Check out our video!

Looking back on apple pressing

October was a month of non-stop apple pressing in the school gardens. Classes came out to learn how to make their 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 cider

1. The first step involved cutting the apples and removing the apple cores.

2. Next, the apples were passed through an apple grinder. 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 turning 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.

Thanks to Annabelle Ho :)

Summer Internship Recap

During the summer we hired 8 middle school students to intern in the garden with us for 4 weeks. The interns learned about growing food, cooking, nutrition, identifying plants & insects, food safety issues and of course how to care for a garden! We went on field trips to Community Servings in JP, Gaining Ground Farm in Concord, and the Food Project in Roxbury. We also worked with the Urban Ecology Institute weekly and had access to their wonderful knowledge and tools. Overall, it was a great success and a lot of fun!

Cambridge Chronicle Article

The Chronicle published an article about CitySprouts gardens on September 29, 2009. The article profiles the Amigos school and interviews two of our teachers!

Click on the link:
How does your garden grow? Garden program spreads through Cambridge Public Schools."

Garden Update

Hello again! In spite of our absence from the blogosphere, the King/Amigos garden has been tremendously busy over the past year! The current garden coordinators are Francey Hart for the M.L. King and Caitlin Rogers for Amigos. Here are a few photos to show you what we've been up to from April - November, 2009.

Shukri, Justin, Anthony, Quincy and Kassy enjoy a garden-fresh snack at the first King-Amigos Summer Drop-In (K.A.S.D.I.) of the season.

T.W.I.G. This Week In the Garden

Welcome Summer!

The first week of Summer brings many flowers, and the very beginnings of fruits and vegetables in the King/Amigos garden. Strawberries are ripening, sunflowers are opening, and bees are buzzing around, busy as can bee.


Speaking of busy, there is much to be done these days, so come out to the garden and lend a hand. Drop-In starts back up Thursday, June 26th, 3pm-5pm.



Activities include:
--transplanting tomatoes, melons and squash
--seeding cucumbers, summer greens, and herbs
--contouring beds
--collecting and drying herbs and flowers
--harvesting collard greens, tatsoi, mizuna, garlic scapes, and more, and creating a delicious, garden-fresh dish

See you in the garden!