During World War II, Americans planted Victory Gardens as an act of patriotism.

In 1943 alone, 20 million gardens supplied 30 percent of all vegetables consumed in the United States, allowing commercial food producers to supply the military.

Wars continue but motives have shifted. Urban farming, no longer an oxymoron, sustains both the grower and the earth, albeit on a small scale. Pots of cherry tomatoes, frames of lettuce, zucchini vines, poles of beans grown organically within sight of the kitchen, not transported thousands of miles in gas-guzzling trucks, provide sustenance plus bragging rights.

How to start? At the area's first self-guided Urban Farm Tour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 11, co-sponsored by Sustainable Sandhills and Moore County Cooperative Extension. The tour, which begins at Aberdeen Elementary School, lists 15 stops including three school gardens. Its originator, Master Gardener/farmers' market vendor Jan Leitshuh, provides background.

"There are several converging trends that make the tour relevant," she says. "The 'foodie' element -- knowledgeable cooks wanting best-quality whole foods; the health element -- people concerned about processing and additives and food safety concerns -- there's unprecedented distrust of the food system."

The clincher?

"The economic thing." Leitshuh says.

Seed companies report record sales.

"Just because you and I don't need to garden doesn't mean other people don't," Leitshuh says.

Fred Cirule, a Pinehurst gardener in his 80s, appreciates this aspect.

"I grew up during the Depression when people gardened for food," Cirule says.

Now the New Jersey native and his wife cultivate by mostly organic methods two 4-by-12-foot community garden plots for exercise, enjoyment and the dozen crops they harvest spring to early winter.

"My wife froze last summer's string beans. We're still eating them," Cirule says.

Not all gardeners dedicate their yards to labor-intensive year-round crops or fruit trees. A small herb garden can be cultivated for less than a few bunches (grown heaven knows where) cost at the supermarket.

Dry sage for Thanksgiving stuffing. Chop basil for pesto. Help children plant salsa gardens (tomatoes, hot peppers, cilantro, scallions) and pizza gardens (bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic). Make a quick whole-wheat crust in the processor for an ultra-fresh homegrown supper. Happy chickens in the backyard coop lay the best eggs for omelets. Watching worms turn food scraps into Godiva-quality compost that nourishes future crops is positively mesmerizing.

Leitshuh knew of urban farm tours in much-more urban Raleigh and elsewhere. (Urban gardens exist in vacant slum lots and penthouse verandas of New York City).

"Why not have one here?" she thought. Leitshuh approached Moore County Extension and Sustainable Sandhills. Together they identified town-dwellers who kept vegetable gardens, orchards or chickens. Beekeepers and worm composters were unearthed for the spring tour, which allows time for converts to dig in.

"Nobody we approached said no," Leitshuh says.

At each stop the gardener will explain and demonstrate methods. Then, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., organizers will conduct a workshop on getting started.

Perhaps the best part of this educational and entertaining free outdoor family activity is putting faces on the farm movement. Kea Meacham, for example, received garden tools from her husband on her 40th birthday along with a threatening "letter" from competitor Martha Stewart. He even arranged for plowing a plot.

"I had never gardened on this scale," Meacham says. "Now I just bypass the produce section in the supermarket."

Meacham moved onto chickens and one big tom turkey for protection, not fertilization.

"I'm in love with my nine laying hens," she says. "My daughters collect eggs in the morning for breakfast -- they're richer, eggier with bright yellow yolks."

Their clucking and pecking relaxes her. Neighbors don't mind -- especially when they get samples.

Gail Scott, of Vass, used her expertise as a landscape designer to plan edible landscapes (fruit trees, berry bushes, herb rows) and, finally, vegetables.

"In the past, when I had free time I did flowers and bought vegetables at the store," Scott says. "But I saw the trend coming."

Now, Scott delights in watching her food grow.

"I planted one little slip and dug up seven fat sweet potatoes," she says. "They were delicious."

Tour participants will see Scott's early crops -- snow peas, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce -- and learn about raised beds, terracing, fertilizing (with manure from a neighboring horse farm), mulching (with leaves and newsprint) and adding flowers to attract bees that pollinate melons and tomatoes.

But the best buzz will be at Sanford and Kevin Toole's hives, in Pinehurst. Toole, whose day job is a nurse-anesthetist, first kept bees as a teenager. Now his teenage son Kevin is the youngest master beekeeper in North Carolina. The father-son team has turned hobby into business: they sell several varieties of honey and beeswax candles. His neighbors appreciate having bees to pollinate their gardens.

Once underway, beekeeping is not that time-consuming, Toole says.

"It takes more time than a cat but less than a couple of dogs," he says.

He will display a working bee yard and observation hive with window.

To volunteer, sponsor, become a member or find out more information about Sustainable Sandhills programs and events, visit http://sustainablesandhills.org or call 910-484-9098.

Contact Deborah Salomon at debsalomon@hotmail.com.