I just got back looking at tomato plants at a garden center. Most of them
had little hard white downward pointing conical spikes growing in the lower
part of the stems. Further up the stem were were raised mounds of green
tissue that looked like they had not erupted yet. Does anybody know what
the spikes are and if they mean trouble or are pretty much natural? Some
of the varieties I looked that had spikes were Sun Gold, Better Boy, and
something with 3 letters followed by 444, i.e. --- 444.

Thanks for any help,

- Salty

I believe they would become roots if you planted deeper.

Tomatoes like being transplanted a couple times from seedlings
up to final planting.
Just that more roots mean more nutrients up top, no?

Fred


Salty Thumb wrote:

I just got back looking at tomato plants at a garden center. Most of them
had little hard white downward pointing conical spikes growing in the lower
part of the stems. Further up the stem were were raised mounds of green
tissue that looked like they had not erupted yet. Does anybody know what
the spikes are and if they mean trouble or are pretty much natural? Some
of the varieties I looked that had spikes were Sun Gold, Better Boy, and
something with 3 letters followed by 444, i.e. --- 444.

Thanks for any help,

- Salty

I think the first reply is correct. I also see these "pimples" at the
base of pepper plants. They certainly appear to be the beginning nubs
of roots that stop because they are above ground. They are bigger
closer to the ground and fade as you go up the firs tinch of the stem.

I deep rooted three of my tomatoes and two have taken off
fantastically. The third was late going in the dirt and I think being
in its tiny pot so long hurt. However the new growth on that one is
beginning to really grow.

I'm not sure if the deep rooting really promotes that much more root
growth. One poster here noted that at end of season not much growth
occurred on the buried stem. Deep planted may provide more stable
temperatures for the roots which may help.

Salty Thumb wrote:

I just got back looking at tomato plants at a garden center. Most of them
had little hard white downward pointing conical spikes growing in the lower
part of the stems. Further up the stem were were raised mounds of green
tissue that looked like they had not erupted yet. Does anybody know what
the spikes are and if they mean trouble or are pretty much natural? Some
of the varieties I looked that had spikes were Sun Gold, Better Boy, and
something with 3 letters followed by 444, i.e. --- 444.

Thanks for any help,

- Salty

DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)

jhultman wrote in :

I believe they would become roots if you planted deeper.

Tomatoes like being transplanted a couple times from seedlings
up to final planting.
Just that more roots mean more nutrients up top, no?

Fred

DigitalVinyl wrote in
:

I think the first reply is correct. I also see these "pimples" at the
base of pepper plants. They certainly appear to be the beginning nubs
of roots that stop because they are above ground. They are bigger
closer to the ground and fade as you go up the firs tinch of the stem.

Thank you both for responding. I am relieved to hear that as it turns
out, I picked some up that had the white cones/root nodules.

I deep rooted three of my tomatoes and two have taken off
fantastically. The third was late going in the dirt and I think being
in its tiny pot so long hurt. However the new growth on that one is
beginning to really grow.

I'm not sure if the deep rooting really promotes that much more root
growth. One poster here noted that at end of season not much growth
occurred on the buried stem. Deep planted may provide more stable
temperatures for the roots which may help.

I've heard of people burying part of the stems horizontally so the roots
are wide rather than deep but I haven't tried it myself yet. [apparently
if you bury lower parts of the stems, they will grow roots ... and if you
don't bury them you'll get little white spikes ]

- Salty

The message
from Salty Thumb contains these words:

I just got back looking at tomato plants at a garden center. Most of them
had little hard white downward pointing conical spikes growing in the lower
part of the stems.

Roots.

Janet.

Salty Thumb wrote in message ...
I just got back looking at tomato plants at a garden center. Most of them
had little hard white downward pointing conical spikes growing in the lower
part of the stems. Further up the stem were were raised mounds of green
tissue that looked like they had not erupted yet. Does anybody know what
the spikes are and if they mean trouble or are pretty much natural? Some
of the varieties I looked that had spikes were Sun Gold, Better Boy, and
something with 3 letters followed by 444, i.e. --- 444.

Thanks for any help,

- Salty

Adventitious roots.
If you plant them sideways they will get a better start because they
will be in the warmer portion of soil. Might not matter in warmer
places.