Urban Gardener - If you prune the corn, it won't "bloom" to get the ears. A typical type usually yields 1 - 2 ears normally, which is why here, there are acres and acres and acres of it to get enough for sale. One of my sisters is trying corn this year - the first time in many years since we were kids when we had about 4 plants and did get at least 4 - 5 ears! LOL She is only doing 6 plants that will go in a small raised bed. But she will hopefully be grouping them to help maximize pollination. There are a bunch of sites out there that describe growing corn. One for "backyard" growing is here. Also you may want to check out this thread for inspiration and do stop by that Square Foot Gardening Forum for more inspiration!

I added manure when I transplanted the plants to the garden. I read that I shouldn't fertilize again until the plants start putting out fruit. Fertilize again? I would argue that you haven't fertilized yet. I consider manure to have an overall negative effect on a garden, because it adds disease causing microbes to the soil. Even compost is not considered a fertilizer because it is so low in protein. If you want to fertilize the tomatoes use a real organic fertilizer. If you want to save some money and make your own, go to the pantry and get some corn meal, wheat flour, or coffee grounds and sprinkle a handful under each plant every month. If you have a dog, cat, rabbit, or hamster, dry pet food is great, too. These grain based protein sources take 3 full weeks to have an effect on the plants, so don't look for overnight changes.

Well, I'll chime in with a straight face, MOL..... my 'maters are all in pots, and need water at least twice a day, I mix up some MG in a bucket and pour some into each bucket I have next to each plant, I keep that water-bucket there so all I have to do is dip out some water and not drag the hose all over the yard.. so essentially I am giving each 'mater some liquid fertilizer each time I water...I won't even speculate at what strength but the water is blue, from the MG... most of my 'maters are getting pretty big, they are from last year's planting Tom brought me.... but they are still setting fruit so I keep them going even tho' they are pot-bound now.....I speculate that the only thing that keeps them going is the liquid fert., by now, because any other nutrient in the potting-mix has been long-gone..... works for me.... sally

It is hard to look at a photo and diagnose just from the photo because we lack context since we know nothing of the particular weather conditions or whatever that these plants have been exposed to. So, here's my best shot at giving you a valid answer: you cannot necessarily tell the difference if you are not experienced in seeing fertilizer burn, which I am not since I only use very mild, very gentle, very low-number organic fertilizers for tomato plants. I've never given my tomato plants enough fertilizer to harm them, and I'm over 60s years old and have been gardening since I was a child. What you do now is you leave your poor plants alone and let them recover. You're on the verge of what we experienced gardeners call "loving your plants to death", which basically refers to an overly attentive gardener trying too hard to do too much in too short of a time frame. Try to back off on everything except water and light and just let the plants be. Phosphorus deficiency is not uncommon on seedlings as young as yours. To be honest, if mine show that purpling early in their lives, I just ignore it because I know it will go away as they grow and become better able to take up and use the phosphorus in the soil. Often, the purple foliage early in their lives happens just because they are too immature to take up and use phosphorus efficiently when they are that small. Exposure to cooler temperatures (below 60 degrees) also can cause the purple discoloration and it goes away when the temperatures improve. Try to avoid overthinking and over-reacting, and try to avoid over-feeding your plants. I raise tomato seedlings from seed to transplant size (6 weeks) and only feed them once or twice during that six weeks, usually with something very low in NPK, like liquid seaweed or Neptune's Harvest (liquid seaweed plus kelp). My plants do fine on low-dose feedings, grow quickly once transplanted into the garden, and produce huge loads of fruit. When I was younger and fed them more often, I had huge plants that produced only moderate loads of fruit. I had to learn to leave them alone and to stop feeding them too much. Feeding them less, especially less nitrogen, gives me more fruit. Most soils (as least here in OK, if you are here in OK) have plentiful phosphorus so that is not even a concern once I put plants in the ground. Contrary to popular opinion, tomato plants do not have to be fed heavily, especially at a young age, in order to grow and do well. I see people do more harm to their plants with too many feedings than with not enough. Good luck with your plants.