📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zarevo (Glow)
- 🌍 Origin: A very rare Russian heirloom variety popularized and distributed by the well-known tomato seed collector V. Kolyakov. The name translates to “Glow” or “Blaze”.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A tall, powerful, and vigorous plant that performs exceptionally well in greenhouses.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright red, round beefsteaks weighing between 7 oz to 1.1 lbs (200-500 g). The flesh is incredibly dense, meaty, and contains very few seeds.
- 👅 Flavor: The absolute gold standard of old-fashioned tomato flavor. Perfectly balanced, juicy, and sweet.
- 💡 Good to know: It is frequently compared to the famous Russian heirloom Babushkino, but growers note that Zarevo (Glow) ripens slightly earlier and has a distinct, often preferred, flavor profile.
I got my seeds from V. Kolyakov. Here is his catalog description: “Tall, large-fruited. Mid-season. A very rare, highly productive heirloom beefsteak masterpiece. Fruits are round, bright red, weighing up to 1 lb (450 g). The taste is amazingly juicy, very few seeds, solid meat. I’ve only ever seen this in one other person’s collection, which is where I got it. Suuuuper!”
I can completely confirm his words. The tomato is absolutely stunning! It is a direct competitor to Babushkino, or maybe its blood brother. The bush is just as vigorous and beautiful, setting the same huge trusses of incredibly delicious tomatoes. The color is just slightly different. The flavor is just as perfectly balanced, though it is still distinct from Babushkino. I loved it!
Zarevo (Glow) was one of the best finds for me this past season.
The name perfectly matches the color of this beautiful tomato.
It’s a bright red beefsteak, averaging around 7-10.5 oz (200-300 g), with what I would call an outstanding flavor. Long story short: this is exactly what a real heirloom tomato should taste like.
The bush is tall. In my greenhouse here in my region, it grew well over 6.5 feet (2 m). It’s a mid-season variety.
Regarding the comparison to Babushkino: since I grew them in the same greenhouse bed side-by-side, the differences were pretty obvious. The plant habit is different. Zarevo is slightly less productive, but it ripens earlier. And most importantly, they taste different. They are both great in their own way, but in my opinion, Zarevo tastes better.
Zarevo.
Indet, grew it in the greenhouse pruned to 2 stems. I really loved this variety 👍. The fruits are very meaty, super tasty, and are round bright red beefsteaks weighing up to 1.1 lbs (500 g).
The Russian word Zarevo translates to “Glow” or “Blaze” (specifically the bright red glow you see in the sky during a vivid sunset or a large fire). As Valery noted in the thread, the name is an absolute perfect fit for this intensely bright red tomato!
Also mentioned in this thread: Babushkino. You will see growers constantly comparing Zarevo to Babushkino (which means “Grandma’s”). Babushkino is arguably one of the most famous and highly respected Russian red heirlooms, known for its massive vines, insane yields, and classic flavor. The fact that Zarevo is considered a “direct competitor” to Babushkino is some of the highest praise a red beefsteak can get in the Eastern European tomato community!
