Had to go away for several weeks. Neighbor watered my plants. Came back to this (see photos). Even if I have to toss them, I'd sure like to know what happened so I can avoid it next year.

Branches dry up and fall off while suckers start in their place. The suckers slowly die. There is lots of fruit but the greenery is quickly disappearing so I don't know if they will even ripen. It's still developing new flowers, but few are setting.

It doesn't look like a fungus. Have had a minor case of psyllids. There is an unusual number of wasps busily buzzing around (compared to prior years)

All my plants are in pots. When I moved one of them, I saw an unfamiliar bug and am wondering if that could be the problem(s) (attacking the roots?). It was about 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, medium brown, had lots of legs, a long tail and very long antennae. It scattered quickly when I moved the pot so I only got a quick look. Didn't look like a stink bug, any kind of beetle I've ever seen, or a thrip. I've scoured the "pest identification" sites for tomatoes but haven't seen anything like it.

All opinions welcome and appreciated.

If it is strictly a watering issue, just get the watering and feeding back to normal and the plants should put out new leaves. You season is long enough that it should be useful. Of course if you prefer, you can dispose of the plants since I think some people in your zone plant a late crop? (Not sure about that, we don't have that option here in Idaho.)

At any rate, if you water them and feed them as one normally does for tomatoes in pots, the fruit on the plant would have a chance to ripen.

I hope that helps.

Betsy

My neighbor watered the tops of his plants. I told him that spreads the blights at a much faster rate than if water was applied at the soil. Most of his plants were brown in July.