Oooh I hope you're right! I'm looking at the base of the stem, where it seems thinner, grows along the dirt and then abruptly gets thicker and bends straight upwards.

It's just too shallow. Pot them up and you can bury half the stem. They look nice and healthy!

Linda

Thank you, Linda! I will be potting them up into 4" pots soon!

I think it is damping off and the seedlings are trying to hang on.

Re potting deeper into a well drained soil, and less watering can help. JMO

Sey

Sey - that is not what I want to hear!!! :-D I stopped watering them for a couple days, and the soil was dry when I watered them last night. I'll pot them up tonight, up to their first set of leaves, give it a few days before I water them again and hope for the best.

Been growing tomatoes off and on for fifty years. Does not look to be damping off per your pics. Leaf color looks good.

I have posted an excellent link to seed starting and maintenance done by NCTomatoman who is on tomatoville.com ...Superb videos...invest a few minutes to view. Good Growing!

http://www.craiglehoullier.com/resources/

Thanks tbird! Leaf color does look good in person, they show no signs of drying out or wilting. I'm really hoping it's not damping off, but will still pot them up just in case.

May or may not be Damping Off but it sure looks like a fungal disease. A Lab. test is a better conformation then looking at pictures. There are various fungal types that will affect the stem and none are a welcome sight. Sterilized soil helps but is never a gaurantee that you won't get the disease.

I would not try to save affected plants. If it is timber rot it will get worse as plants are grown.

I sure don't see anything wrong with them, much less any damp-off. If they were mine I sure would transplant into larger pots and try to save them. Ultimately it is your choice. Curious about what variety they are?

Dave

I have seen this before with flowers but not tomatoes. The seed sprouted on top and the roots grew along the top until they went down. The root then tries to turn to stem since it is above the soil. I think if you repot and bury them they should be fine.

My mother-in-law (an amazing gardener, who always has tons of tomatoes) just stopped by, and she agrees that the seeds were just too shallow. She pointed out that you can see the seed case at the point where the stem suddenly turns upward and gets stouter. I think it's exactly what hoosier said.

As for varieties they are: Opalka Paste, Black Cherry, A Grappoli D'Inverno, Amish Paste and Bonny Best.