Here is an up close look at the new growth.

Here is another plant with a similar look but not as bad.

Last picture. This is of a plant I didn't get in the ground or in a large pot yet. Displaying the curling and thin leaves really bad and very sad looking. Do I pitch it or transplant it?

Here you go. As I explained in the other thread, there really is nothing you can do except try to ID the source so you can prevent it from happening again and then wait to see if the plants recover.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Images of herbicide damaged tomato plants

Thanks Dave. I just want to make sure it isn't something else. This is really depressing. I grew these from seeds, put time effort and money into them (especially into the compost, worm castings, rock dust minerals, and other ingredients to make my own potting mix and buy containers for the ones I put in containers. And then some idiots spray herbicides on their property....I guess it could be one or more of the many neighbors we have. I can ask my neighbors what they used....does it make a difference?

How do I prevent this in the future??? People are going to do what they do. I can ask them to tell me when they spray so I can cover the plants? Would that help?

I had some with the same issue. The good news is that mine seem to be recovering. I thought mine was from contaminated compost. However, I noticed today a long stretch of dead weeds along the road in front of the neighbors house. So, I am guessing mine was from drift as well. Still waiting on my test that I am running to confirm the compost is clean.

That is 2,4 D herbicide damage which is the most common pesticide used in treating lawns for weeds. It is common in weed and feed, and any spray treatment for weeds in lawns. It can persist for weeks to months and tomatoes are very sensitive to it. When my plants were damaged they never recovered but some do.

To the original poster:

Asking neighbors for a friendly warning before spraying sounds like a good idea. Covering your plants *well* would help to a certain extent, though you might have to leave the covers on for 24 hours or more. Another option to consider is delaying your average plant-out date, this gives the neighbors time to spray their lawns (as it did mine). The bonus is that you avoid most of May's unpredictable weather and plant growth will take off in soil that is warm 24/7.

Another idea for next year, plant a few extra seeds of your rarer, most special plants as backups. Keep them safe and in a different area (under lights for a longer time?). If herbicide damage happens again, you'll have quick replacements.

Personally i would avoid the confrontational, accusational or guilt trip route. Keep up good neighborly relations because spraying herbicide to kill weeds and errant grasses is fully a homeowner's right. There's so much literature that advises doing it, that most people think it's the right thing to do, you may never convince them otherwise.

By the looks of it, some of your plants may recover, it will set back some of your production though. Maybe plan for a few replacements now, and head over to a couple of nurseries to see what they have in stock?

This post was edited by sjetski on Tue, May 28, 13 at 13:30

How do I prevent this in the future??? People are going to do what they do. I can ask them to tell me when they spray so I can cover the plants? Would that help?

Determine the direction of your prevailing winds and that will be the most likely source but since it can drift up to a 1/2 mile or more it may not help. But yes knowing when they will spray and covering the plants even for a couple of hours after spraying can make a BIG difference. It is what most folks have to do if they have neighbors who spray.

Dave

How does it get from the neighbors lawn onto the tomato plants? Does it go in the soil and get to them that way or does spray drift through the air or both? The compost we use is organic Leafgro in MD. "MES (MD environmental service) has Leafgro tested regularly by an independent lab and have not detected aminopyralid or clopyralid."

I am so frustrated :(

Sorry to hear it OP. As Dave mentioned it is most often carried by the wind, the herbicide mist can travel far that way. Tomato plants are sensitive to even tiny amounts of it.

Technically it can be carried over by surface water drainage too but your garden would have to be in your neighbors' drainage path, not very likely. If you look carefully, and from a distance, you can judge the contours of the land to see where your neighbor's lawn is draining to (is your garden slightly downhill from them?). I don't think this is your problem by the way, but the way others would address it is to raise their garden higher.

I know my neighbor's yard is in my drainage path, but he doesn't have a garden and i no longer spray any kind of herbicide :)

This post was edited by sjetski on Tue, May 28, 13 at 14:16

Good idea on waiting to plant out, however, they still need to be hardened off outside, and I have plants that have never left my deck that have this "herbicide damage." Makes me want to move out into the country someplace!

If I pull up a plant, is the soil there contaminated or OK to stick another plant in that spot? Sounds like it should be OK, but want to make sure.

Thank you all so much for the support, I really appreciate it.

I have experienced persistent herbicide damage to my tomatos as result of using both horse and cow manure in sheet compost as well as bins. My UGA Extension Rep warns me that feed hay and straw mulch are often sprayed for weed control. Using manure from any hay fed critters in your compost is a crap shoot at best unless you know the source.

Thanks for the info :) The compost I buy is made from leaves and grass clippings and it is tested by a 3rd party. Plus, some of the plants are not in any compost, so that rules out the compost. And I just mulched with straw after the plants showed signs on the herbicide damage, so that rules out the straw. I don't use any manure. I wish I could pinpoint a source that was under my control. Herbicide drift seems to be the only answer, but keep the ideas coming!

>>>> Good idea on waiting to plant out, however, they still need to be hardened off outside, and I have plants that have never left my deck that have this "herbicide damage." I'm guessing with the delayed plant-out you can delay the hardening off as well. A good week, two or three depending on your patience.

Not sure if you were considering them, but careful with those cheap plastic $40 greenhouses by the way, they may be tempting to use in your situation. but in full sun and mild 70f temps, it gets sweltering inside, well over 100f. Your plants would wilt in a heartbeat, even on a mild-moderate spring day. The bottom shelf zone may be cooler, but i've seen them firsthand and the temps inside are brutal.

A little bit more good news? You have from now till next year to research herbicide drift, and hopefully learn a few more creative ideas on how to avoid it.

I wish you loads of luck and maters too !!

Thanks for the luck! I figure I will pull the worst ones and see if the better ones will be OK. Do I just leave them be or cut off the new/damaged growth?

I went to the nice nursery down the street and the tomatoes were all too big in their small containers and looked terrible :( Then they had big plants in big containers and I don't want those either!

Next year I will do some seeds, and then a few weeks later do some more for back up just in case this happens again. Live and learn.

I had some seedling early that looked like that. Mine was too much fertilizer. Plus after they looked sick I sprayed with Epsom salts. I know what I did. I was watering with dilute blue fertilizer but holding the dripping plant over my tub of potting mix. That bunch of potting mix had way too much fertilizer.