Noah Chaney looks over the basil, cilantro and banana peppers growing in his small plot at the Lawrence Community Garden Project near 920 Miss. The community garden, which is one of the oldest in Lawrence, was featured on the annual Food Garden Tour of Lawrence in summer 2011.

Lawrence gardeners showcased their crops to the public for the third edition of the Lawrence Food Garden Tour on Saturday.

The tour, which ran from 9 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., featured 19 gardens to demonstrate the diversity of food-producing possibilities within the Lawrence city limits.

“It’s really a grass-roots effort,” said Amber Lehrman, co-founder of the tour and owner of the Lehrman Family Homestead. Lehrman’s garden has been featured in all three tours and produces more than 1,000 pounds of food a year. Lehrman also raises chickens in the garden, located at 2409 Brookside Drive.

Lehrman said gardening can reduce the amount of gasoline used to transport food and is an affordable way to eat organically.

She added that home-grown food has another advantage.

“You will never eat better than what you pick straight out of your own yard,” she said.

For those wishing to start gardening, Lehrman suggested renting a plot at a community garden. Start small and pick a few vegetables you enjoy eating, she advised, and never be afraid to ask for help. For more information, visit facebook.com/lawrencefoodgardentour.