Over on the Tomato Pest & Diseases forum you'll find a long post called Problem Solver 2. Just use the forum search for that form if it isn't still on the front page. It is filled with links to images of the different tomato diseases. Browse them and see if you can find a pic that matches your problems. Off hand it sounds like you have a fungus problem (the black spots) from your description but I can't be sure without seeing it or a great many more details. If that is the case then spraying with an anti-fungus spray such as Daconil (sold under several different names) will help control it. The purpleing leaves and veins are due to stress - normal for a stressed plants - and will disappear once you ID the other problem and treat it. Good luck. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Pests & Diseases forum

Sorry - I try to either explain the meaning of the proper terminology (often in parenthesis) or try only to use it in a context where it's self explanatory and you absorb the meaning by osmosis. (see what I mean?) ;o) I think it's good to know the proper terms, and it's much easier to find technical advise other than mine when you go surfing for more info: besides, I'd be just thrilled to learn that you or others went looking for the meaning of something I said. You KNOW you're going to learn a whole lot more than you bargained for, once you find it. ;o) "so in a case like this lyrata (see picture above)... it probably just had excellent light or low "Senescence" Senescence means aging, so put an 's' in front of your 'low' (you get 'slow' senescence) and you would have said it correctly, but you'd have still been wrong. ;o) I'M sure the plant DID have excellent light - with the rest of the cultural conditions very favorable, too. What does this mean? It means rampant growth. In a tree growing slowly, the lower leaves can die of old age while the tree only puts on a few inches of growth. Leaves can be 'years' old when the tree is only a few feet high; but, in the tree pictured, it's been growing very quickly, so the lower leaves are still 'young'. Make sense? ;o) I was wondering can you mix orchid mix (fir bark, horticulture charcoal and perlite) in with regular potting soil to aid in drainage or is there something with the mix that might not be a good idea for a ficus. Also, the watering thing. I keep reading to let it dry down and then water profusely...is that still the case in the winter? Size is important. I'll give an example: Pudding is made up of small particles that are very water-retentive. How much perlite or orchid mix do we need to add to pudding to make it drain well? What I'm saying here is it's difficult to answer your question w/o some knowledge about the size relation between the particles. You're on the right track, though. I grow all my Ficus in a soil that looks like this: I'd like you to know that when I say there are a large number of growers from GW and other forums using this mix for a wide variety of plants and having very good success, I'm not self-promoting. I only mention the success of others in case you were reluctant to try it, and because I care about YOUR growing experience. If you like, I'd be glad to offer a link to a discussion about this soil so you can read other's reactions first hand. About the watering thing. Many here (ok, a few then) tell you to water profusely at every watering w/o factoring in what kind of soil your plant is in. You may NOT be able to do that if the soil is heavy. What sense to water profusely if it will kill your plant via root rot? It's best to water profusely every time, but if you can't, you should flush the soil thoroughly at least once each month. Wet the soil thoroughly, wait a bit, and at intervals pour about the volume of the container the plant is in, through the soil at least 4 times. This will flush the soil of accumulated salts (and fertilizer). When you're done, fertilize at 1/4 recommended strength. If you think the flush treatment will jeopardize the plant because the soil will remain too wet, too long, simply depot the plant & allow the root mass to rest on a few newspapers overnight. In the AM, return it to its pot. Alternately, push a wick through the drain hole of the container. Allowing it to hang below the container after watering will help eliminate nearly all the perched water (the water that won't drain) from the container & reduce the likelihood of root issues. Take care. Al

James: Below is a link to a discussion of my grape woes--and 9 follow-ups. I tried using "Garden Safe" brand of organic fungicide but it was useless. I then resorted to copper fungicide, but I later learned it works best as a prevention rather than a remediation. Otherwise, I've had no luck battling black spot, probably because I have a very short attention span and I'm not prepared to undertake guerrilla warfare against the stuff. Here is a link that might be useful: Grape Woes

I had no idea that this problem was as common as it is as I have only encountered it in myself and my dad who also complained of night vision problems. I have had problems with depth perception at night since my 20's and can remember walking off of curbs or into puddles because I couldn't see them. Up until recently however, the problem was manageable. Now however, I don't dare drive at night because not only can I not see well, the lights have become so blinding and glaring that I feel like I am driving in a video game with limited vision to boot. Unless I can get behind someone and follow their taillights, I can't manage it at all and usually have to pull off the road several times. If its not the lights glaring and making it impossible to see, it is the absolute blackness and my inability to see more than a few feet in front of myself. On top of that, I can't walk around outside at night anymore unless it is well lit up. If its not, I barely shuffle forward as everything is dark and appears flat. I am almost completely blind at night. I am only 53 years old and when I mention this to my mother she scoffs at me and thinks I'm being silly. She is 83 and thinks she is the only person who has medical concerns and because of my age, it must be nothing. Personally, I'm getting worried. Its gotten so much worse in just one year. I can't afford health insurance and she won't help pay because she thinks its unnecessary. She has more than the ability to help out but won't. Anyone else think this is something to worry about?