Thanks everyone! Jean001a - Would wet feet/soil contribute to it? Seysonn - Will do! I have 8 more cubic feet of the 'chunky' stuff, which is just marked as Local compost--its unfinished compost with a lot of wood pieces still. I've been mixing coffee grounds in with them. Would you suggest I actually put these bags into my compost pile? Which is about 10 cubic yards of fresh and dried grass clippings. I have about 2 more cubic yards of used Coffee grounds as well. -- Here are my thoughts and updates! GOOD NEWS! **Here's what I've done since I first posted this.** I turned off my drip-system. We had two days of rain just prior to me posting this. It was very wet. I added a bag of soil to one of the beds--haven't all of them but will be doing today or tomorrow. Fertilized twice with my 'starter' solution for seedlings/transplants. Its heavy on Nitrogen. **What I plan to do** Water less frequently and split my drip-system up. Currently it's all one set for my 8 beds and my patio with container plants that need watering more often. Watering every 5 days or so, 20 minutes with two emitters that do 20 gallons per hour, so with two, that's 40, only at 20 minutes so that's 15 gallons per bed over 20 minutes or so? Since it's not directly to the soil. Find a way to increase drainage--I didn't use rocks or anything on the bottom of the beds, I only tilled them with a hand tiller. Could I aerate them to increase drainage--stab them a bunch of times 12-24'' down? Maybe install a few PVC pipes thru the lower portion with a screen on one side so run off can easily escape? The beds are at an angel/slope, 6'' one side, 10'' the other. My natural soil is very clayish, sticky when wet. The lower corner of the beds have either brick or hard lumps of soil filling them (I know, I'm so pro). Could I maybe use some kinda mesh instead to hold the soil in and thus allow air/water to flow out easier? Filling the soil level up in all the tomato beds beyond the brim with a pre-veggie garden soil mix. **Observations and Photo update** I've observed all my plants are doing much better since I've stopped watering them. It appears to have been my #1 problem. I still see mushrooms in most beds in the morning, leading me to believe the soil is still rather moist even now. All the plants are doing -much better-. I had yellowing cucumbers that are vibrant and dark green now, growing quickly. My melon plants are growing similarly as well. I'm going to get the net trellis installed today. My pepper plants appear to be turning a darker green adn getting more foliage---three of them have fist sized fruit on them. I've picked off flowers/fruit off all but the largest and I know they all are still pretty small. Tomatoes Tomatoes Tomatoes -- They are ALL doing much better! Many of them are growing new leaves WITHOUT LEAF ROLL! Some have slight leaf roll, but not the deranged totally gnarled looking ones. However, two of them are not AND have white spots/yellowing leaves/insanely twisted leaves still -- while a plant of the same species right next to it shows NONE of the same signs of sickness. SuperSweet100's Thank everyone for all the help. I really do appreciate it. I've learned so much from all of you over the last year. :) I'm just wanting to ensure I'm taking all the necessary steps to have a good yield this year and learn how to make next year way better! :) Here is a link that might be useful: Syntria's Gardening Videos

Agree that it is herbicide damage but that is some poor looking soil too and why is there no mulching around the plants? Surely by now your soil has warmed enough to mulch. maybe the city was spraying the grass? Call the city. If so then insist on a warning next time so the plants can be covered. None of my other plants are affected (cucumbers, broccoli, etc). Tomato plants are 10x more susceptible than other vegetables. Other than that both neighbours have tall wood fences so I would imagine that would stop any kind of spray from traveling? Not at all. The many other discussions here about herbicide drift problems talk about drift patterns and the long distances it travels if you want to read through them. So ask the neighbors and insist on a warning next time so you can cover your plants. if you mixed one part vinegar and 3 parts water with dish soap and sprayed it on your plant it would get rid of them. That recipe is one of the standard weed killer recipes - 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water with 1 T dish soap - not a pesticide. The pesticide recipe is 1 T dish soap in 1 gallon of water (no vinegar) although it isn't usually listed as effective for caterpillars. One needs to evaluate the sources of such info carefully before using and to test on one plant before applying randomly. Is it possible that is what did the damage? Unlikely as the yellowing pattern of the leaves in pic 2 is classic Glyphosate damage. What can you do? Keep them well watered, mulch them. Trim off the worst of the damage, do NOT feed them until you see new growth, and then hope for the best. Sometimes they grow out of it. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: 2-4D weed killer damage on tomato plant pics

I suspect everyone hardens their plants a little differently, and if you search this forum you'll undoubtedly find many methods. But I start by setting the plant in the shade for an hour, the next day 2 hours, the next day 4... maybe starting to give it a little sun, gradually building up to them being outside all day (and all night - here, nighttime temp is a concern.) Sometimes I kinda have to do it based on my work schedule and what the weather is like. I'd say take at least a week to 10 days to harden. It looked like your seedling was healthy when it went out, so I think you'll be successful this time around!

" A few have said, don't shade tomato plants, they love the sun no matter how high the temp. While others have said ABSOLUTELY provide them shade, especially on extremely hot days where the temp exceeds 90 degrees with midday sun. I'm a bit confused as to what's the best choice." It isn't an either/or choice. First because they are talking about normal weather patterns - which you don't have right now. Second, it depends on the age of the plants and the amount/degree of shade. Well established, big tall plants in the production stage of their life can tolerate much more sun and heat than young still-getting-established plants can. And we aren't talking about full dark shade, just something that cuts the sun exposure by 10-20% during the hottest part of the day (which is usually around 2-4 pm). Harry's old white sheet, window screens, or best some of the various row covers/shade cloth sold for that purpose. They still get plenty of sun but the heat is reduced a bit. And, even well-established blooming plants will not set fruit with temps in the mid-nineties so many use shade cloth just to drop the temps 5 degrees during those unusually hot periods. There are no absolute rules in growing. We have to adjust, to try to find a balance, for the variety of conditions as they develop. Dave