# McDonald’s tomato seed gardening experiment

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/mcdonalds-tomato-seed-gardening-experiment
> Updated: 2026-08-10T20:02:28.000Z. Sources: 6. Developments: 2.

American blogger and YouTuber James Prigioni conducted an experiment to see if tomato seeds extracted from McDonald’s fast-food burgers could grow into viable plants. After cleaning seeds from a tomato slice and planting them alongside an untreated slice, sprouts appeared within seven days under specialized lighting.

Prigioni transplanted the seedlings into an open garden and a plastic pot without using chemical aids. Within three months, both plants grew into large, productive bushes. While the plants did not produce the large, round tomatoes typical of fast-food burgers, they instead yielded oblong, firm, and sweet Roma tomatoes. Prigioni noted that the plants grown from the burger seeds appeared even more robust than those grown from commercially purchased seeds of the same variety.

## Timeline

### 2026-08-10: James Prigioni grows tomato plants from McDonald's cheeseburger seeds

Blogger James Prigioni successfully grew productive Roma tomato plants using seeds extracted from a McDonald's cheeseburger.

4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/james-prigioni-grows-tomato-plants-from-mcdonalds-cheeseburger-seeds

### 2026-08-04: US Home Gardeners Turn Fridge into Pickle Cooler and Grow Tomatoes from McDonald’s Seeds

Reddit gardeners turned a garage fridge into a pickle cooler for surplus cucumbers, while YouTuber James Prigioni grew abundant tomatoes from seeds taken from McDonald’s burgers.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/us-home-gardeners-turn-fridge-into-pickle-cooler-and-grow-tomatoes-from-mcdonalds-seeds

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Cite as: McDonald’s tomato seed gardening experiment. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/mcdonalds-tomato-seed-gardening-experiment