Gardening workout produces muscles and produce

Richard Plucker's love affair with gardening has gone on for 70 years. I, on the other hand, have trouble keeping flowers alive in a vase for more than three days.

So when Richard emailed me about two weeks ago and asked if I wanted to help rototill his garden, I jumped at the opportunity to try to remedy my lack of a green thumb.

Perhaps not initially thought of as "exercise", gardening is actually an example of moderate, heart-pumping physical activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That includes bagging grass, digging, weeding, and pushing a lawn mower or rototiller.

Since our annual health challenge sponsored by Christiana Care Health System, Take It Off, is all about trying new exercises and recipes to help people lose weight, I thought, hey, it can't hurt to see what gardening as a form of exercise is all about.

"That is my workout," Richard, 81, told me.

He credits gardening with keeping him young and spry.

"In the winter time I usually gain weight. In the summer time I lose weight."

But first, I had to get savvy: what does rototill even mean? What exactly would I be doing?

What do you need to do it?

I did some quick research before I took the drive out to Richard's house in Newark.

A rototiller is a tool with blades that helps weed and clean gardens between the plant beds.

They come in many sizes, depending on the garden. Larger attachments can be hooked to a tractor or oxen to comb through acres of soil. Richard's was almost like a mini lawn mower.

At 10 a.m. last Thursday I jumped right into it. It was just me and the small tiller, powered by gasoline and a pull cord to rev the engine, with Richard as my guide.

First pour in regular gasoline to fill up the canister, less than a gallon. Then push a small button near the handles 10 times to make sure the tank is full. Then it was time to get the thing started. Pull the cord to rev the engine (it took me more than five times before Richard took over to get it started), which is similar in resistance to a TRX band.

Hearing the hum of the engine was so satisfying – for about a minute. Then it felt like the rototiller was going to escape from my grasp. The tool jumps and you need to have complete control of it to move it through a garden.

Eventually, I got the hang of it and drove the tiller up and back through the garden about 10 or so times.

If you are going to be outside for some time, don a hat and lather on sunscreen and bug spray, just in case.

What types of exercise do I do?

Pushing the tiller was absolutely a workout.

I had to use my entire body to make sure I had complete control of it to stop it from running away.The muscles in my arms, back and legs were all burning. You are also consistently walking as you weed beds and picking up the tiller to turn it to different spots in the garden.

You need to pick up the tiller slightly for it to even move forward, so that added an additional stretch for my arms.

Being out in the early morning rays made for an even better way to start the day.

Doris, Richard's wife, said she needs to practically drag him inside at the end of a long gardening day for a shower and some dinner.

"It's his relaxation," she said.

Born and raised in Blandon, Pennsylvania, a small town in the country, Richard said his love for plants started by watching his neighbors garden.

"I would sit on the stone wall and watch them work and finally they invited me over," he said.

Eventually they'd give him extra seeds to plant. Then, he'd start searching for his own. Black raspberries, his all-time favorite fruit, would grow in fields around Blandon, typically under rocks. He'd mark the rocks where the black raspberries were and then come back to transplant them weeks later.

His garden today is meticulous. The more time I spent in his backyard the more I thought I had been transported to the "Secret Garden," straight out of the novel with tangles of wisteria vines and hidden flowers at every turn.

"It's nice to sit out here and watch the birds come in," Richard said. They have a particular taste for blueberries, but they pick them stealthily. First the birds will land on the box near the blueberry bush that holds the garden hose.

"They will look around and if I don't move while I'm sitting here they hop over into the bush and grab a blueberry and take off."

On a simple piece of paper, Richard plotted spots for blueberries,tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and even his family's Christmas tree. Cucumbers sneak up around the trunk, he said.

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He has potatoes growing in an old tire and strawberries in a cinder block. A small greenhouse made with old windows and refurbished doors, keep the seeds, explicitly labeled, cozy when they first start growing. Mountains of green water-filled soda bottles keep the space warm by trapping the incoming sunlight.

Richard has it down to a science. And it works.

One year his bounty included 125 pounds of zucchini that he donated to the Food Bank of Delaware. This past February he and his wife used the last of the onions and potatoes from last summer.

He knows what the neighbors like, too: one loves turnips; the other skimps on tomatoes but will take all the cucumbers.

Having the literal fruits and vegetables of his labor makes Richard grin ear-to-ear.

"That is the most rewarding," he said.

He even gifted me with a plant: a nasturtium. Similar to watercress, it has a pop of peppery flavor. Great for salads, Richard said.

After a tense couple hours where I may or may not have forgotten I had him in my car, the little guy made it back to Dover with me and is now at home on my deck. So far (fingers crossed!) so good.

Where?

Your backyard, deck or even window. Start small by picking up some potting soil and seeds at your local farmer's market. 

What's the cost?

Check out the options online if you want to use a rototiller for your garden. Target has an electric tiller for about $149.

Have an activity or recipe suggestion for Jen?

If so, contact her at (302) 324-2386, jrini@delawareonline.com or @JenRini on Twitter.

Imagine Delaware

Take It Off has included several events and will be capped with a News Journal Imagine Delaware event April 27 focused on diabetes in the state, which many health officials warn is near epidemic proportions, mostly because of weight and poor eating habits.After a vendor fair featuring group that offer healthcare or services to treat diabetics or help people avoid diabetes, a panel discussion will take place.

Those on the panel will include Dr. Patrice A. Harris, the incoming chairman of the board of the American Medical Association; Dr. James Lenhard, medical director of the Christiana Care Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Disease and medical director of the Christiana Care Weight Management Center; Dr. Robert Bulgarelli, medical director of the Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield; and Rita Landgraf, secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services.