If you had frosts in April, you might not be in zone 8. Check a zone map to make sure. If you have tomato plants in pots yet, get em planted now, today. The legginess can be remidied by taking off the leaves from the bottom half or so of the plants and burying them up to the bottom leaf, the bottom will all turn to roots, if it is too tall, you might want to plant em at an angle, water them well and they should take.

No all the zone maps I've seen put my in Zone 8, Western Washington, US. It rarely gets below the mid 20's here even in the middle of winter, but this year winter just refused to give up the ghost and stuck around until late spring.

I've been potting up and planting deep to help with the leggy-ness. I guess I'm just a bit paranoid about the late start.

I'm new too; the map puts me in a zone 9, but I've read several sources that say that the USDA zone map is useless in the western U.S. Try a sunset zone map; much more useful.

Zones have nothing to do with frost dates and everything to do with average minimum lower temp. They also have nothing to do with max temps and number of days over 85. Zone maps are for cold hardy only. That's why it's helpful to know the area of the state and the zone. Experienced gardeners can find all the other info on your location if we have a general idea where you're located. Trust me we're not looking to show up at your doorstep but we like to give the best info we can. It also helps us with knowing about local insects and diseases since not all things are everywhere in the US. We can guessimate local flora and crops that could cause rise and falls in insect population and migration. Your local experts know general weather patterns and can help alot.

So please put this info in your profile and you can get more accurate help.

As I said in my last message I'm in Western Washington State, Specifically Federal Way, which is in south king county on the east side of puget sound.

I'm doing container gardening at my condo on a west facing deck that gets afternoon and evening sun. Average anual tempurature is 52.8F ranging from an average of 41F for the winter months to avearage of 65F in July and August. Current weeks weather report has low temps in the high 40s to low 50s, and highs ranging from the mid 60s to mid 70s

I am also growing Early Girl again this year. I put my Early Girls in the garden the very end of April, and covered them during the frosty nights for awhile. They are about 3 ft. high now and blooming profusely.....with a few golf ball size green maters on them too.
I got my other 24 varieties out around May 20 to end of May.
Most of them are showing at least some blooming now.
I raised most of my own plants in a cold frame....and ended up giving hundreds of plants away. I planted a total of 77 plants in my garden, and all are doing well finally now that the crazy weather changes have leveled out to near normal:
5 volunteers
4 tidwell german
3 omar's lebonese
5 mexico
7 mountaineer mystery
5 bull's heart
2 earl's fauz
3 rostova
2 dutchman
4 persimmon
2 giant belgium
9 neve's azorean red
2 dinner plate
2 opalka
2 red mortgage lifter
1 estler's mortgage lilfter
1 pineapple
4 big zac
1 ultimate giant
2 goliath heirloom
2 big beef
1 carbon
2 supersteak
2 early girl
2 early goliath
2 big boy

Wish me luck!

I'm in San Jose CA. I bought my plants in mid-to-late march (various heirlooms - the usual suspects), kept them by the window in the garage until mid-April then put them in the ground outside. They took until late-May to set their first fruit. Now the plants range from 3-5' tall and have so many green tom's on them I'm going to be swimming in them if they all ripen at once. From the looks of things I'm expecting the first ripe ones in less than two weeks.