Thread: Need some help!
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Old June 14, 2008   #6
bcday
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: NY z5
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The top two pictures do look like sunburn. Those leaves won't recover and eventually will die off, but the rest of the foliage on that plant looks healthy and the rest of the plant will be fine.

The spots on the lower leaves in the next two pictures look like flea beetle damage. Flea beetles can do serious damage if there are a lot of them, but there doesn't seem to be any new damage on the upper leaves. Keep an eye on them for any new holes. Flea beetles are shiny black and about the size of a pinhead, and they appear to hop like fleas when disturbed.

The last two pics seem to show healthy new growth above nutrient-starved older leaves. This happens when the plant is outgrowing its small plastic cell pack while awaiting transplant. Those malnourished older leaves will dry up and fall off, but not to worry, the rest of the plant will be fine now that you have it in roomier quarters.

Tomatoes do need full sun for at least six hours a day, but young seedlings have to be acclimated to the sun and wind gradually first. This process is called hardening off. If you take young seedlings from indoors or from the greenhouse and set them directly in hot sun without hardening them off, the thin young leaves get sunburned, and this shows up as white patches on the leaves that later turn brown. Somebody set the plant in the top two pics out in the sun for too long, too soon.
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