Druzba- oh my goodness!

[Mojave]

This is the first time I've grown Druzba. It's areal slow grower, almost like a semi determinate (in my garden anyway). I picked my first bunch of beautiful perfectly round ripe fruit this week. Oh WOW what a taste!

I'll be growing this again!

[jerryinfla]

Thanks for the report! I've been considering Druzba -- now it's on my confirmed to grow list.

[materlvr]

Druzba is my go-to tomato, delivering yummy perfect fruit when all the others crump! I picked my first 2 and they went on a yummy, first of the season BLT!

I always grow Druzba!

[Sun City Linda]

Mojave - Don't know anyone who does not like (luv) Druzba. Materlvr sang its praises to me last year and I will continue to grow it. I should put it in an Earthbox since it has such a well behaved growth habit.

[materlvr]

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

Mojave - Don't know anyone who does not like (luv) Druzba. Materlvr sang its praises to me last year and I will continue to grow it. I should put it in an Earthbox since it has such a well behaved growth habit.

How is your mater garden doing this year, Linda? Mine is perfection, I must have over 200+ greenies off my 7 plants. I'm buying quart jars and canning tomato sauce when we start to get sick of 'em!

[Sun City Linda]

Oh I am so happy for you Janie, I know last year was kind of a bust! I am not having a banner year. Weak ferts (I think) led to lots of issues, mainly EB. But, I am still planning and planting for Fall.

[materlvr]

Good for you, I hope you get a great harvest! You know, we go all year eating those nasty store-bought maters and then when you harvest your own it's AMAZING what they do to a BLT or cheeseburger!

I've only picked Stupice and Druzba but I'm dreaming about the others, which will be coming along in a few weeks. We've had the best weather for tomatoes that I can remember.

[pdxwindjammer]

Another Druzba lover but I think I prefer Thessaloniki a wee bit more!

[Sun City Linda]

Yep, good weather indeed!

PDX Glad to hear that. I have a Thessaloniki growing for the first time.

[lakelady]

So is this a party for the West Coast only or can us here on the East Coast grow it too ? LOL so far everyone raving about it is on the other side of the country!

[swamper]

I grew it for the first time last year here in CT and was very impressed with the flavor. 3 plants this year are very vigorous and loaded with green fruit. I cant wait.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by lakelady

So is this a party for the West Coast only or can us here on the East Coast grow it too ? LOL so far everyone raving about it is on the other side of the country!

Since Druzba started life in the US in my tomato field here in NYS of course we East Coast folks can grow it, and grow it very well, thank you.

I can't get Tania's page for Druzba to download completely so try it yourself. But the history is that I received seeds for it from Norbert P from France, in a huge trade we did in 1992 and first listed it in the SSE YEarbook in 1993. Norbert had said it was a variety from Bulgaria and I have yet to meet a Bulgarian variety that I don't like.

If you look at the seed sources for Druzba at Tania's page you can see how popular it really is with so many seed sites offering it.

And yes, it's a go to variety for many folks b'c it seldom disappoints.

If you like Druzba you'll also like Bulgarian Triumph very much as well. And of course then there's Milka's Red Bulgarian which is a huge red beedsteak with great taste and this latter one and another one I got from an MD who had Milka as a patient.

Edited to add that Tania's page is downloading very well now:

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Druzba

[zabby17]

Well, this non-West-Coaster (in a similar zone to Carolyn's) grew Druzba for a couple of years; it was nice enough but didn't impress me particularly with either taste or productivity.

I love the name, though!

Z

[meadowyck]

Isn't there some rule here that is you have wonderful news like this that you HAVE to POST a picture???? LOL

I will always remember the story a lady told on a different forum about Druzba. She said she could always smell the Druzba plant when she went to the garden and she loved it. It seemed to have a much stronger tomato plant odor than other varieties. Her young son once commented how good her hands smelled when she went into the house after picking Druzba. She also commented on how the Druzba plant was so huge. Mine have only been medium sized plants surrounded by huge plants of other varieties.

My Druzba produced beautiful, almost blemish free; fruit with a great taste this year. I am surprised that someone is harvesting Stupice and Druzba at the same time. My Druzbas were mid to late season producers. It was one of the varieties I had almost given up on when it suddenly started setting fruit.

Ted