Nathaniel Thompson of Remembrance Farm grows 100 acres of biodynamic vegetables in the Finger Lakes of New York, including about 7 acres of carrots each season largely for his winter CSA. Over the years he has trialed dozens and dozens of varieties, hunting for that holy grail of vigor, storage and sweetness. He has found none that compare to Bolero, especially in the vigor department, which makes all the difference, especially at scale.
“Even after years of trials, my biodynamic farm is still dependent on this chemical, conventional seed,” explained Nathaniel. And he isn’t alone. Bolero is grown on tens of thousands of acres around the world, in both conventional and organic fields alike. In 2015, the French multinational Vilmorin, who bred and produces Bolero, announced it would never be releasing the F1 as an organic seed. “After years, I was finally going crazy.”
Nathaniel approached us here at Fruition Seeds. We focus on regional adaptation as well as organics and we love to collaborate broadly with all stakeholders in the food system, from farmers to universities to foodbanks and everything in between. We had helped Nathaniel develop select strains of hyper-petaled, super colorful calendula for his salad mixes and a super-frilled, cold-tolerant Red Russian kale to increase his production in both spring and fall. Could we de-hybridize Bolero, as well?
The day Nathaniel asked us to de-hybridize Bolero, we realized we were in over our heads. Carrots are prone to such inbreeding depression and, since they cross so readily with Queen Anne’s Lace and are difficult to produce well in isolation cages, they’re challenging to grow to seed here in the Northeast. We immediately turned to our dear friend and mentor Irwin Goldman, a public plant breeder at University of Wisconsin, Madison who specializes in carrots.
Irwin jumped in right away.
Instrumental in founding the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI), Irwin shared his insight that since Bolero’s parent lines were likely so inbred that it would be counter-productive to simply ‘de-hybridize’ Bolero. ‘Crossing Bolero with OSSI’s Nantes-style carrot population was an elegant solution,’ shared Irwin, ‘combining the specificity of Bolero with the broader but still desirable genetics of a healthy Nantes population makes a much more resilient carrot.’
That winter, Irwin crossed several Bolero carrots into the OSSI Nantes population and sent Fruition the seed the following season, beginning a cycle we would follow for four years to come. The seed was sown at Remembrance Farm, with agronomic selections made at harvest. We selected each root for classic Nantes shape as well as early, abundant leaf production, providing early vigor and early maturity as well as machine harvest. Once we stored the roots 3 months (the optimum minimum vernalization period for carrot), we made taste/texture selections and sent them to Irwin, who planted them in his glass houses to produce seed over the winter. Irwin’s immense generosity and expertise allowed this biennial crop to be produced annually. This growth-selection-production cycle continued for five carrot generations over six years, each season refining our process.
Making the Selections
photo courtesy Petra Page-Mann
Dulcinea carrots, a Nantes-style alternative to the industrial Bolero,
was developed by a model collaboration between a farmer, seed company and public university
There was much to select for, Friends! Within the context of Nathaniel’s biodynamic farm, we selected this new variety specifically for flavor, storage, and early vigorous leaf production.The flavor selections we made were immensely illuminating. I had read that carrots quickly revert back to their bitter ancestry and tasting this ancestry in all her pine-y, resinous intensity was SO eye-opening. Not often, but at first perhaps every one in eighty or so carrots would have a distinct and unmistakable pinesol-esque quality. With selection, the proportion decreased. Still, with every generation, we are making flavor selections. And it’s paid off: Already, Dulcinea is much more sweet and tender than Bolero.
As we made flavor selections, we had three bins: One labeled heaven, another hell and the third one was purgatory. As much as I love flavor wheels and nuance, we were tasting hundreds of roots and had to keep it simple! Delicious ones went to heaven and bitter ones went to hell. Purgatory was of course in the middle and most of them became soup: We only circled back to ‘purgatory’ if we needed more roots to ensure we had a healthy population size (200 roots), to avoid any risk of inbreeding depression.
By our third generation, we already had a more consistently sweet root than Bolero, perhaps not surprisingly since most commercial varieties prioritize every other ‘market’ quality above flavor itself.
Selecting for long-term storage was also straight-forward: Nantes as a market class are long-keeping and maintain excellent flavor. Now that we’re saving 1000+ roots for seed each generation, we’re growing them in the field rather than Irwin’s glasshouses. Though it’s turned our annual cycle into a true biennial cycle once more, this only increases the significance of our storage and flavor selections.
The greatest challenge for us has been selecting for that early, vigorous leaf production that is so much the hallmark of Bolero. At first, we attempted selections by flagging vigorous individuals in the field six weeks after planting. The time invested did not prove fruitful, so we next made vigor selections by simply making a visual evaluation at harvest. Our observations suggest that early, vigorous leaf production may be indicated by above-average leaves present at harvest. Each generation has been improving, though this is by far the trait we’ve seen the least of in the population, making it slower to make more consistent.
In 2018, Remembrance Farm grew 2 acres of this new carrot and will sow 5 acres in 2019, a testament to the quality and reliability of this new variety. With increased population sizes in the field, we’re able to grow increased populations sizes for seed. If seed production continues to thrive, Remembrance will grow this new carrot exclusively in 2020.
What’s in a Name?
Fruition Seeds released this new carrot in 2019, naming her Dulcinea for her sweetness as well as honoring her roots in the Spanish word ‘Bolero’ by naming her for the muse of Don Quixote. She is OSSI pledged, ensuring Dulcinea (and any other carrots developed with her genetics) will never be patented, remaining in the public domain as a commons we all benefit from.
Dulcinea now grows in gardens, on farms and is being evaluated in trials all across the continent. We’re excited to share Dulcinea with the world and are equally ecstatic to continue intensive selections with each generation. Countless ancestors, both human and plant, have made this work possible; it is our privilege and pleasure to continue such traditions and make new ones along the way.
Where Can I Find Dulcinea & What’s Next?
You’ll find Dulcinea at www.fruitionseeds.com and for larger quantities, send me an email, petra@fruitionseeds.com. We select and save the seed of over 400 other vegetables, flowers and herbs, adapting them in our short seasons here in the Finger Lakes of New York. We’ve also developed a short season watermelon called August Ambrosia as well as two tomatoes that are resistant to Early Blight, Late Blight and Septoria Leaf Spot called Brandywise and Summer Sweetheart. For their full stories, hop on over to our website. We’re developing some exciting new vegetables and flowers for you, Friends! And we love to collaborate, so don’t be shy.
In a world increasingly impoverished by industrial and private interest, Dulcinea is the harbinger of a new paradigm. Collaboration between a farmer, a seed company and a public university has created an open-source, organic alternative to one of the world’s preeminent conventional hybrids. Indeed, Dulcinea may simply look like a carrot. A consistent, sweet Nantes-style carrot. Don’t be fooled. If you sow seeds, you know seeds are not as small as they seem.
Petra Page-Mann, Finger Lakes native, is the co-founder of Fruition Seeds. She loves to share stories, share meals and hopes to see you on the farm one day! In the meantime, write to her at petra@fruitionseeds.com and don’t be shy!
