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ExperimentsCherry tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes in a software office.

Cherry tomatoes grown from seed inside my office in 2026 — from seed trays in March to ripe trusses in July, and a stem-by-stem count of fruit trusses in September. Here's the setup, the dated evidence and what was actually measured.

Earliest footage
Seedlings in trays · 1 Mar 2026
Containers
Black fabric grow bags
Ripe fruit on video
23 Jul 2026
Trusses counted
186 across five plants · 11 Sep 2026
A truss of ripe red cherry tomatoes hanging from a plant indoors
Ripe cherry tomatoes in the office · 23 July 2026
The question

Can you grow cherry tomatoes that actually ripen — not just a few leaves — inside an ordinary working office, starting from seed?

The setup, and what the evidence covers

Visible in the footage

  • Seedlings in black seed-starting trays and cell trays, earliest footage 1 March 2026 (these early clips don't distinguish tomato from cucumber)
  • Seedlings under an LED lamp in early March
  • Seedlings moved into black fabric grow bags with bagged potting substrate and perlite, 29–30 March
  • Grow bags placed in front of the office's floor-to-ceiling windows
  • Ripe and ripening cherry tomato trusses, 23 July 2026

Recorded in my notes

  • Plant codes for the tracked tomatoes: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2
  • Trusses recorded on two main stems per plant, plus the side shoots growing from them
  • Truss count for five plants, stem by stem, on 11 September 2026 — 186 in total

Not documented

  • Sowing date (the 1 March footage already shows sprouts)
  • Tomato variety
  • Exact substrate mix, fertiliser and watering routine
  • Light setup for the mature plants and the LED's power
  • Harvested weight

From seedling to fruit

  1. First seedlings emerging in a black seed-starting tray

    Early seedlings

    Earliest footage: sprouts in a seed tray (crop not identifiable this early).

  2. A cherry tomato seed packet standing in a grow bag next to a tiny seedling

    Into grow bags

    A tomato seedling in its fabric grow bag, labelled with its seed packet.

  3. Tall tomato and cucumber plants in grow bags covering the office windows

    Filling the window

    Tall plants in grow bags covering the office windows.

  4. Close-up of green cherry tomatoes on a truss

    Fruit developing

    Green fruit on newer trusses while older ones ripen.

The full dated timeline, including the cucumbers, is on the story page.

Ripe fruit, 23 July 2026

Ripe cherry tomato trusses in the office, 23 July 2026.
Ripe cherry tomato trusses in the office, 23 July 2026.

By late July there were ripe red cherry tomatoes on several trusses, with green fruit still developing on newer ones — all of it in the office, next to the desks.

Cherry tomatoes ripening from green to red on several trusses
23 July 2026 — trusses ripening from green to red.

Truss count on five plants

On I counted the fruit trusses on five tomato plants, stem by stem. It's the most detailed measurement in this experiment.

Recorded on

Fruit trusses per plant

186trusses across five plants
A truss is a cluster of flowers or fruit on the stem. These are counts of trusses — not individual tomatoes, and not harvested weight.
Recorded fruit trusses per plant, 11 September 2026
PlantMain stemsSide shootsTotal trusses
B1171027
A1162036
A2113041
A3163046
B2122436
Total72114186
Stem-by-stem breakdown

B1 — 27 trusses

  • Main stem 18
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 13
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 22
  • Main stem 29
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 13
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 22

A1 — 36 trusses

  • Main stem 18
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 12
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 23
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 32
  • Main stem 28
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 18
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 23
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 32

A2 — 41 trusses

  • Main stem 14
  • Main stem 27
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 14
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 23
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 39
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 44
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 57
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 63

A3 — 46 trusses

  • Main stem 17
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 14
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 25
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 32
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 42
  • Main stem 29
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 13
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 28
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 34
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 42

B2 — 36 trusses

  • Main stem 17
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 15
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 25
  • Main stem 1 · side shoot 33
  • Main stem 25
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 14
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 23
  • Main stem 2 · side shoot 34

Correction note: for plant A2 my original note says 42 in total, but its stem counts add up to 41, so 41 is shown here.

Results and limitations

What happened

Cherry tomatoes grew from seed and ripened inside the office, in fabric grow bags by the windows.

What was measured

186 fruit trusses across five plants on 11 September 2026 — 72 on main stems, 114 on side shoots.

What wasn't measured

Harvested weight, fruit per truss, electricity use and costs. The truss count says nothing definite about how many kilograms were picked.

What to measure next time

Weigh every harvest per plant, count fruits on a sample of trusses, and record sowing and transplant dates.

Want to turn a truss count into a clearly labelled estimate for your own plants? Read the truss-counting guide.

Disclosure

All photos and video on this page are frames or clips from my own original recordings; dates come from the original files. Nothing is AI-generated. No products were sponsored. Office-grown produce here is described as indoor-grown only — it is not certified organic.