Early blight (I believe) on transplants not yet in the ground- Remedy? Rx? Toss em?

[LBlala]

Hi I have 8+ transplants. Half I'd ordered & arrived Wednesday, looking nicely dark green but lil warm/shrively. Was given the others weeks ago. Are sad, leggy, yellowish (thought was basic harships of big plant too long in little pot). I never sprayed or did anything to them (was still researching darn hesitation!).

I handled em all over, examining leaves etc, & stacked em right next to each other, prob spreading anything they have. Now they mostly all have some leaves (mostly bottom branches first) that seem to be browning tips--> inward, & fades yellow to green further in the leaf. There's also brown spots that look 'target-like' as EB descriptions say. Most of em have fine looking very uppermost branches (pic#2)

--Found lots on identifying & preventing, but actual solutions seem rare. Mostly I see 'harvest what you can, prune, & hope for time". Is there a remedy to stop/get rid of it?? Stuff to mix, make, buy to eliminate EB? Doesn't have to be organic), as long as it really work & won't poison the fruit. Or...

---Should I toss em & buy some more plants? Don't have a ton to loose (no blooms yet), on the other hand I'm a little attached to them (the types, carefully picked em out). I could re-order, types aren't rare. Just don't want to be needlessly wasteful (of plants or money... Other than this I only have 3 in the ground, can't rely on those.

May be irrelevant, but last wk I ordered Soluble Mycorrhizae, Actinovate, & Bio-tone. (not sure how to use em yet or quite what are but read they're essential either for ET or ground planting). Will be getting kelp something, fish emulsion, & think I read to look into Daconil or serenade or Exel lg, but heard are for prevention/need to check em out. Am pretty good at finding products, just not solutions to EB...ha

Btw, If it is early blight I've gathered that it happens from letting them get to a weakened state (UPS, overgrown, little nutrition), & from spore spread by me, soil/splashback, or plants touching. Boo. I didn't plan things right, they arrived a wk & a half early so am simultaneously still digging plots/homes for them, building an ET, & learning what products to get/make. Thanks all, hope yours are healthy n green!

[rsg2001]

I would plant them. When I let my transplants go a bit longer inside under the grow lights than they should, they often have symptoms that look just like yours (including this year). And, without fail ever, the new growth has been fine, I pluck off the leaves that don't look so hot, and just go about the season. I don't know the provenance of your transplants but if they are from a reputable source, I think it is a chance worth taking.

[RayR]

Sure looks like Early Blight to me. It's not the end of the world, no need to trash them. Cut off those lower stems that are infected and trash them and plant those babies deep. Since you have Actinovate already, start spraying regularly, that will help kill the any fungus and spores that are not visible yet. You have Bio-Tone, 3 tablespoons mixed in well in each planting hole will be fine and a root dip before planting in the Soluble Mycorrhizae is a plus.
Yes, plants that are in a weakened state are more susceptible to disease, but Early Blight spores travel through the air and can still infect a healthy plant.

[Keger]

Let em rip! Water and feed em, they look like they will be fine.