Copia

[platys]

In my "oh no my seedlings are not growing" panic, I bought a Copia from a grower. Of course, I failed to do any research before buying it, lured in by its prettiness. I do love orange bicolors.

I searched here when I got home, and from what I read, everyone here who tried it thinks it is the worst tomato of all time. Is it? Should I foist it off on a friend, who will plant it incorrectly? Despite all advice, she'll be lucky to get one tomato, given past performance.

I really don't need another orange plant - I have Dagma's Perfection, Hawaiian, Hawaiian Pineapple, Golden Jubilee and probably another one I can't think of off the top of my head.

[Heritage]

Two years ago I planted 8 Copia plants in my greenhouse along with several other varieties of yellow/pink bi-colors/striped for comparison. Copia was by far the most beautiful and most productive of those bi-colors. (the stripes were very distinctive). But, the flavor was my least favorite of all the bi-colors (it was tart and I prefer sweet) except for one plant which produced sweeter tomatoes.

I saved the seeds from that one plant and grew them last year, outside. This time the stripes were indistinct (almost non-existent) and the flavor was bland. I'm growing a few plants again this year trying to duplicate the first year's results. I'm wondering if it has been completely stabilized yet, there was such a variation between the two years.

Bottom line is grow it. The looks alone had me hooked. And you might like the flavor.

Steve

[platys]

Now I'm curious! I'll just tell my husband he doesn't know how to count when he mentions there are more than 12 tomato plants out there. I'm at 16 now, with over half being oranges and bicolors.

[Heritage]

Ha! I haven't met a tomato grower yet who could count.

btw... you should add "Grandma Viney's Yellow and Pink" and "Nature's Riddle" to your list for next year, if you haven't tried them.

[SmartAlex]

Bland tomatoes. Vine was riddled with every problem known to maters. Did not repeat.

Foist it off on the friend

[platys]

Heritage, I'll have to check those out. I am growing Hillbilly this year as well.

[Suze]

I personally thought Copia was horribly bland, grown in my garden one year and also tasted at the '07 Tomatopalooza event in NC. JMO and all that ...

[Lee]

A real spitter indeed! Not worth the growing space IMO....

[Worth1]

Copia is by far the nastiest tomato I have ever tasted.
Flavor only surpassed by a rotten tomato infested with worms.
This tomato should be banned from the seed banks for fear of contaminating the rest of the tomato gene pool.

After tasting the retched excuse for a culinary tidbit I had to make a tea of 50 year old cigarette butts collected from the sewers of an Argentinean prison and drink it just to kill the bad taste in my mouth.

A great Christmas gift choice for your mother in law along with a moldy flea ridden, mange infested, house spraying tom cat.


Worth

[Tormato]

C'mon Worth, don't hold back. Tell us what you really think about Copia.

Tormato

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Copia is by far the nastiest tomato I have ever tasted.
Flavor only surpassed by a rotten tomato infested with worms.
This tomato should be banned from the seed banks for fear of contaminating the rest of the tomato gene pool.

After tasting the retched excuse for a culinary tidbit I had to make a tea of 50 year old cigarette butts collected from the sewers of an Argentinean prison and drink it just to kill the bad taste in my mouth.

A great Christmas gift choice for your mother in law along with a moldy flea ridden, mange infested, house spraying tom cat.


Worth

Now Worth, I don't think you had to use 50 year old cigarette butts, but clearly you're familiar with Argentinian prisons, I won't ask, so why don't you go back down there and get some 5 year old butts and see if they don't cleanse your palate just as well.

About Copia. I'm linking to Tania's site where she gives the background in terms of parentage and when you look at the various fruit forms and colors and shapes that the pictures show it really does say that this variety is not genetically stable. Whether or not it be WORTH someones time to make some selections I have no idea.

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

Jeff Dawson has introduced several good varieties, some he bred and some from selections from natural crosses, but this one, to date, has not been particularly successful in most of it's incarnations.

[platys]

Now, I have to grow it. I can give it out to neighbors and coworkers I don't particularly like, or as punishment. That should keep people in line. Next year, I'll just say "Well, i could Copia you...", and they'd behave.

[Heritage]

Nectar of the gods... ambrosia...

[platys]

I stuck my Copia in a 5 gallon bucket, and it is doing the weirdest thing. First, here is a full shot.


Single stem copia by knittergail, on Flickr

Notice it is a nice big plant, but has no suckers.

Sorry that this is a bit odd of a picture, but you can see how it seems to have a bunch of fused stems.


Weird copia by knittergail, on Flickr

ALL, and I mean ALL, of the blossoms are right at the top of the fused stem:


Copia blossoms by knittergail, on Flickr

How weird is that?

[dice]

you can see how it seems to have a bunch of fused stems.

I have a few plants similar to that this year. A Cherokee Green grew
exactly like that, although it does have another stem growing from
a side-shoot below there now. Others were growing completely
normally, but the main shoot suddenly terminated in a blossom
cluster, and the plant is growing on from a side-shoot lower down:
an Indiana Red, an Earl's Faux, etc.

Wierdness.