Island, farmers are still picking up the pieces after the storm devastated their gardens leaving hardly any late summer crops.

And in some cases the damage cost them thousands of dollars.

After removing debris, many farmers had to start from the beginning, plowing their fields fertilising and planting seeds and seedlings.

Mr. Gary Mello owner of the Greenwich Farm in Devonshire said the hurricane destroyed all of his produce costing him between $50,000 and $70,000.

"Everything went that we had in the ground, 30,000 tomato plants, 20,000 peppers, cherry tomatoes, and two acres of cucumbers,'' Mr. Mello said.

He added that despite the devastation, they were able to save a little bit of the egg plant and some of the leeks.

"When there is a hurricane the general population has the day off with pay or overtime from helping to clean up, but farmers have a week or two of additional labour because of having to clean-up debris. And we also loose two to three months of revenue.'' Mr. Mello added that because his fields had had a good year he will be able to live off reserves for the next three months.

"Right now we are plowing and replanting. I am hoping that the light at the end of the tunnel is not a big freight train ready to run over me.'' Owner of J and J Produce in Warwick Mr. Roland Hill said: "We are starting to regroup and get the fields cleaned up from the debris that was blown all over the place.

"The banana's took a beating this time and we lost a couple of fields of carrots, broccoli, cabbage an cauliflower seedlings, the tomatoes, and peppers went too. Everything took a beating, and we lost it all.'' He added: "Now we have to start all over and try again but that's nature.'' A hopeful Mr. Hill added that farmers realise that nothing is guaranteed.

"These are hard times for us anyhow because you don't know if you will get the rain. But normally with the rain comes a hurricane or a lot of wind, especially in the summer months. That is the chance you have to take. It's not easy.'' Mr. Hill said a lot of farmers lost their late summer tomatoes and a lot of cucumbers, the basic summer crops.

"They were badly bruised by wind and debris and there was not enough rain from the hurricane to wash the salt off. The day after the hurricane we were back out planting.'' Mr. Manuel DeSilva's farm in Devonshire lost a lot of peppers and most of their tomatoes.

"There was also damage to several of the banana trees some of which broke in half,'' Mr. DeSilva said.

FOR THE BIRDS -- Farmers around the Island have had to start from scratch after Hurricane Felix ruined almost all of their late summer crops, including several pepper fields.