Cider Pressing!

I was fortunate enough to get to intern with garden coordinator Renee Portanova this growing season!

These past few weeks, classes came out to the garden to learn how to make their very own apple cider.


To make the apple cider, we used a fruit press. Fruit and cider presses separate fruit solids, such as the skin and seeds, from the fruit juice.

While apple juice is filtered, unfiltered apple juice is called apple cider.


Making the cider

1. The first step involved cutting the apples and removing the apple cores.
2. Next, the apples were passed through an apple crusher. This step compresses the apples so that the juice is easier to extract from the solids.
3. The crushed apples were pressed in a cider press. This involved placing the fruit in the juicing cage, laying wooden blocks on top of the apples, and pushing the silver ratchet handle to extract the juice.
4. The juice funnels into a the container at the bottom of the press, and we enjoyed the most important step of the process: drinking the cider! It was wonderful to enjoy this 100% fresh and natural apple cider, without any added sugar or preservatives! Read more about the nutritional difference between juice and fruit drinks.

Want to press your own cider?

Purchase a fruit press, learn how to build your own, or attend CitySprouts' School Garden Celebration next year!

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_press
http://www.kitchengadgetry.com/kitchen/gadgets/fruit-press-c-32_164_280.html

Bean Races!

The highlight of Haggerty Garden Day were bean races. Yes, it will be a
S L O W M O T I O N race, but an exciting one nonetheless. Each class selected a variety of beans to plant under the trellises along the Lawn Street wall to compete in categories such as "First to sprout," "First to flower," "Tallest vine," and "First ripe bean."

In addition to planting beans, classes got an opportunity to observe the early fruits and vegetables growing in the garden, explore compost and compost critters, and learn about the growth stages of mung bean sprouts.

Good luck Bean Racers! And thanks to everyone for a successful Garden Day!

New Spring, New Garden, New Garden Coordinator

Welcome to the Spring 2008 season in the Haggerty Garden!

My name is Daniel MacPhee and I am excited to be starting as the new CitySprouts garden coordinator at the Haggerty School. As you've surely noticed, CitySprouts has created a newly renovated garden area along the Lawn Street side of the school where our gardening and drop-in activities will be focused from now on. Thanks to the help of many Haggerty families and community members, the garden is spectacular. In addition to a new set of raised beds, a terraced garden space has been created for a "five senses" garden that will feature plants native to Middlesex county selected for their sensory appeal.

Even though we are still wearing sweaters, spring has arrived in the garden... trees are budding, bulbs are blooming, and bees are buzzing. It seems like the perfect time to renew the open invitation to the garden and to encourage everyone to make use of this wonderful resource in a way that fits your needs, interests, and class schedules. Official weekly afterschool drop-ins begin the Thursday after spring vacation, but the garden is always here for your use, and I am also happy to work with your students any time I am around. I will try to give regular email updates on special happenings and seasonal activity ideas--but please do not hesitate to contact me at any point to arrange or suggest a particular activity. The Haggerty School Garden blog is also a good place to check in for ideas and updates. Between the Peabody and Haggerty gardens, I work Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

-Daniel
dmacphee@citysprouts.org

Season's Summary

From April to this November, the Citysprouts’ garden has been a busy place at the Haggerty School. Starting in early spring, volunteers and students grew lots of food including peas, tomatillos, peppers, cherry tomatoes basil, raspberries, carrots, lettuce and much more! Haggerty also brought Farmer Matt from Drumlin Farm to talk to classes about growing food.

Over the summer, Citysprouts hired wonderful youth interns to cultivate the garden, learn about local foods, visit working farms and develop as leaders in a first real job. Interns were amazed to find out how food grows and the work needed to do it - best of all they could taste the fruits of their labor. Applications for next year’s internship will be available in early spring.

This fall marked the beginning of the Haggerty Garden redesign process! Besides condensing the garden into a more accessible growing space, new features will include more shed space, teaching/seating areas, native plant landscape, and sunnier vegetable growing plots. Despite reconstruction, teachers embraced the garden this fall, bringing classes outside to enrich curriculum including measurement and math, studying seeds, senses, decomposition, health/nutrition, language and science observation skills.

In early November, most students in grades pre-K through 6 participated in the Haggerty's annual apple cider-pressing in the garden to learn more about local harvests and food history.

Finally, this season would not have been possible without the support and help of our wonderful family volunteers. Get your students involved in the garden next spring! Check out this Haggerty Garden resource blog for ideas or contact a garden coordinator. Also, please join us as a volunteer next season and help with redesigning the Haggerty Garden: weekly garden volunteer drop-in times re-start in late April.

