📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Druzhba (Friendship)
- 🌍 Origin: A widely loved Eastern European heirloom. The word “Druzhba” translates to “Friendship”.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. When grown outdoors in open ground, it typically reaches about 5.2-5.5 feet (1.6-1.7 m) in height.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, red beefsteaks that are round but slightly oblate (flattened) with mild ribbing at the shoulders. They average around 10.5-12.3 oz (300-350 g).
- 👅 Flavor: Very dependent on growing conditions. When grown in a warm greenhouse, it is praised for being incredibly sweet and delicious. Outdoors in cooler/wetter weather, the flavor can be more average.
- 💪 Standout Features: Known for being a very reliable, heavy-yielding workhorse in the garden.
DRUZHBA
Grew it outdoors in open ground, the bushes were about 5.2-5.5 feet (1.6-1.7 m) tall. The fruits are large, up to 10.5-12.3 oz (300-350 g), red, round, slightly oblate (flattened), and slightly ribbed. Very productive.
Beauties! Galya, how was the flavor?
Ira, to be honest, I don’t remember. 🤭 I don’t have any notes on it in my journal, it didn’t really stand out as exceptionally good (+) or bad (-). We just ate them mixed in with the rest of the harvest. I usually only taste them individually when I’m gutting them for seed saving.
I’ve been growing this variety for a long time. I really like it. But in the greenhouse, it was just incredibly delicious. Outdoors in open ground this year, even though it set fruit really well, it just wasn’t as sweet.
1. The Name “Druzhba”: The word Druzhba means “Friendship” in both Russian and Bulgarian. Many American heirloom growers might actually recognize this name! A legendary Bulgarian heirloom named “Druzhba” was introduced to the US seed market years ago by Carolyn Male. The plant habits and fruit descriptions in this Russian thread perfectly match the Bulgarian heirloom grown stateside, proving this is a widely circulated Eastern European classic!
2. “Gutting” for Seeds: Galina mentions she only tastes individual tomatoes when she is “gutting” them. In Russian gardening slang, “potroshit” (to gut/disembowel) is the affectionate term used when a grower finally slices open their best, fully ripe tomatoes at the end of the season to scoop out the gel and ferment the seeds for next year’s crop. It’s the perfect time for a taste test!
