Since I tried numerous grafted tomato plants I figured I enter some of my findings. I won't argue that there may be some disease resistance benefit, especially in the Southeast where soil borne diseases are more of an issue. I'm in the northeast where those diseases are not a major concern. First I'll state that grafting is a chalenge. sometimes it appears that the graft was a success when in reality a shoot from the rootstock developed and grew. Since the rootstocks recommended are Beoufort(Sp) or Maxifort (the vatiety I used) and neither produce desirable fruit you can imagine the frustration at the uncertainty of what I was really growing. Then there is the planting depth issue. You must be extremely carefull to only plant to below the graft or your grafted top may take root and defeat the purpose. Lastly, you need to "Prune". Many are against the concept of "Suckering" lateral branches. If you graft be prepared to NEED to vigorously sucker the unwanted new vegetative growth from the rootstock. Otherwise you will have loads of strange little yellow wierd flavored fruits that are of no use on stems that you never planned for.

Some multiplier onions are very high yielding. Walking onions (A. cepa, same species as bulbing onions) & bunching onions (A. fistulosum) are probably your best bets. Both are perennials, so as long as you care for them, you'll (almost) never need to buy scallions. Only during their dormant phase in mid-Summer. You have probably already seen walking onions; "Egyptian" and "Catawissa" are the most popular. They form bulb clusters on the end of their "seed stalk". They can be harvested twice a year, in early Spring, and again in late Summer/Fall. The plants multiply both from dividing at the base, and from planting the bulb clusters. They are exceptionally winter hardy. These are my favorite scallions, very tasty. Bunching onions can be harvested at roughly the same times. They get flowers on their stalks the second year after planting, and are less winter hardy than the walking onions... but probably more than hardy enough for your zone. The degree to which they multiply varies; those with the larger stalks tend to divide less, perhaps into 3-4 vs. 10 or more for the smaller ones. Did I say larger stalks??? Some varieties, well grown, can have stalks over 1" wide. I described several varieties in the "Unusual Vegetables" thread (on the Veggie Forum). You could also grow shallots or potato onions, which would then double as bulbs when mature... but IMO, eating them as scallions would be a waste. They also would not multiply as rapidly as the walking onions, or the smaller bunching onions. However, you might consider growing garlic chives. Even garlic bulbs, if left unharvested, will form large clusters of greens which can be harvested as scallions... you might even find that you have a taste for them.

Tomato stem primordia may develop all along any tomato stem regardless of its proximity to the ground. Often it is a response to high humidity levels in the air or to excessive watering/rain around the roots. The plant attempts to compensate for the excess moisture around its soil roots by developing more roots. But the root initials themselves are not harmful to the plant. They are normal. If you have a section of the garden that is showing a greater number of primordia and is also having wilt problems then it is likely that it is too wet there for some reason - poor drainage, too much watering or rain, etc. Diseases are more likely to develop there too. Remember that roots need air as much as they need water and excessively wet soil deprives them of that needed air. More plants are killed by overwatering than by underwatering so when in doubt - don't water and pray for less rain. ;) Dave

"If it's a variety that you really want, you can stick the broken plant in water and it will form roots and can be re-planted later." Don't even bother with the water, just stick it in the dirt where you want it to grow, and keep the soil moist. That way you won't have transplant shock. The roots a tomato grows when it is in water are different from the roots it grows when in soil, so rooting it directly in the soil saves the time required to adapt. Betsy