The two major fungal foliage pathogens are Early Blight ( A. solani) and Septoria Leaf Spot, and it looks like the latter to me. For sure it isn't A. solani and it isn't either Bacterial Speck or Spot. Please go to Google, select images, enter Septoria Leaf Spot and see if it resembles what you have. You can also go to the Tomato Pest and Disease Forum, link at the top of thios page, look for the thread titled Problem Solver #2 and in the following posts find the link to TAMU for pictures and other links and resources. My suggestion is to ASAP get Ortho Disease Control and spray with that. It's Daconil which is very effective against tomato fungal foliage pathogens. But it's best used as a preventative, not a cure, but at least you can protect the new foliage. Carolyn

Just to re-state the problem -- you have two needs: 1. The cages are leaning and need to be stabilized before they fall. (Ideally, they should have been pushed much farther into the ground; you'll want to do that next year if you use them for smaller tomatoes or other plants.) 2. You need something which will handle future growth of the two vines, as well as the weight of the fruit the plant is going to bear before your growing season ends (three months from now? four?). You may be able to answer both of these needs with one strategy, or you may choose a dual strategy. I don't see the need for kterlep's cinderblock. Put a tall strong stake (any of the things on kterlep's list -- but if you use bamboo, make sure it's a good strong 1" stake; those 1/4" mini bamboos won't begin to do the job) near the wire cage and drive it at least a foot into the ground. Then fasten the stake to the cage. You'll probably want to use at least two stakes. Position them on the opposite side of the cages from the direction the cages are leaning. If you have difficulty getting the stake down that far, pull it out of the ground, fill the hole with water, wait for the soil to soften, and repeat as necessary until the stake is buried deep enough. It's not quick, but it works, and is a good method for short people. Think about the best place for you to put the vines' future growth. Keep in mind that you want to be able to see and reach the fruit (present and future) easily. Your options will include: = tying new growth to the top of a tall stake, as kterlep suggests. = letting new growth fall under its own weight, as is already happening. Of course, you're in for 3-4 months of new growth. = encouraging the plants to grow horizontally by tying multiple lines of twine from the stakes/cages to the fence. Gently tie new growth to the twine. [You could also use a small piece of the sort of garden netting that is usually used to trellis cukes, beans, etc.] = pruning the vines is another option. How much or how little you prune is up to you, but your pruning strategy should match how you decide to support your plant. And keep in mind that in your climate, flowers that set fruit in mid or late September will ripen before frost, so you'll probably want to leave at least a few branches to flower and grow you some late tomatoes. [Obviously I don't know where in GA you are or when your last frost will occur.]

Leaf miners are doing the tunneling on the top photo, they are a minor nuisance and wont kill the plant. I believe the other pest is spider mites, they suck the juice out of any plant and can kill the entire plant if not controlled. Also look for light spider type webbing anywhere on the plant, it will indicate an infestation and it may not be worth saving.

It's been about 10 days since my original post and I think the worst is over. Some of the plants seem to have stabilized and the remaining stalks on those plants are moist again and standing upright. About 1/3 of the plants have been stripped almost bare, to where they look similar to a Charlie Brown Xmas tree -- just a few long limbs with a little remaining fruit on them. But the other 2/3 of the plants seem still have quite a bit of foliage and look they may have survived the dreaded lime monster. The next challenge will be to see if new growth and emerges and new flowers start to appear. The planting mix that I use is from a local Bay Area nursery chain (Navlet's). The bag says it has forest humus, peat moss, chicken manure, earthworm castings, bat guano, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, oyster shell and dolomite limes...though not sure in what percentages. The description of their planting mix on their web site says: "This formulation of peat moss, worm castings, oyster shell and dolomite limes, along with other critical sources of nutrients and soil conditioners, is based on more than a century of working with Bay Area soils." Next year, I may avoid Earthbox's recommended application of 1/4 cup hydrated lime in a gallon of water when BER first appears. Or, I may try it in just one Earthbox, fill the reservoir completely and wait 3-4 days to see if any similar ill effects arise. If so, I'll ditch the hydrated lime altogether for the other Earthboxes and will look for a less caustic calcium substitute.