Try Gardening for Food, Fun and Physical Fitness


 By Rudy Shulterbrandt, Bob Soffes, and Leo Carty


 Spiraling food prices and shrinking dollars conspire to
increase the tension of life which take its toll in terms of physical
fitness. Tension headaches, stiff 'joints,' rigid neck muscles and
increasing inflexibility of the spinal area can all result from lack of
proper exercise as well as anxiety about life's daily problems.

 Answers to these problems are not readily available, but
one solution that always combines elements of a positive nature
is suggested in this article -- why not try gardening for food, fun
and for physical fitness?

 As inflation reduces the disposable income of most Virgin
Islands families, heads of households are seeking areas in their
budgets where flexibility can be used to make ends meet.

 There are several areas in the family budget where costs are
fixed or fairly stable. Fixed costs include home mortgages or rents,
automobile and insurance payments, utilities, etc. The remaining
income can be categorized as disposable income. This is the income
utilized for food, clothing, drugs and such things as cosmetics. It is
the disposable income that can be vulnerable to cost changes on
short notice.

 The family's diet is one area where savings can be made
without jeopardizing a good nutritional standard. In the Virgin
Islands, we do not necessarily have to acquire all of our food
from the supermarkets. Producing food at home, or home-garden-
ing, can reduce spending as well as provide fun and satisfaction
in seeing seeds germinate successfully into edible finished products.


 An additional benefit of home-gardening is the opportunity
it affords to keep physically fit. Preparing your land for a garden
offers a variety of exercises that many seek through the com-
paratively non-productive involvement in golf, tennis and jogging.
Some specific examples are illustrated below:


*The machete utilizes the shoulders, trunk, forearms and waist,
and to a lesser degree, use of the legs.


The wheelbarrow emphasizes the use of the lower extremities -- The grass whip utilizes the upper extremities the shoulders,
calf and thigh muscles with the more limited involvement of forearms, trunk (waist), and to a lesser degree, the legs.
the upper extremities.