Frankly, I'm not sure. Some one else on the forum recently posted photos of similar looking plants. Kind of curled up. The leaves look good, but the stems and main stalk is curving and curling. My first thought would be some kind of chemical damage, but then the leaves would be affected too I think. Sorry to not be of much help. Maybe someone else can offer a suggestion. Maybe it's temporay and will resolve itself. Plant looks healthy otherwise.

I can't be sure, but to me, it looks like herbicide drift damage. Tomatoes are very sensitive to it. Have you or your neighbors had a lawn service spray? Many times tomatoes will outgrow herbicide damage.

Betsy

Hmm. That is bad news.

My catnip also looks like this. However, my pepper plants and rosemary (you can see it in the back...I cringe to call it a rosemary PLANT yet), as well as my spinach has not been affected.

However, my lettuce is looking a bit droopy, but it's not curled like the leaves of the catnip and tomatoes.

I'll try to find that other post and see what advice others offered.

Thank you.

If these are recent transplants(?), they could have been exposed to temperatures and elements they weren't used to (heat etc). If this is the case, you can expect a full recovery soon.

I've had herbicide damage before, forget the chemical, and the damage did NOT look like that. But i imagine different chemicals would cause different visual symptoms so i can't say for sure. Mine outgrew the damage. Also: early morning fog can lift fresh chemical residues off lawns, and float them into your plants, which means your plants can get damaged even a couple of days after a neighbor's lawn treatment.

This post was edited by sjetski on Sun, May 19, 13 at 13:07

My bet is herbicide damage.

I used a broadleaf weed killer on my lawn this year and that is exactly what it did to my Ivy. Foliage becomes gnarly, stunted, and curled.

You didn't say whether or not you or a neighbor had lawns or trees sprayed, but if more than one kind of plant is affected, I would think that really tends to indicate herbicide damage.

I've linked to the search results for a Google Image search for herbicide damage to tomatoes, and you will see that there are many different reactions of tomatoes to herbicides, but I do see some that look very much like your tomato plant.

Hopefully they will grow out of it soon.

Betsy

Here is a link that might be useful: Google Image search for herbicide damage to tomatoes

Thanks everybody!

Is there any way to help them recoup? Or are they done for?

I transplanted a couple of them because initially I thought the issue could have been they were too close together and couldn't grow properly. So now they are on the other side of the complex.

As for the if somebody DID actually spray herbicide - I am planning to ask my landlord this morning.

Find out exactly which one was sprayed and if not the landlord then neighbors. It can drift for a mile. Whether or not they will recover depends on exactly what was sprayed. Since it is so early in the season I would replace them.

Dave

Also,

If you are still living in that complex next year, i would get their lawn maintenence schedule ahead of time, and clear your plants out of the area for at least a couple of days after a spray. Tomato plants are sensitive to even small amounts of residue.

Good luck either way.