It's hard to tell but that may be a patch of tiny aphids on the leaf.

From pic #4 I can see the potting soil surface, is that a layer of mulch (pine needles) on top or is the soil you used high in a woody-like material?

Hi. Thanks for your reply. Yes it’s a layer of mulch on top of the soil.

Ok, in that case I'm stumped :-(

Personally I never had good luck growing tomatoes in a container, not even in 5-10 gallon pots (cherry tomatoes the only exception). I found that once the plants get really large they will need watering almost daily, and if the moisture isn't consistently steady and even the resulting tomatoes will develop blossom end rot. Hope you have better luck than me.

I've had the same experience with tomatoes in containers - they have never done well for me. I've never had good results with store bought plants either. There are some smaller varieties bred esp. for growing in containers, but I've never tried any - yet.

The bugs look rather like a fresh batch of just-hatched armyworms - tho they're usually found on the undersides of leaves. I try to be very vigilant about eradicating those, because if even 1 or 2 get away, they can do a lot of damage - they eat almost every kind of plant.

As for the brown edges, it's hard to say, but I understand wood (& oak leaves too) makes a poor mulch for veggies because it encourages bacterial diseases. I use hay and grass clippings. Spoiled hay is the best. I buy a bale from a local feed store and leave it out to spoil. It seems to prevent diseases.

I don't know where your garden is located, but if in Central - South Florida it is nearing the end of the season -I have just one tomato plant left in the garden - which I've managed to maintain by cutting off the damaged leaves and branches almost daily. Diseases are always a problem, especially when the humidity sets in and leaves the plants constantly wet.

Just this last year, after growing tomatoes for 20 years - in containers because of poor soil conditions, I learned about the dwarf tomato project. Supposedly the dwarf plants produce regular sized tomatoes on shorter plants, making them container friendly. Information is online. Much luck,