It does feel moist which is odd as I hardly ever water the bad looking ones compared to the 2x a day water for the tomato collage container that always seems dry. Weird. Will it be too much of a shock to move the crispys into my lanai that gets just indierct light but mostly shade for a week?

Just how hot are the roots getting? 55 degrees is optimal, 80 will stress 'em. Tomatoes seem to love hot air and cool earth. Wrap your pots in foil or paint them white or shade them. I think you'll see a difference.

~~~ Explain thermal protection? ~~~

A piece of rigid foam insulation might help if the gravel or concrete is getting too hot and cooking the roots.

By watering the one pot twice daily you are cooling it much more than the others. The plants own respiration may be helping with that as well.

You're stuck. Without the plant using the water, you're at high risk of over watering but without being able to water more frequently, you appear to be making tomato root stew. Not a happy situation to be in.

The one with the tomato looks especially sorry and I'm wondering whats holding it erect. Except as an experimental to figure how to prevent this in the future, I'm doubtful of that plants value.

Well I think you guys might have pegged the reason. The soil doesn't feel close to 55 degrees. It almost feels hotter than the ambient temperature which is in the 90's. And yes I never thought about it but during the heat of the day the polypebble/concrete decking around the pool gets way to hot to walk on with bare feet. I'm not sure what insulation foam looks like. Can I use those rigid styrofoam board pieces that are used in packing large items in boxes? WOuld styrofoam be flammable if it gets too hot? Would it burn from the temperature of the polypebble/ concrete?

Can I use layers of cardboard under each pot? I tested the temperature a few minutes ago 11pm and the soil was still warmer than the ambient temperature now which is hovering at 80. Some pots that were in full sun still read 90 degrees now at 11pm!!!

You don't need anything fancy to help keep the potting mix cooler. Could be as simple as something that will shade the pot. Perhaps a board on the sunny side.

I think the heat from the ground is causing it more than the direct sun on the pots though, as I stated that polypebble get extremely hot to walk on and the heat radiates up into the pots. Would cardboard prevent this heat transfer? I was looking online to find out if cardboard protects from heat transfer but only found it is a good insulator so it's not exactly answering what I am looking for.