Actually, after a rain, dirt does get on the leaves. However, I still don’t get why there are these permanent black splotches on the leaves.

Here are some clearer images of the leaves after I pruned them off

I get that darkening on the leaves sometimes. I don't know what it is and I never worry about it. Older leaves tend to go a bit yellow, and that doesn't look like anything to worry about - yet. The best thing is to remove sickly leaves. Perhaps a little fertilizer wouldn't go amiss.

Linda

What is your location?

I live in New York. Sometimes, it can rain a lot but it's usually followed by arid and hot weather

The dark spots and yellowing look like transient nutrient deficiency to me. Maybe all the rain. If you're upstate, it could be from cooler temps. Nothing there looks like disease yet.

The dark spots can indicate magnesium deficiency and yellowing can be lack of nitrogen. Time for some fertilizer. Once the plant starts bearing fruit, it's normal for some of the lower leaves to die off.

Ok now the leaves on some of the plants are experiencing transparent brownish blotches

Here are some images of the transparent spots on the leaves

Still consistent with nutrient issues. Did you feed the plants?

Necrotic spots don't look like a nutrient issue. I think Early Blight might be a good guess, because at least on one picture, it is appearing on lower leaves. Nutrient issues would be conspicuous on newer leaves. As to whether they'll be OK, you'll just have to wait it out and see how it progresses. If you haven't fertilized, I'd do that.

Not all nutrient issues are on newer leaves. It depends on how mobile the nutrient is that is deficient. The most common nutrient deficiencies actually appear first on lower leaves, as the plant mobilizes nutrients that can be mobilized to the newer growth.

Another possibility is fall off from dried-over oedema, which is entirely possible in this weather. Note how the damage is concentrated around the central veins.

But that doesn't look anything like early blight to me.

I did fertilize my plants with some kind of miracle gro fertilizer and I even put crushed egg shells and such in the soil before transplanting. It was very warm and sunny yesterday, when these clear spots first appeared so perhaps that’s the cause

Just FYI, crushed eggshells won't do anything. If your soil is acidic, and or calcium poor, they might help in a dozen years or so when they finally dissolve. If you put in a LOT of crushed eggshells, the effect is like putting perlite or vermiculite in your soil, helping soil structure. Eggshells are basically rocks.

First, regular Miracle Gro fertilizer is very N heavy, and your plants show issues that are likely due to deficiency of other nutrients. Second, fertilizing is not a one-time-and-done thing. Unless you have very carefully cultivated soil, it needs to be repeated on a regular schedule. When did you last fertilize? And what kind of soil/mix are you planting in?

I last fertilized one and a half weeks ago and I planted them in garden soil amended with some compost and garden soil from the store.

While we’re at it, I’m having a similar issue with my basil plants and really can’t pin point the issue

What did you feed with and how much?

Looks like bacterial leaf spot, which is a common problem with basil. Need to let the leaves dry out. It thrives in wet, humid conditions. No remedy. Best approach is to make sure it doesn't get worse. You might cut off the affected areas and dispose properly.

As to basil fertilization, go heavy on the N. I use lawn fertilizer, and I'm drowning in basil.

Note that basil and tomato don't share many diseases, so what's wrong with your basil is very unlikely to be what ails your tomatoes.

Re: fertilizing basil--I find the flavor is stronger if I don't fertilize them at all. Fewer leaves, slower growth, better flavor. It's a tradeoff.

When I first started growing basil a few decades ago, I didn't fertilize. Good basil. Not much of it. Once I started fertilizing, I still got good basil. But a lot more of it. So if you believe the flavor is better without fertilization, then yes, it's a tradeoff. But in my view, basil is basil.

Now, that's a good point about tomatoes and basil. We're talking about different problems, and really, the basil discussion belongs in another thread with a more pertinent title.

<<Good basil. Not much of it. Once I started fertilizing, I still got good basil. But a lot more of it.>>

Rather than fertilize, I grow more basil plants. They're easy to tuck away in various spots around the garden. Once you get a bunch going, you can root cuttings and keep lots of basil going all season.

One of the things I'm doing this year is interplanting basil with melons and squash. The melon and squash vines just grow all around the basil, which grows well above them, but the roots don't really share any soil. So while the basil produces just a smidgen of shade on the vines below, it's otherwise wholly independent. I can load up N fertilizer on the basil without overloading the melons and squash. This is in a bed that gets 100% sun, so a bit of shade is no bother.

I never bother planting new basil. I just continually harvest from individual plants, and they just keep churning out more.

But I'd better stop talking about basil in a tomato thread.

Thanks a lot guys. Honestly, posting on here has been extremely helpful and now I know a bit more about gardening. You guys gave great advice and I’ll keep this thread updated with my progress.