Before we get to the Quince Queen – News on CiderDays 2.0! Orchards can be as small as 2, 5 or 10 trees. Get tips on how to manage a small scale orchard at CiderDays 2.0 with John Bunker on November 5th at 9am. Get updates and ticket information by following Cider Chat and signing up for the eCiderNews.
Edith Walden is the Quince Queen
On Guemes Island in Washington state, Edith Walden started her quince journey in 1995 and soon became known as the Quince Queen. The island is short ferry ride from Anacortes and the land itself where Edith has her orchard of quince, apples, pears and more fruit was once the homestead of James Matthews and dates back to 185os. As such there is a 160 year old Gravenstein apple tree that sits in the center of the orchard. Edith calls it the Mother Tree.
The Quince Queen founded Willowrose Bay, Inc selling her magnificient quince to Whole Foods and regional cider makers.
In this Chat
- How Edith became the Quince Queen
- Growing Quince
- She spaced her trees 9’ and 12’ apart
- Quince pests
- Varieties of Quince and their viability for retail and cider
- Aromatnaya are Russian, apple shaped, and tend to be sweeter than most varieties. Susceptible to blossom end rot
- Cooke’s Jumbo – huge and bred by California grower
- Havran, Havran II, Havran III (unknown true variety)
- Kuanching – Chinese, small, susceptible to blossom end rot
- Kuganskaya – Russian, Edith loves this variety
- Meech’s Prolific -bred by Mr Meech, tasty – good for cider. All of Edith’s Meech Prolific have a russety patch on them that she says, “I doubt is true to the variety”.
- Queen’s – sweet by not prolific, maybe better grown in other areas
- Smyrna – too small for retail – though sweet
- Tashkent – Turkish
- Van Deman – bred by Luther Burbank in California
- Zvezdnaia – Russian , Jerry Lehman out of Ohio, said great for cider – huge & apple shape
- The future of Willowrose Bay Inc for the Quince Queen
Quince Books
- Quince Culture: An Illustrated Hand-Book for the Propagation and Cultivation of the Quince
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- Author Willam Meech, named a quince variety after himself. This is the consummate book on growing Quince and dates back to the 1800’s.
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- Simply Quince by the Queen of Quince, Barbara Ghazarian, a quince cookbook
Contact for Willowrose Bay Inc and the Quince Queen
- eMail: willowrosebayinc@gmail.com
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