looks like leaf curl to me are the lower leaves like these as well ??? could be a number of things look for spider mites or aphids first....

I did consider leaf curl at first, but when the leaves get bigger, they are misshapen. I will double check for pest, but have not noticed any yet. The bottom leaves look normal...not curled and shaped correctly......

Liz...I'm in Zone 6 in PA. I have a German Head plant with leaves that look EXACTLY like the deformed ones in your pictures. The plant is setting fruit. I have no idea what caused it but I think it is growing through it. We had a very cold wet spring that then it jumped into the 90's a couple of weeks ago and then back into the 50's. I'm chalking it up to the weather (stress) as I see no other signs of disease and no pests to speak of. I have 16 plants in the bed where the German Head is and some other plants show milder deformities in the leaves but they are all growing strong and setting fruit. I'm going to let mine grow and see what happens.

I just wanted to chim in also. I've had the same issue, and was totally worried :) My plants looked like that once thier first leaves appeared (I started from seed). The ones affected were: Jeff's Mystery Pink Oxheart, Purple Russian and Oplaka (from Heirloom Acres seeds - I had seed from someone else that was fine).

Right now, 4+months later. All the leaves are still funky looking. The Purple Russian and Oxheart are the worst (but producing fruit and flowers normally). The Oplaka looks a little more like yours in that the leaves start out curled up and pathetic, but they unfurl and settle.

I havn't noticed any pests at all on my toms so I know that isn't the issue, especially since they were funky like that from the start. I just left them alone and they are doing fine ;)

Laura

Thanks for chiming in Laura. Even though I didn't start this thread I've been very concerned about these goofy leaves. It now looks like it is only the one German Head plant that is still putting out these very odd leaves. The rest of the plants are putting out jagged looking leaves but they do unfurl to almost normal looking. I'm suspecting some sort of chemical drift as the affected GH plant is the first plant in the row at the west corner. Our prevailing winds usually come from the west. I can't think of anything else that it could be.

Thanks for y'alls input....I still have not had any to set fruit, but the Black Krim and a couple of the Crnkovic Yugoslavian have started growing a lot taller and most of the newer growth is looking better, but some seem to be stunted in their growth. If it is some sort of chemical drift are the tomatoes produced safe to eat? Sorry if this is a silly question, but if there has been enough of an unknown chemical on the plant to affect the growth so bad will it affect the fruit as well??

I have the same problem with 4 of my Roma tomato plants. The other 26 are just fine. I cannot figure it out. Mine also are wilting some. I am reapplying Epsom Salt today, so hopefully that will help.

I've been gardening for 40 years and never had this problem with tomatoes in the past. Mine are Black Krim too (the first time I've ever grown them). At first the underside of the leaves were covered with white flies and aphids. I sprayed with organic spray and they are gone, but the leaves are still deformed just like in the photos. The plants have flowers but are not thriving. Like I said, this is a first. I'm puzzled. Could be weather, but we've had off and on weather like this many times before. ????

A few of my plants look exactly the same, except if you look closely at the base of the leaf, some of the leaves have snaking zigzag tracks. The only info I could find that matched its description was tomato pinworm, but we are in Michign and tomato pinworms are suppose to affect southern crops as they are killed off by cold. Is there a leaf miner that mimics it? I'm concerned because pinworm can destroy crops. No, they aren't greenhouse starts. I start all of my own plants.

We took off all we could see. If anyone has suggestions, including whether or not tomato pinworms can crop in Southeast Michigan, I would appreciate it.

I had the exact same symptoms as you. I didn't believe it but finally found Aminopyralid to be present in the compost I used in my raised beds. Some plants (like grasses and brassicas) are unaffected. I had purchased some local "organic" compost that used horse manure and straw as inputs. According to this, the herbicide can persist in manure even after being composted. Needless to say I won't be purchasing more compost from Palmetto supreme here in SC.

Ross,
That is a vantage thread that you have revived. but the problem keep occuring every season.
At first you would think it is just leaf curl. But my next impression was Herbicide effect.
It is interesting to note that "Herbicide Drift" is not the only cause.
As Ross, said above, purchased soil/ compost/ manure can be also contaminated. This version often is difficult to identify.

Sey

I have had this problem for the past two seasons and have come to a conclusion. This is happening on my outside line of plants near my chain link fence. I am pretty close to certain that this is happening due to herbacide/chemical drift. I am putting up a tarp barrier today to see if this does in fact affect the curl. Just thought I should share since this may help someone else.