This document summarizes the benefits of organic suburban gardening. It discusses how gardening can provide cheaper, safer food and contribute to physical and mental well-being. The document also outlines important elements for gardening like soil health, water management, and pest control. Maintaining healthy soil involves bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms that sustain biological activity, store nutrients, and regulate water flow. Organic gardening methods can help control pests without using chemicals that may pose health risks. Overall, the document promotes organic suburban gardening as a way to save money on groceries and enjoy the rewards of growing one's own produce.

1. Ashley Hyde
Biology 1010
Quinn Cannon
Writing Assignment
Organic Suburban Gardening
Times are hard on many people these days. It is what people like to call “the great
depression number two”. This depression entails sky rocketing gas prices, tuition prices going
up, unemployment at a high percentage, and not being able to afford the proper health care that
many people need. With all that, the last thing anyone wants to worry about is how they are
going to feed themselves and their family and, whether or not the food is safe for consumption.
Gardening in the past has been about plants and flowers that are grown to make a home
or property site look magnificent. People don’t really think photosynthesis doing its work. In
the past few years many people have turned to organic suburban gardening for a real life saver.
This can be done in small or large areas such as a pot outside the house or on acres of land.
Many homeowners in Salt Lake and the surrounding areas enjoy caring for their own yards and
growing their own vegetables. Suburban gardening is growing in and around your own home,
and the most useful plants while gardening are grown for our own consumption. There are thee
elements that play into gardening; soil, water, and pest management.
It is essential to feed and promote the growth of biological soil life for the health of the
plants. Soil microorganism are the link between soil nutrients and the plants. Microorganisms
include bacteria and fungi, both organisms sustain biological activity, help store nutrients in the

2. soil, and regulate the flow of water in the soil. Bacteria and fungi have large roles in making soil
healthy for plants.
Bacteria are fixed atmospheric nitrogen and carbon that produce organic matter and
immobilize enough nitrogen and other nutrients to initiate nitrogen cycling process in soil. Fungi
enhance the soil quality by decomposing complex carbon compounds, or organic matter. While
also improving the accumulation of organic matter, thus helping the plants grow (USDA.com).
All gardeners use the nitrogen cycle to their advantage when they use compost. In a
compost pile, the same microorganisms like bacteria, fungi and invertebrates; worms and insects
are present in the soil. Break down the organic matter into proteins and amino acids. Ultimately,
the microorganisms break it down into nitrate and ammonium which can be taken up again by
plants. Whether it is a dead organism or manure, soil microorganisms regulate the release of
plant available nitrogen from decomposing. Decomposition during the nitrogen cycle is a timed
release process. The warmer the soil, the faster the decomposition.

3. Suburban organic gardening can also provide safer food for consumption and free of
GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). GMOs are organisms whose genetic material has
been altered using genetic engineering techniques. Either to create more of one thing or to make
it stronger while growing the product fast to insure a greater yield, thus more revenuer.
Genetically modified plants requiring more than a single gene transfer are also expected to
increase productivity. For example, stomata might be altered to take in more carbon dioxide or
lose less water. The efficiency of the enzyme RuBP which capture carbon dioxide in the plants,
could be improved (Mader).
Most of everything people consume is modified in one way or another, sadly most
Americans do not realize it. As genetically altered foods begin to dominate the conventional
food chain, a growing market is developing for verifiable non-GMO foods, both organic and
non-organic. The EPA, FDA and USDA, all play a role in approving genetically engineered
foods, maintain that GMOs are as safe as the original plants and organisms from which the genes
are taken. The FDA requires a label or pre-market testing on a genetically engineered food only
if there is a significant change in the food's composition or nutritional content, or if it contains a
known food allergen. Fundamentally, the agency says, genetically engineered foods are as safe as
foods produced through traditional hybridization (CQ Researcher).
To be a successful organic suburban gardener is tricky. People must not see every insect
as a pest, every plant out of place as a weed and the solution to every problem in artificial
chemical spray. When used the long term consumption of these chemicals has been associated
with such health problems as birth defects, nerve damage and cancer. Children are especially

4. sensitive to the health risks posed by pesticides; this is the chief reason lawns sprayed with
pesticides carry warring signs (Mader). The aim is not to eliminate all the pest and weeds, but to
keep them down to an acceptable level and make the most of the benefits that they may provide.
In an organic garden there are techniques used to help with pest control, plant resistant
crops, use good cultivation practice and rotate crops. The gardener would want to use a range of
organic methods at the same time to allow them all work together for the maximum benefits.
Gardening itself gives people the satisfaction of having their own produce with a
significant lower cost than buying from the super markets every week. Organic labeled food can
be almost double in price at the super markets. The act of gardening is not a difficult task and it
does not take up too much time, depending on the crop size.
Gardening also contributes to a persons physical and mental health. Activities such as
digging, planting and weeding all contribute three types of good physical health; endurance,
flexibility and strength. It is what many consider a labor of love. Sometimes people just need a
break from the everyday rush of life. Most people would be able to channel some daily stress
into their gardens. Reaping the benefits in two ways. People can have a more positive emotions
on a daily basis moreover create something beautiful in the process with edible results. Most
gardeners think quality of life in terms of a healthy life style and quality of life.

5. Work Cite
1. Soil Biology Primer. “Soil and Water Conservation Society”. USDA.com. Web. 20. July 2012.
2. Koch, Kathy. "Food Safety Battle: Organic Vs. Biotech." CQ Researcher 4 Sept. 1998:
761-84. Web. 20 July 2012.
3. Mader, Sylvia S. Concepts of Biology. Salt Lake City: McGraw-hill Companies, 2011. Print