God has given us all something to do. In the discharge of the various duties which we are to perform, which lie in our pathway, our lives will be made useful, and we shall be blessed.”1

Here in rural New York State, April brought wonderful spring weather and was welcomed after a longer snowy winter, as one storm after another came down from November until March. Then it was time to wait out mud season which is when the ground is saturated with moisture from all the melting snow. Shortly after the first week of April the rain stopped and we were left with nice warm air and so the ground dried up quickly.

This break in spring showers allowed the children and I to begin the work on our vegetable garden during their spring school recess. This work of gardening is also being incorporated as a major activity in their schooling which will span well into autumn and cover many areas of education.

“Education means more than the mere studying of books. It is necessary that both the physical and mental powers be exercised in order to have a proper education. When in counsel with the Father before the world was, it was designed that the Lord God should plant a garden for Adam and Eve in Eden, and give them the task of caring for the fruit trees, and cultivating and training the vegetation. Useful labor was to be their safeguard, and it was to be perpetuated through all generations to the close of earth’s history. To have a whole-sided education, it is necessary to combine science with practical labor. From infancy children should be trained to do those things that are appropriate for their age and ability .”2

My hopes were high and the children were enthusiastic about the garden. We took out the rototiller with great anticipation and made our way to the then intended garden. We first began with the removal of the top layer of grass and shortly thereafter we set the depth for tilling just a bit lower. This is when we learned we had plenty of rocks in all shapes and sizes. Some were even small boulders.

“A return to simpler methods will be appreciated by the children and youth.Work in the garden and field will be an agreeable change from the wearisome routine of abstract lessons, to which their young minds should never be confined. To the nervous child, who finds lessons from books exhausting and hard to remember, it will be especially valuable. There is health and happiness for him in the study of nature; and the impressions made will not fade out of his mind, for they will be associated with objects that are continually before his eyes .”3

Day after day we barely moved forward as the rototiller hit one rock after another but promptly we worked together to remove all the rocks. Although weary we all agreed it was a welcomed change to be outside working in the fresh air and sunshine. Finally, we were able to till without rocks, so we set the rototiller to the final depth that we wished our garden to be. Once again we found many rocks.

It took us in total 6 days to work a small area of 16 x 45 feet, which is much smaller than I had hoped. Yet we were thankful for the work we had accomplished as we sowed the seeds into the cultivated ground. Even the youngest was given his own small section of the garden to work and learn by.

“Working the soil is one of the best kinds of employment, calling the muscles into action and resting the mind. Study in agricultural lines should be the A, B, and C of the education given in our schools. This is the very first work that should be entered upon. Our schools should not depend upon imported produce, for grain and vegetables, and the fruits so essential to health. Our youth need an education in felling trees and tilling the soil as well as in literary lines. Different teachers should be appointed to oversee a number of students in their work and should work with them. Thus the teachers themselves will learn to carry responsibilities as burden bearers. Proper students also should in this way be educated to bear responsibilities and to be laborers together with the teachers. All should counsel together as to the very best methods of carrying on the work.”4

Through all this work, I recalled a gardening program I had previously viewed a year or two ago where the host had invited a guest who was very much involved with weight training. The guest explained how weight lifters emulated the gardener’s movements for weight training. As the gardener began to show how to care for certain things, the weight trainer politely explained how a weight lifter emulated that movement to build up their muscles while in the gym.

Did you know that trimming shrubs and trees requires the same exertion as moderate walking? In fact, gardening can be moderate to strenuous exercise at the same time. Such is one reason it is suggested that before beginning gardening work we should do some stretches to warm up our muscles.

“Let men and women work in field and orchard and garden. This will bring health and strength to nerve and muscle. Living indoors and cherishing invalidism is a very poor business. If those who are sick will give nerves and muscles and sinews proper exercise in the open air, their health will be renewed.”5

While you are gardening you can burn between 200 - 500 calories per hour.

• Mowing lawn (push mower): 243 calories.

• Gardening with heavy power tools: 243 calories.

• Chopping wood: 243 calories.

• General gardening: 202 calories.

• Laying sod: 202 calories.

• Digging, spading, tilling: 202 calories.

• Clearing land: 202 calories.

• Weeding: 182 calories.

• Planting trees: 182 calories.

• Bagging leaves: 162 calories.

• Raking: 162 calories.

• Watering lawn/garden: 61 calories.

The lifting of plants, rocks, pushing wheelbarrows and more that is often associated with gardening has been reported to help bone density, especially in women over 50 years old. This is good news as so many experience bone density loss or osteoporosis after the age of 50.

Besides adding to your bone density it will indeed strengthen those muscles while improving blood flow and thus provide much needed oxygen to the cells of the body. Another advantage to gardening is added flexibility to your hands and improved motor skills you gain just by pulling weeds and picking up twigs.

“Morning exercise, in walking in the free, invigorating air of heaven, or cultivating flowers, small fruits, and vegetables, is necessary to a healthful circulation of the blood. It is the surest safeguard against colds, coughs, congestions of the brain and lungs, inflammation of the liver, the kidneys, and the lungs, and a hundred other diseases. 6

Yes, gardening can strengthen your body and awaken you out of a winter slumber, build muscles, increase flexibility and provide you with better bone density. As time goes by I find that science and medicine of the world does learn more about why it is healthier to work as God has given. It is my hope and prayer that each of you will learn to enjoy the blessings of gardening.