It sounds like you all have it figured out and all the advice is excellent as far as I can tell. I just couldn't help but agree that it absolutely looks like clopyralid or amiopyralid damage. I had a bad bout with it 3-4 years ago when all my homemade potting soil got contaminated by well composted alpaca manure. It took over a month to figure it out and I lost a bundle of valuable crops in the process. Clopyralid based herbicides have been banned in Oregon except for use on golf courses but then Dow chemical just comes out with Milestone which is amiopyralid instead. It's the same exact problem just with another chemical. To the OP, i'm afraid there really isn't anything you can do for the plants. If the cause is the manure, at least you're not contaminated forever. In the soil the chemicals do break down in a few months. But if left above ground the herbicide can last for years and damage sensitive plants (mostly tomato, potato, legumes) at tiny amounts (parts per million). Oh, I looked into a soil test for herbicide and it was extremely expensive. It's not an average soil test. Seeding some beans or peas is an excellent idea to determine if there's residue. -Mark This post was edited by madroneb on Tue, Jun 25, 13 at 23:20

Yep - store bought aren't even worth looking at - the local farm stand has good ones - but the ones you pick off your own vines & eat right away are the best!

I try a new early tomato every year. This year, Glacier was my earliest. They're OK. Early tomatoes don't impress me much. The best early I've grown was Matina. It was better to me than Bloody Butcher or Stupice. Personally, though, although it may not be considered an "early" tomato Jaune Flammee is always less than a week behind my earliest tomatoes, but even the first Jaune Flammee off the plant is as good to me as the best late season tomato. There is no early tomato that can compete with it for flavor, IMO. I try one new early variety every year just to extend the season a week, but I'd rather have more space in my garden for late season tomatoes, which are far superior in flavor.

Sacramento is pretty darn hot although it has been mild this year. I would say every summer breaks 100 at some point, often for days or weeks at a time. I started these as transplants in the end of March. One thing that could have caused the height of the Glacier is that when it was about two feet I pruned a handful of suckers, without realizing it was determinate. It is possible this caused the remaining growth to go higher. It is also possible that the Glacier has had to grow extra high to compete with the Sungold, peppers will exhibit this fight for the sun when crowded so maybe these are doing the same. Ace has 9 foot sturdy stakes for $6 each. I will compare the cost of a few of those to the cost of rebar and EMT. The sturdy stakes do seem like they should last a long time, but that is very expensive for a piece of plastic. My friend had a good idea which was to use a few pieces of twine tied to the balcony above and just anchor them to the main stem at different places. Thanks for the trellis ideas, I will need to do something soon! -Phil