THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606130203
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 39 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF HAMPTON
STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 91 lines
THERE ARE no signs of recreation around the Perquimans County home of Ching Yu Wang.
A metal barn fronts the road. Behind it, sitting among farm tools and supplies, is a double-wide trailer where the Wangs live.
No deck with table and chairs shaded by an umbrella. No gas grill. No boat. Not even a manicured lawn or trimmed bushes. The yard is dirt.
Wang, his wife and four children raise Asian vegetables on 100 acres four miles south of Elizabeth City, and that requires their full attention. The only luxury is a new four-door pickup truck. It's a work truck, naturally.
But do not despair for the Wangs. They are doing well.
``Mr. Wang and his family embody a positive, optimistic work ethic that is refreshing to see,'' said Tom Campbell, a Pasquotank County agricultural extension agent.
Campbell was one of the first to befriend Wang when the Taiwan native arrived here from New York five years ago.
Wang came to the South to find clean country air for his ailing father. He arrived in the Elizabeth City area unable to speak English well and with no farming experience. He had run a roofing business with his brother in Asian neighborhoods of New York City.
Wang, 47, stands less than five and a half feet tall and is lean as a teenager. Last week, in his sparsely furnished home, he squatted on the floor against a perfectly good couch and explained in a few English words how he built a successful farm from nothing.
``Came here. Asked man about property. He said try newspaper.''
Wang said he bought 28 acres and worked it hard. He trucked his vegetables to New York two or three times a week as they matured. He sold his vegetables there to Asian wholesalers. Hard work made up for mistakes.
Wang still keeps a grueling schedule, although now that he has expanded his acreage, he hires migrant workers to help him and his family.
``I not farmer then. I don't know what good soil. What good crop, I don't know,'' Wang said of his early days here. ``I get lots of help. Tom Campbell, he helped. Bill Bateman (a Weeksville farmer), he helped.''
Wang sipped a miniature cup of unsweetened herb tea before continuing.
``I crazy. I take chances. My friends helped. A lot of people helped. Single man has no power. More people have more power. Better ideas.''
Not one to sit very long, he offered a tour of his farm in his new pickup.
Wang uses an intensive type of farming with raised beds, rather than the typical furrows. He can fit four rows of plants in the 48-inch-wide beds. The raised beds hold water and nutrients better.
Many of his vegetables are not like the local fare. He raises a white radish that looks more like a large albino carrot. Chinese cabbage and kohlrabi are two big sellers in the Asian market that are unfamiliar around here.
Wang grows snap beans, but they are about four times longer than the American version. He plants a few rows of a green, leafy plant that when made into a soup is good for one's kidneys. He doesn't know the English name for it.
Wang grows squash his own way. He plants the squash next to tall posts set in two long rows. Wire mesh runs across the top of the posts. The squash grows up the posts and spans the wire overhead. Wang simply drives his tractor under the wire and picks the squash from below. No weeding necessary.
His vegetables are so superior that he was able to break into the tough New York market in a relatively short time.
``I think in my mind quality, not quantity,'' said Wang. ``I always test crops first. If pretty, I sell. If ugly, I disk. Makes good natural fertilizer.''
Wang's children work on the farm after school. His oldest daughter just returned from a university on Taiwan, a large island off the coast of China.
Business and industry boom there. Lee Teng-hui recently became the first president ever directly elected by the people.
Nevertheless, the island is crowded. Taiwan has a population of more than 21 million living in an area about one-fourth the size of North Carolina. An average of about 10,000 Taiwanese per year come to the United States seeking prosperity.
``In Taiwan, they charge $10,000 for land at the size of truck,'' Wang said, waving his hand toward the hood of his pickup while he drove down a bumpy farm path. ``If I owned farm of 20 acres in Taiwan, I not have to work. Oh, I be big farmer,'' he said chuckling.
Despite the pride in what he has built here, Wang hesitates to say he will stay with farming. He echoes the lamentations of most farmers.
``Too hot. Too wet. One day 90. Next day 30. Labor too slow, lose money. Market too full, lose money. Farm equipment expensive.''
He shakes his head at the problems as he pulls to a stop, the farm tour concluded. Then he grins. His eyes twinkle.
``I have ideas for other business.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by JEFF HAMPTON
Ching Yu Wang, his wife and four children raise Asian vegetables on
a 100-acre family farm located four miles south of Elizabeth City. by CNB