Bloody Marvel
An experimental new variety lettuce variety bred for resilience to London's challenging growing conditions.
It is inspired by research into the lost 'Bloody Cos' variety, also known as Spotted Aleppo which originated in Syria in the 18th Century.
Lettuce nomenclature is notoriously muddled (due to the frequent renaming of varieties by 20th Century seed catalogues) so 'finding' the lettuce involved sourcing seed for any available speckled varieties including varieties such as 'Forellenschluss' (Speckled Trout Back), and growing them out to eradicate duplicate synonyms, through a previous project at Walworth Garden, the Walworth Lettuce Trials' (2017).
I found a variety under the name Spotted Aleppo available through the Thomas Jefferson Centre at Monticello, that was sourced via the American heritage variety expert William Woys Weaver who claims to have re-discovered something that resembles the Bloody Cos, growing under a different name in France. I imported seed but disappointingly the variety performed very badly in London's growing conditions.
Undeterred, I began work on breeding a new London version of the Bloody Cos.
Parent selected were the long-standing heritage favourite 'Marvel of Four Seasons', and 'Mayan Jaguar' one of the most vivid red spotted varieties bred by Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seeds in Oregon, USA. - a variety that already has a wide gene pool due to Frank's pioneering approach to plant breeding.
They were then manually cross-pollinated (a process that involves rising at dawn to emasculate the flowers by sniping off the petals before the flowers have opened, and then as the flowers open, rubbing the parent plant onto the selected flower heads). Seed was then saved, and the following year (2018) selection began in earnest.
The aim is a robust wide-gene-pool lettuce, more resistant to London's urban growing conditions. Through its striking red flecks of colour the variety gives a visual reminder of its complex genetic diversity.
Each new generation is trailed and the best selected for further trialling. Because I’m less concerned about uniformity than commercial growers (who would grow out new varieties for 8 or 10 generations), I began sharing seed with a network of community gardens and urban spaces across London (via the London Freedom Seed Bank) to trial the variety and report back on results after 4 of 5 generations of selection.
2025 Update:
Its now 10 years since this project began. The selection process is complete. The Bloody Marvel may be found growing in community gardens in London.
The genetic trait that creates the red speckling isn't stable. This means the variety will continue to adapt without consistent selection and 'variety maintenance'.
It is expected that within a few years, the Bloody Marvel will itself be a 'lost' variety.
----------------
10 Year Plan:
Year 1 (2016):
Variety research.
Seed sourcing.
Seed saving research and training.
Trials of speckled varieties.
Year 2 (2017)
Build online research resource.
Map family tree of varieties.
Practice seed saving technique.
Trial of varieties to select parents for crossing.
Cross selected parent varieties.
Save seed.
Overwinter first generation
Year 3 (2018)
Growing out first generation.
Initial Selection from (10?) potential lines?
(Further Outbreeding?)
Save seed from selected plants
Year 4 (2019) Objectives:
Growing out second generation (10x10). Selection for positive attributes within line. Reduce lines to 5.
Save seed from selected plants.
Distribute seed to selected partners for testing
(Further Outbreeding?)
Year 5 (2020)
Growing out third generation. (10x5).
Save seed from selected plants
Distribute seed to selected partners for testing
Year 6 (2021)
Growing out fourth generation. One line (50 x 1).
Save seed from selected plants
Distribute seed to selected partners for testing
Year 7. (2022)
Growing out fifth generation.
Save seed from selected plants
Recollect, test and integrate seed from partners
Year 8 (2023)
Growing out sixth generation.
Save seed from selected plants
Recollect, test and integrate seed from partners
Seed distribution.
Year 9 (2024)
Growing out seventh generation.
Save seed from selected plants
Recollect, test and integrate seed from partners
Seed distribution.
Year 10 (2025)
Cease selection, production and distribution.
Let it go.
research, field trials, and collaborative breeding project
Project Partners: London Freedom Seed Bank
Research Links:
Open sourcing seed / corporate control of seed stocks:
Linux for Lettuce by Lisa M. Hamilton.
A comprehensive history of the ways seed patenting has disempowered seed breeders and growers and led to control of the seed gene pool by a small number of large companies
OSSI (Open Source Seed Initiative)
The website of OSSI, an alliance of open source breeders and small-scale seed companies
Initiatives for preservation of vegetable varieties:
A US small-scale initiative to preserve lettuce and other seeds threatened by the war in Syria
Urban growing, gentrification and social justice:
Civil Eats: D.C.’s Urban Farms Wrestle with Gentrification and Displacement
How urban farms in Washington struggle to stay relevant to long-term residents rather than more affluent incomers
London based Seed Saving Network:
The London Freedom Seed Bank is a network of food growers and gardeners dedicated to saving, storing and distributing open-pollinated seed.
Sources of open-pollinated open-source lettuce seed:
UK company participating in the Open Source Seed Initiative and selling some of Frank Morton’s lettuce varieties
Allied to Garden Organic. Operates a seed sharing scheme for heritage varieties
Seeks to preserve Irish heritage varieties. Includes seed of potted lettuces - Sanguine Ameliore, Speckled, Forellenschluss
Irish company participating in the Open Source Seed Initiative and selling heritage and open pollinated varieties, including some of Frank Morton’s lettuce varieties
US company participating in the Open Source Seed Initiative and selling heritage and open pollinated varieties, including some of Frank Morton’s lettuce varieties
Wild Garden Seed - Frank Morton
In US - Frank Morton legendary plant breeder and seed producer - many varieties of lettuces including many spotted ones.
The Monticello Shop - Thomas Jefferson Centre for Historic Plants
Source of Spotted Aleppo lettuce seed and its two parents, Tennis ball and Brown Dutch