How to Grow Renegade Tomato

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Renegade Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum 'Renegade'

vegetable

Renegade is a determinate, disease-resistant tomato variety bred for commercial and home gardeners seeking reliability. It produces medium-sized, round red fruits with excellent flavor and is notably resistant to late blight, early blight, and fusarium wilt. This variety is particularly valued for its consistent yields and ability to thrive in challenging growing conditions.

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Example Renegade Tomato timeline · Pittsburgh, PA (Zone 6b)

Plant Renegade Tomato
Around Apr 17

Near Pittsburgh's average last spring frost.
Tend & protect
Late spring–summer

Watering, feeding, and pest-watch reminders.
Harvest Renegade Tomato
Around Jun 26

≈ 70 days after planting

Sample dates for Pittsburgh, PA. Sign up to get exact Renegade Tomato dates for your own zip code.

Growing Conditions

☀️

Sun: Full sun, 6-8 hours daily minimum (8+ hours ideal)

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Water: Consistent moisture, 1-2 inches per week through drip irrigation or soaking at base; avoid wetting foliage to prevent disease

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Spacing: 24-36 inches

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Days to maturity: 70-85 days from transplant

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Planting depth: Seed: 0.25 inches deep; Transplant: bury stem up to first true leaves

Soil

Type: Well-draining loamy soil rich in organic matter

pH: 6.0-6.8

Amendments:

Compost aged manure peat moss or coco coir balanced fertilizer (5-10-10)

Growing Zones

Find your zone →

Thrives in zones 4-9, can be grown as annual in zones 3-10

3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b 6a 6b 7a 7b 8a 8b 9a 9b

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Growth Stages

Seedling

3-4 weeks

Tiny seedlings with cotyledons (seed leaves) emerge 5-10 days after planting. True leaves develop and plants remain delicate.

Provide 14-16 hours of grow light daily, keep soil consistently moist but not waterlogged, maintain 70-75°F temperature, thin to strongest seedling per cell

Vegetative Growth

2-3 weeks

Transplants develop robust stem, multiple sets of compound leaves, and a strong root system. Plant grows 6-12 inches tall before hardening off.

Gradually expose to outdoor conditions over 7-10 days before transplanting, maintain consistent water and nutrients, support with small stakes if needed indoors

Flowering

3-4 weeks

Yellow flower clusters appear at leaf axils, beginning around 30-40 days after transplant. Flowers self-pollinate.

Ensure adequate calcium intake (add crushed eggshells or gypsum to prevent blossom-end rot), maintain consistent watering, provide support structure, remove lower leaves if disease appears

Fruiting

4-6 weeks

Small green fruits develop from pollinated flowers, gradually enlarging to golf-ball to baseball size. Fruits mature from green to red over 2-3 weeks.

Continue consistent watering and fertilization with lower nitrogen formula (higher phosphorus/potassium), prune suckers on indeterminate types (minimal needed for Renegade's determinate habit), monitor for pests

Harvest

4-8 weeks (until frost)

Fruits turn deep red at full maturity and yield slightly to gentle pressure. Plant continues producing until frost or disease pressure reduces yields.

Harvest when fully red for best flavor; can pick at breaker stage and ripen indoors; pick every 2-3 days to encourage continued production; reduce watering gradually as season ends

Companion Planting

Plan your garden →

Plant with:

Basil parsley marigold carrot onion garlic borage nasturtium

Avoid planting near:

Fennel kohlrabi cabbage brassicas dill

Common Pests

Hand-pick larvae, use Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), encourage parasitic wasps, inspect undersides of leaves
Use row covers on young plants, spray with insecticidal soap, release parasitic wasps, yellow sticky traps
Strong water spray, insecticidal soap, neem oil, introduce ladybugs and lacewings
Mist foliage regularly, increase humidity, spray with neem oil or miticide, remove heavily infested leaves
Renegade is resistant; practice crop rotation, sterilize tools, remove infected plants, improve soil drainage

Uses

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Fresh eating and slicing

Culinary

Renegade produces excellent medium-sized fruits perfect for slicing in salads and sandwiches. The balanced sweetness and acidity make them ideal for fresh consumption. [source]

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Canning and preserves

Culinary

The determinate growth habit concentrates fruit ripening, making Renegade excellent for batch canning, sauces, and paste. High pectin content supports jam and preserve making. [source]

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Antioxidant-rich nutrition

Medicinal

Tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant linked to heart health and cancer prevention. Red tomatoes like Renegade have higher lycopene concentrations than orange or yellow varieties. [source]

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Disease resistance breeding

Household

Renegade's breeding for late blight and early blight resistance makes it valuable for organic growers and integrated pest management programs. Its genetic resistance traits are studied for developing more resilient cultivars. [source]

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Garden pollinator support

Wildlife

Tomato flowers attract bees, flies, and other pollinators. Growing tomatoes supports pollinator populations and demonstrates their critical role in vegetable production. [source]

This is not medical advice. LizPlants is not a medical resource. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before using plants medicinally.

Harvest Tips

Pick tomatoes when fully red and slightly soft to touch for best flavor. For end-of-season harvests, pick mature green tomatoes and ripen indoors at 68-77°F away from direct sun. Renegade's determinate habit means most fruit ripens within a 2-3 week window, ideal for canning. Harvest every 2-3 days to encourage continued production.

Fun Facts

🌱 Renegade was specifically bred to resist late blight (Phytophthora infestans), the pathogen that caused the Irish Potato Famine and remains one of the costliest plant diseases globally.
🌱 Tomato fruits continue to ripen after harvest because they produce ethylene gas; picking at the breaker stage (first blush of color) and ripening indoors actually produces sweeter tomatoes than vine-ripening in some cases.
🌱 Renegade is a determinate (bush) variety, meaning it grows to a fixed size and produces most fruit within a concentrated window—perfect for gardeners wanting simultaneous harvest for canning or processing.

Gardening Terms

New to gardening? Learn about terms used in this guide:

Full Sun Hardening Off pH Sucker Transplant True Leaves

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