must think it's halloween as it's short,stocky and all dressed up in Potato leaves

****

... which of course it should be, as in BOO, bc the foliage is RL.

How many plants of Druzba do you have and are all wrongly PL?

Did you start your plants from seed or buy them or trade seeds for them, and if from seed do you feel comfortable sharing the seed source ( commercial, not trades) as long as you know for sure that there was no error at your end, no mixups, and that you aren't dealing with a stray seed?

Carolyn

Carolyn
I only have 1 plant. I gave 2 others away and one of them is a PL. I haven't seen the other plant to verify. I had always thought something was peculiar about the Druzba's characteristics and couldn't put my finger on it until this morning. I got the seeds from a commercial source well known to this forum and favorably considered.Would rather talk to them first,sorry. I'm going to start some of the seeds I have remaining to see what I get. Will save this plant that I have and is flowering.

Carolyn are there any PL determinate type tomato plants? While observing this strange,thought to be Druzba, I became aware that the flowers are located only at the end of the main branch rather than sprouting out the side of a branch like my other plants.In my original message I referred to this plant as short and stocky. It is 12-16 inches tall whereas my other plants are 42-54 inches in height. In case your wondering if I've been drinking,no I haven't,I'm too old.

Lets BUMP this 6 year old thread and learn more about DRUZBA.
I have heard some good reviews on it during last couple of seasons that I decided to grow it in 2015. My seedlings are now growing under light.
Here is what I have learned about it:

Origin : Bulgaria ... Heirloom/ OP
Growth Habit : Indet ..4 -6ft tall, RL
DTH : 70 to 80
Fruit: Red, Round,.. 6 - 12 oz
PRODUCTIVITY: good
Taste Reviews : 60% positive ... 40% neutral

Who has grown Druzba in the recent past ? And how do you rate it , in terms of earliness, taste and productivity ? Now is the time to talk tomatoes before the hard work begins soon.

I am interested in live discussions and first hand opinions, not searching and researching.

Thanks

Seysonn

PS: the last post description by jwr6404 does not fit the picture of Druzba.. What is described there is more like DER DWARF.

I have only grown it once only because I always have so many I want to try. Excellent tomato and I found it to be rather stocky and almost dwarf like out the door. It later grew and behaved as an indeterminate.

Thanks , Linda.
The description says INDET, 4-6ft tall. So I suppose it is not as vigorous as most indets. I prefer stocky plants.

Seysonn

Who else , other than Linda, is growing DRUZBA this year ?

Seysonn

Sorry for the late reply Seysonn, i hope all is well with you btw. My father and myself have been alternating it for a few years, last year was his turn and he did an excellent job.

My previous Druzba plants fit the descriptions posted nearly everywhere. Stocky & slow to grow tall, gray-ish green colored leaves, a strong green plant smell. No catfacing or cracking, up to 10oz's maybe.

Mid-season ... productivity = good to very good ... taste = balanced & tomatoey . Those who like Rutgers/Ramapo + related varieties would like Druzba as well imho.

Thanks much, SJetski
Your feed back is quite assuring. I am also growing Rutgers.
Have a good season !

Seysonn

Seysonn, I grew it two years ago. I wasn't overly impressed. But that could have been my experience.

Sharon, thanks for the comment.. For the better or worse , I am growing it. I planted out one of them 2 days ago. We shall see how it does in my PNW climate.

Seysonn

I forgot to mention it in my last post, but i did have one bad year with Druzba, 2011 i believe. Most of them came out a little dry and mealy, so i just ended up processing them that year. I figured it was some sort of climate, nutrition, or watering thing, or all of the above. But it was only that one year.

Their sturdiness still impresses me, and that strong smell they put out especially after you've pruned the low hanging leaves and suckers.

Disease susceptibility is about average, but they do respond well to copper + sulphur, and of course Daconil treatments.

Steve

Thanks Steve, for such a valuable review.
I like it when I read about first hand experience..
In a few days , when the temps improve a bit, I will plant out mine.

Ok, folks let the season begin ! And have a great one !

Seysonn

SJ, I have noticed that my Druzbas are very slow growing. Upon re reading your comments I saw that you mentioned that it is "slow to grow tall..".
Now I am relaxed.

Sey

Keeping Posted.
So far my Druzba is ok. But growing slower than Siltetz, Rutgers, and few others. Probably it needs warmer temps to start moving . So I am keeping an eye on it .

Who else is growing Druzba this season ?
Lets share our experience and thoughts. Being the first time, it is "make" or "bust". You last chance Druzba.. C'mone ! Move it !

OK, so you do not want a link to Tania's page for it, but if you looked you'd find that I was the first to introduce it to the US, seeds to me from Norbert in France back in 1992. You'll also note that I I was the first to answer the original poster back in 2009.

I've grown it many many times for seed production for my SSE listings as well as for seed offers I've done here and there over the years.

You also limited posts to those who are growing it this YEAR, which I'm not since as you know I no longer can do that.

All to say that I've grown in longer than anyone here and have never had any problems with it and love it, and I've had lots of comparisons to make since to date I had grown, myself, about 4,000 plus varieties before I fell, severed all four quads in my right leg which put me in this walker, permanently, since Dec of 2004.

Q.E.D,

Carolyn