By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 5:05 PM on 30th October 2009

The amount of sweet potatoes harvested at the White House yesterday could feed an army, Michelle Obama observed.

Sadly, there was none to spare for the horde of photographers on hand to document the efforts of the First Lady and 30 schoolchildren as they pulled 223 pounds of vegetables from the garden on the South Lawn.

Enlarge   Don't mind us: Michelle Obama, left, speaks to a crowd of schoolchildren and adults as they settle down at picnic tables for a peaceful afternoon... under the watchful eye of the White House press corps, inches away

Don't mind us: Michelle Obama, left, speaks to a crowd of schoolchildren as they settle down at picnic tables for a peaceful afternoon... under the watchful eye of the White House press corps, inches away

Autumn harvest: The First Lady helps schoolchildren pull 223 pounds of produce from the garden on the South Lawn of the White House yesterday

Autumn harvest: The First Lady helps schoolchildren pull 223 pounds of produce from the garden on the South Lawn of the White House yesterday

Cupboards at a soup kitchen near the White House will be spilling over for several days after a donation of the fresh produce harvested yesterday from Mrs Obama's vegetable garden.

The First Lady invited about 30 fifth-graders from two District of Columbia public elementary schools to help with the project. One of the schools, Bancroft Elementary, has helped with the garden since it began, preparing the soil, planting the crops and harvesting in the spring.

'Are you guys ready to do some work? Are you ready to work really hard? Are you ready to get dirty?' she asked them. "All right, let's go!'

The First Lady struck some difficult poses as she helped the pupils pulls vegetables from the ground

The First Lady struck some difficult poses as she helped the pupils pulls vegetables from the ground

What do you think you're doing here? Mrs Obama eyes an earthworm during the harvest

No you can't (eat my vegetables): Mrs Obama eyes an earthworm suspiciously during the harvest

The students were divided into groups of three and paired with an adult who showed them what to do. All told, they spent about a half-hour jabbing and digging at the plot on the South Lawn with pitchforks and other tools.

They filled one wheelbarrow with huge sweet potatoes, and filled baskets and bowls with carrots, fennel, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, turnips, eggplant, peppers, tomatillos and greens, for a total of 223 pounds, Mrs Obama's office said later in the day.

Most of the produce is being given to Miriam's Kitchen, a nearby soup kitchen, for the next days' meals. Mrs Obama helped serve lunch there earlier this year.

Well done: Mrs Obama high fives a student from Washington's Bancroft Elementary School as they harvest vegetables from the garden

Well done: Mrs Obama high fives a student from Washington's Bancroft Elementary School as they harvest vegetables from the garden

The First Lady appears puzzled as she examines some carrots

The First Lady appears puzzled as she examines some carrots

Before yesterday, the garden already had produced more than 740 pounds of food, Mrs Obama said, bringing the total for the year to more than 960 pounds.

Some has been served at White House events.

The first lady and her group first tackled sweet potatoes before moving on to carrots and big bulbs of fennel.

At one point, she held up one of the larger orange-coloured spuds and said: 'This can feed an army.'

Spud-tastic: The size of the sweet potatoes harvested yesterday certainly was impressive

Spud-tastic: The size of the sweet potatoes harvested yesterday certainly was impressive

Mrs Obama puts a guiding hand on the wheelbarrow full of sweet potatoes as two children from the school cart them off

Mrs Obama puts a guiding hand on the wheelbarrow full of sweet potatoes as two children from the school cart them off

The First Lady also high fived the students, practically did the splits as she yanked vegetables from the ground, and carefully examined a large earthworm she had found.

Before the harvesting began, she said she and daughters, Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, already had helped themselves to some sweet potatoes.

The harvest was the second for the garden. More than 70 pounds of lettuce and 12 pounds of peas came out of a springtime harvest of the 1,100-square-foot, L-shaped plot.

As if the watching press corps weren't enough: Mrs Obama pauses from the work to pose for a mobile phone picture with some of the students

As if the watching press corps weren't enough: Mrs Obama pauses from the work to pose for a mobile phone picture with some of the students

This could feed an army: Mrs Obama, centre, poses with the schoolchildren and the 223 pounds of produce they harvested yesterday

This could feed an army: Mrs Obama, centre, poses with the schoolchildren and the 223 pounds of produce they harvested yesterday

After that, fall crops were planted, leading to yesterday's event.

Mrs Obama started the garden in March, saying she wanted to use it to talk about the importance of eating a nutritious diet and show what good, fresh food tastes like.

She said it cost about $180 to prepare the soil and plant the seeds and seedlings.

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Talk about an exercise in PR - those photographers just happened to be walking past !

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I really like Michelle Obama. She seems like one of those neighbourhood Mums who would be busy organising youth clubs and Christmas markets if she wasn't in the White House.

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God I just love this Family.They are so down to earth and Human....
Maybe this counrty could learn from these photos.See how the chrildren are willing to do some phisical labour and enjoying it...

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I know she's trying to be a "down-to-earth" first lady, but there's something off about her. She always acts like a teenager rather than a 45 year old woman married to the president. She brings no class to the position at all and looks foolish most of the time.

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How refreshing pity it was blighted with press. First, first Lady I am sure to get her hands dirty, bit different to Jackie Kennedy.

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She sowed? Please. Her staff sowed, and she showed up in her cashmere sweater and jewels as a publicity stunt. Plus, local farmers will lose money if people grow their own food. I thought we were supposed to support local farmers. Now, are we supposed to bankrupt them for the purposes of pretending to be green?

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