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While normally harmless, adventitious root growth above ground can be a signal that the plant is under stress from some environmental factor like very high humidity or waterlogged roots.

They’ll look like small bumps on the stem or even little root structures beginning to pop out. While trichomes are something totally different, you still may be able to spot adventitious roots appearing on portions of the stem that are above the soil line. They’re actually responsible for that characteristic tomato plant smell too. Those hairs are actually called trichomes and serve a number of important functions including boosting the plants resistance to cold and drought and even providing significant protection from certain pests. That seems to be a pretty common gardening myth! Until recently I mistakenly believed the fine hairs on a tomato plant’s stem were actually the beginnings of those adventitious roots. In other words, each time you pot up or transplant your tomato deep enough to cover a portion of the stem in soil, you’re providing it an opportunity to create a larger, more robust root system. These adventitious roots can significantly strengthen your plant because they are able to uptake water and nutrients just like normal roots. Tomatoes, and many other plants for that matter, produce what are known as adventitious roots when primordial root structures on the stem make contact with soil and moisture. Stick with me for a second - I promise we’ll get back to the practical guide in a minute - but this is really the basis for why so many gardeners recommend potting up tomatoes. Most importantly, we pot up because we want to take advantage of the tomato plant’s amazing ability to create additional, fully functional roots off of non-root organs, namely the stem. Most garden vegetables aren’t so easy to get back on track after a leggy start, so take advantage of this opportunity!

Potting up leggy tomatoes is a really effective way to get them back on the right path. The second reason to pot up is if you find yourself with thin, leggy stems as a result of either too little light or too much heat. If you would like to see the impact yourself, check out this video we made on the experiments we ran on our tomato seedlings this year to show how critical potting up and transplant timing is. Remember, tomatoes need much warmer than just “above freezing” to thrive they do best if nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees fahrenheit. Even in a mild climate, your seedlings will likely become too large for their original container before they’re ready to be planted outside permanently. Why do we bother potting up our tomatoes in the first place? Why not just leave them in their initial container or transplant them directly into the garden? There are a few important reasons.įirst off, we don’t want our tomato seedlings to become rootbound and stunt their long term growth.