What is this on my 'maters???

[i_am2bz]

I was inspecting my tomatoes a few days ago & noticed that a couple of vines had these wierd little bumps on them (on the green vines, not the actual fruit). They're very small & line up one after the other, like peas in a pod. This morning I noticed that some of these bumps are turning whitish. (I know, I really have to learn how to post pictures.)

I thought BER was bad enough! Now what is THIS?? :/

 

[digitS']

Well, I found this photograph . . . does it look something like this:

The stem is "trying" to grow roots. Not a terrible thing if that's what it is on your plants.

Steve

 

[i_am2bz]

Hmmm! That's actually a pretty close approximation. So, there's no mutant alien life-form going to erupt & take over my plants...??

 

[lesa]

I don't think he said that!!! Stay tuned- summer is not over!

 

[digitS']

Well, I'm pleased to have prompted a "Ya!" even if it is only temporary.

My guess is that something in the environment encourages this when they run up the stems - like continuous moisture or something like that. On nearly every plant, these bumps appear near the soil level and look pretty gnarly (if I can use pretty & gnarly together like that ).

The mater heads sometimes argue that deep planting doesn't work very well because it just results in a few more roots forming very close to the surface. Maybe someone should carefully measure the amount of roots from deep-planted compared to those plants always grown at the same depth.

Me? This year once again, I've planted at an angle. Honestly, I don't really like to do this because the plants want to stay at an angle as they grow. However, I believe that they send out lots more roots if the stems are near the surface. They were also stretched from lack of light before they were set out and suffer from the wind if too exposed.

Steve

 

[i_am2bz]

Oh. So is this actually a rather than a ?

These little bumps are quite a ways off the ground; like, a few feet off the ground. (Some of these plants are up to my chin.) I didn't bury them real deep, just a couple of inches, maybe.

This watering business is driving me to drink (more). They're in raised beds, so I thought I had to water more. Then, I started getting BER, so I mulched. Now I don't know what to do! Okay, how 'bout this:

 

[Ridgerunner]

Now I don't know what to do! Okay, how 'bout this:

That's a common reaction around here.

Those false roots will not hurt the plant. I see them all the time. It is usually on pretty healthy plants.

I bury them deep instead of laying them shallow. I don't like to leave a lot of the stem exposed when I plant them, the wind damage/drying out/sunburn thing. The year I tried laying them shallow, I damaged a couple of them when I hoed them. They are in less danger from me if I bury them deep.

 

[digitS']

Yeah, your plants should be fine, BZ!

Steve

 

[journey11]

I bury mine deep too. They just seem sturdier and more robust that way, less likely to dry out early on in the season. But those bumps are completely normal. If you never staked or caged your tomatoes and allowed them to sprawl on the ground, those bumps would form new roots wherever they came into contact with the ground. It fortifies the plant. Say if something should damage the vine below the new roots, the plant would still keep living long enough to reproduce. You can even take suckers off of a tomato and plant them and have a new plant. They really have a will to live!

 

[i_am2bz]

Yeah, your plants should be fine, BZ!

Steve

But those bumps are completely normal. If you never staked or caged your tomatoes and allowed them to sprawl on the ground, those bumps would form new roots wherever they came into contact with the ground. It fortifies the plant.

Woo-hoo!! Then I'm back to and maybe

Thanks ya'll!