Tomato ick

I don't know what this is but it's icky and I had the same thing in the same spot last year! I'm pretty sure I didn't pull the plant and I think I just left it alone and got tomatoes but this year I'd like to document it:

and close up:


I sprayed it off with the hose but it came right back.

These plants got off to a very stressful start, someone else planted them in the hoophouse while I was planting several hundred saplings. The plants all keeled over but I was able to revive them. They've got a bit of leaf curl, and a little blight too but I'm hoping they pull thru.

Not sure why those two are planted so close together, but like I said someone else did the planting.

So, should I pull the plant or leave it?
What is the ick?

I am fairly certain I have seen something very similar to this before. It was a slime mold of some sort that was growing on a massive pile of woodchips in my yard growing up. Not sure how it will affect a living plant though since it wasn't growing close to anything that small. It did get onto the trunk of a tree, but didn't seem to do any lasting harm. They used to classify this as a fungus, but don't any more if I am not mistaken. To the best of my knowledge, they only feed on dead matter.

D. Logan wrote: It was a slime mold of some sort that was growing on a massive pile of woodchips in my yard growing up.

Well, I did put down a bunch of bark mulch this year and last year. I'll do a little googling and see what I find, thanks.

OK, slime mold it is.
According to this:

Slime molds get their nutrients from dead organic matter, such as mulch. Although slime molds may grow on plants, they do not harm plants. Slime molds will eventually disappear on their own. If you want to speed this process, rake the mulch to promote air drying.

In this particular instance, quelling the urge to KILL IT was the right move.

Glad I could help.