My tomatoes are suffering!

I had to break down and plant my tomatoes (romas) a little earlier than is probably wise considering the nasty weather and cold temps we've been having (they were dying in my house). At first the weather cooperated and all was well. Then on Sunday the temperature went up to 80 but we had HIGH winds ALL DAY LONG (40-45 mph sustained) and everything took a beating. Now the weather has turned again--low 40s at night and high 50s during the day with cloud cover and some wind. Needless to say, my tomatoes don't look very good. The leaves are dry (the edges are sort of crispy) and the veins in the leaves have taken on a purple hue. I am covering them with a 6 mil plastic at night to protect them from the lows, but something is going wrong. What is making them crispy and purple? Coincidentally, I planted my peppers at the same time and they look really great.

I should add that I am watering them with about 16 oz. of water each morning. On Sunday when it was hot and the wind was whipping them around I water them a second time in late afternoon.

Sorry to hear about your poor, windbattered tomatoes!

I'm thinking the high winds robbed the leaves of their moisture faster than the plants were able to pull water into them. If you are able to construct some sort of windbreak, at least until they get settled well, that would probably help a lot.

You may consider leaving the plastic on them during the day, making sure it is ventilated so you don't cook the plants. That would help hold in some humidity, as well as protect them from the dry winds.