Looks like sunburn/wind/some sort of environmental damage from planting out not hardened off properly. The new growth looks good and I think they will recover and do fine.

No more spraying with your "trusted " whatever until you identify the problem. You were fortunate in that it didn't make things worse.

As was said, they'll recover.

This post was edited by jean001a on Tue, Jun 3, 14 at 19:05

Thanks for the quick response. GW friends always come through. Used a good magnifying glass and don't see any bugs. The plants went from my basement grow-op of 75ú+ to my shop with a 6' patio SE facing patio window (but cool @ ~60ú for a few days, then into the hoop house. Protected from wind by Agribon, but light levels went way up. Here's hoping they survive... nicest plants I've ever grown and they are part of an indoor/outdoor biochar trial with a Google+ Community.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lively Dirt - The Garden Blog

A 10% ammonia solution as a vegetable garden spray?

Ammonia is a corrosive alkaloid. and it could do them in faster than the sun and wind. And if you are using it as a pest control and there were no signs of any pests, why spray an already damaged plant? Please, put the ammonia bottle away and keep it for cleaning greasy countertops.

Were the plants properly hardened off before transplanting? Guess is no as that is sun scorch and windburn on the leaves.

Dave

Digdirt... I think you are correct that I didn't harden them off well enough. Thanks for that.
As for the ammonia, I have used it for years to control earwigs, slugs, slug eggs, tent caterpillars, Leek moth larvae, Asparagus bugs... you name it, if this solution hits it, it's dead. I've never seen any deleterious effects on even one plant, and I never rinse it off. It is nitrogen, and I'm sure if the concentration were strong enough it would be harmful, but so far, so good. I used this spray because when a garden buddy and I looked at the plants on Sunday, we thought we saw what might be an aphid or two, but when I used the glass today, I couldn't see any bugs of any sort.

10% IS too strong. Just because you haven't burned anything with this solution yet doesn't mean that it is innocuous. 10% ammonia has a pH of 10.5, which is indeed caustic to plant tissue. Furthermore, it can cause ammonium toxicity if applied on a regular basis, as well as nitrogen excess. In other words, there are three distinct issues you could end up facing.

I would strongly suggest you don't use ammonia for anything except perhaps the slugs, and even then avoid getting it on the plants. Aphids can be hosed off with water.

Slimy_Okra, I have often wondered about residual effects of the nitrogen, but could never find anything that seemed pertinent. Thanks for your input.