Base of tomato plant question

[hunter]

Tonight I noticed that my tomato plant bases (where they meet the soil) look like this. Not sure if it's anything to worry about or completely normal. Otherwise the plants are looking good and growing well. Thanks!

[ginger2778]

Bumping for you. I don't know the answer.

[pmcgrady]

Cut the bottom leaves off, and repot them deeper, or wait till transplant time.
Or cut the bottom leaves and add more soil to your solo cups. They look purple
which to me means they are cold (growing in a cold environment) or they are
"Dancing With Smurphs"...

[hunter]

Cool! Thanks for the advice! (and the bump!)

[BigVanVader]

Some of mine do this, I am not sure why but I plant the stem and they seem to produce normally.

[James_57]

It looks like damping off to me.

[hunter]

Good to know! Wish I knew what caused it. Cold? Environmental stress?

Never saw that before, but this year has been a bit of a struggle. Luckily I have a second batch of seedlings coming up behind them that have exhibited none of the challenges of this batch of seedlings.

[hunter]

Originally Posted by James_57

It looks like damping off to me.

That's what I was initially concerned of. I've never seen damping off in plants this big, but I assume it's a possibility?

[James_57]

I think it is a soil born fungus,it may not kill a plant at that stage but it will affect
production later in the season.

[Ricky Shaw]

I get it some, but I grow'em pretty cold. It's much more pronounced on the dwarfs for me, the Red Robins and New Big Dwarf especially. I buried it when I potted up, made no difference and they became healthy adults. I''l do the same with these New Big Dwarfs.

[hunter]

Thanks for the photos!

Mine seem to have more of an indentation around where the two zones meet. I'll keep an eye on them. My basement temps have dropped into the high 50s some nights. I tried running a space heater, but it was too much of an amp draw on the circuit and didn't seem to make a difference in the overall temp. I'll keep an eye on them and will definitely transplant deeply.

Appreciate all of the help!

[Hunt-Grow-Cook]

Originally Posted by James_57

It looks like damping off to me.

That's what I thought as well, a minor case that the tomato outgrew. I see it from time to time. Planting deep is a good suggestion. I disagree with affecting production, it never seemed to make a difference once planted deep in the garden. You can still get roots to form above the narrowing when planted young like that.