TMV has pretty much been non-existent in the US for over 20 years. So IF it was one of the 2 problems you list it would far more likely be TLCV. But I honestly don't think that is the problem with the plant in the photo. The plant shows typical tomato leaf roll, a physiological condition of a highly stressed plant. Once the cause of the stress is identified and eliminated the condition disappears. There are several possible causes for tomato leaf roll but in this case I think you are dealing with a root bound plant and that is the cause of the stress. I don't know what size pot that is but using the typical 3 ring cage on it for scale, then the container isn't very big - likely 5 gallons tops. And the height and width of the plant indicates that it has clearly out grown the container. Plus it is showing all the typical die-off signs of being root bound. One way to find out for sure - when the soil is dry lift gently up on the main stem of the plant. If it is root bound then all or most all of the soil in the container will rise right out of the pot with the plant's root ball. Dave

Sorry, I forgot to post where I am which is zone 6. 1. Yes, I do see a lot of the lower leaves have soil build up on them. 2. Im not really sure why that part of the soil would be much different than the rest. I turned over and mixed that whole area a few weeks before planting. Should I try adding used coffee ground and/or egg shells around its base? 3. I had to start over after my first attempt. Something ate the plants when I planted them. Which is why there aren't as big as you would expect. 4.I know they would need a bigger pot to actually grow. I didn't give them much attention after I took the strong plants to put in the soil. Actually, didn't even expect them to grow at all with the way I left them in the pot. ( I actually have one growing in a pot with potting soil, that I believe is 5 gallon. That one was doing well. Now it is recovering from being over watered ) 5 The peppers wouldn't benefit from being spread out and put into soil, over only spreading them out in the pots? No, I am not using potting soil. Didn't know there was a difference and used garden soil. The only reason the tomato has potting soil, is because I planted it the pot from a fig tree I purchased. Thank you for the response

I searched "tomatoes fell over" in Google and this page came up first. Just so happens I'm a member! Ha. As for the original post, sometimes tomatoes will shoot up tall and straight, but they are always going to flop sooner or later so that's why you go ahead and stake them in some manner. I plant mine in straight rows with wire (cheap roll of small gauge flexible wire you can get at Home Depot, etc.) on either side (parallel) of landscape timbers spaced every six or eight feet. The wires start a couple of feet from the ground and I run three or four courses up to five or six feet high. As the maters grow I make sure they stay between the wires and later on use panty hose as necessary to train the errant limbs. (For better results pinch off the vines closest to the bottom as they sprout.) But I came here to regarding seedlings in particular. They flop too and when they do it's game over. When I first started growing my tomato plants I used a grow light. Then, later when I started buying at the store I forgot all of that. When I decided to grow again all my plants fell over. It nearly drove me crazy! The reason was that I wasn't using a light. (It only took me three seasons to re-figger out the light angle! Dumb dumb dumb!) The moment the seedlings erupt you need to put them in the sun when possible and under a light of some kind at night. I use a couple of florescent lights.set near to the tops of the new growth seedlings. You do this and they won't flop over. Don't and they will, guaranteed. There can be other causes for flop, most going back to careless gardening habits. But one is sneaky for the beginner. You must never ever use old moldy growing medium...You know, the half bag you had left over from last year that has fuzz on top this year. That kind of soil will kill baby plants in about a half of a wink. Use fresh, or bake the old stuff, or just be darned sure your leftover hasn't gone over. Hope this helps. Mystery solved for floppy stringy, tall, dead tomato seedlings. Give 'em the light light light! All day and all night! Your tomato growing pal, Norm This post was edited by TheNorm on Sat, Jan 31, 15 at 14:30

Maybe exponential growth. When they have small differences in the beginning the one that did better had an advantage. So more leaves early leads to more growth early. Also yes being in the dark does cause elongation. Its also possible one is a nuclear tree and the other zygotic.