Today: Nan Stefanik of Vermont Quince talks about how to grow quince. Helen Battersby talks about the 30th anniversary of a garden journal with a special story.

Grow Quince in Cold Climates

Imagine a job that revolved around a plant you’re passionate about. What plant would it be for you?

For Nan Stefanik that plant is quince.

She first tasted quince as an adult, on an overseas trip. After returning home, she was surprised to learn it grew locally in New England.

With a long history of its cultivation in New England, knowledge of quince had receded over time.

#GrowQuince

Stefanik’s business, Vermont Quince, makes quince paste, quince preserves, and other specialty quince products using New-England-grown quince.

Along with food products, she has made it her mission to collect and share quince information.

Using a specialty-crop grant, she started a #GrowQuince campaign to share quince-growing information.

Find more information about how to grow and how to cook quince on the Vermont Quince website.

What’s next? Stefanik and her son have acquired land for a quince education centre where they can combine a shop, demonstrations, and hold scion exchanges.

A fabric showing the different types of quince used in a recent quince taste test.

Toronto & Golden Horseshoe Gardener’s Journal

Our second guest today is also passionate about what she does. Helen Battersby produces the Toronto and Golden Horseshoe Gardener’s Journal.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the journal, which includes information about frost dates, seed-starting dates, plant and seed sources — and also has space to record garden successes and failures.

There’s a deeply human story behind the journal, the story of a mother helping a son. Battersby shares that story, and talks about what’s new in the 2022 edition.