A Chinaman and the Chinese Cabbage

I'm not going to go into a discussion of one variety over another.

Chinese cabbage grows really, really well in the tropics. In fact, it is the only vegetable for which there is a consistent supply of in the local supermarkets. (American Samoa)

I remember when I was a kid, there was actually this Chinese man who farmed a piece of land just up the road from us. Now, generally, we always had a garden around our house, but when I was a little kid, it was just as fun to work in someone else's garden as our own. So, our babysitter would always take us over there and I find it hard to believe that he tolerated us so well, running through his vegetables... ostensibly helping out and weeding, and picking.

I don't remember exactly, but I'm thinking his name was Mr. Lee. He was very cool, but I honestly don't remember if he spoke any English or Samoan. So, I'm at a loss to say exactly how we communicated with him. I'm betting he spoke Samoan.

Anyhow, he grew quite a bit of Chinese cabbage. :-) Chinese cabbage, grown by a real Chinaman. And so far as I knew, he grew everything the hard way. No power tools, no pesticides, and chicken manure for fertilizer. He also grew a lot of beans and cucumbers. I remember he built these trellises out of branches of the fau tree (which grows straight shoots, so it is often used for staking and building makeshift trellises).

But really, the thing I remember the most about his farm was his Chinese cabbage, and the wheelbarrows of vegetables he'd give to us from time to time.