Thanks for a great season and see you in the spring!
Amy and Laurie, Citysprouts Garden Coordinators

abaron AT citysprouts DOT org

lgaines AT citysprouts DOT org

Garden Update - October 10, 2007

Hello Haggerty Staff!
Happy October! The garden is STILL green and very full of food and amazing learning opportunities. Please read below for lots more info and resources…

In this Garden Email:
1. What's Available for your Class Now?
2. An Easy Way to Get Outside - Plants and Seasonal Changes
3. Apple Cider Update
4. Citysprouts' Harvest Festival! THIS Saturday Oct. 13!

* * * * * * * * *

1. What's Available for your Class Now?
If you are interested in harvesting any of the following items or
doing any of the following activities with your class, simply an
email and let me know. I will reserve it for you and help you
do/harvest it with your class! In these coming weeks, the following
is available:
- potatoes for harvesting
- onions for harvesting
- broccoli (some edible buds, but LOTS of yellow flowers with
pollinators all around - see how broccoli is really a flower!)
- SEEDS: chive, flowers
- planting garlic
- planting wheat
- planting cover crops and preparing the soil for next spring
- harvesting basil and other herbs
- harvesting purple and green string beans

2. An Easy Way to Get Outside - Plants and Seasonal Changes
Take a field trip right in your own school! Come observe plants
changing with the seasons with periodic visits outdoors in the garden
(come at ANYTIME with your class). Have students take a look at a
small branch on a garden tree, observe it carefully and tie a piece of
bright yarn on it. Ask them to make a detailed, scientific drawing of it. Come
back each month or each season and draw it again to watch leaves
change, dormancy, and budding. You can also do this with perennial
plants (strawberries, shrubs, chives or other herbs, etc).
You can compare it to the cycle of annual plants (those that will die
when frost hits and need to be started from seed in spring).

3. Apple Cider Update
The apple cider press will return to the Haggerty in the first week of November. Please respond to the Apple Cider Email (coming soon) to schedule a time if you are interested.

4. Citysprouts' Harvest Festival
This fun, free, outdoor harvest festival is happening THIS Saturday,
October 13th 11am-3pm at the ML King and Amigos Schools - located at
100 Putnam Avenue, Cambridge, MA. Come for lots of kids' activites,
local foods, music, raffles and even a parade. If you want to
volunteer, please email me at abaron (at) citysprouts.org

Info for Teachers

Hello Haggerty Staff!

Happy almost-autumn! Despite some setbacks, the garden is looking great and has tons of potential for fun and easy outdoor learning experiences.

My name is Amy Baron and I'm glad to be sharing the Citysprouts Garden Coordinator position with Laurie Gaines this fall. Laurie will still be here!! I will help to redesign the garden and coordinate teacher use during the school day, on Mondays 9-2pm. I hope to meet all of you soon!

In this Garden Email:
1. Garden Update
2. Easy Ways to Get Outside
3. What's Growing Now?

* * * * * * * * *

1. Garden Update
After much discussion and lots of input from the whole community, the Haggerty garden is undergoing a make-over to improve accessibility and growing space. Check the front bulletin board for the new design, updates, and work days to come…

2. Easy Ways to Get Outside
Take a field trip right in your own school! Use the space! Here's a list of easy activities you could do outdoors in the garden ANYTIME with your class:
Read books outside
Make leaf rubbings
Look for colors and shapes
Make pesto with garden basil
Observe: sketch plant and animal life
Count vegetables, plants, colors, bugs…
Measure plant height, bean length, bed area
Go on an insect hunt with magnifying lenses
Explore the senses: touch, taste, smell, listen!
Watch decomposition: bring compost to bins, mix it up, look at critters

3. What's Growing Now?
Get students to watch their food grow! Here is what's out there now: green beans, tomatoes, basil (enough for harvesting! Please respond to this email if you want to use some with your class), peppers, corns, squash, flowers…

Garden Basics

Teachers, please remember:
- Remind students of garden rules – walk only, pick only with permission, respect all living things!
- Check in with me or Laurie before harvesting large quantities or entire plants.
- Return garden materials back to shed and lock the door. SHED COMBO 18-0-22
- Water key for faucets are located in shed also. Please keep keyed OFF when not in use.
- Try to keep track of what you do in the garden with your students. We'll be surveying you later we need to record this to keep our grant funding!

Resources and Contact Info

Would you like help on a class garden outing? Want ideas for an activity or lesson? Need support materials for a project?

Contact Renee Portanova, Citysprouts Garden Coordinator at Haggerty: rportanova (at) citysprouts.org or 631.357.2735. Mondays and Wednesdays.

Looking for a specific activity or lesson idea? Check out the new Citysprouts website with teacher resources! www.citysprouts.org