ANDY'S NOTE:  What fun, to have a friend like Marabou. Someone that I can talk about growing specific yam, chayote, and other perennial veggie varieties with me! He's the real deal, sort of a renaissance man of the modern age well-versed in the ways of backyard gardeners of old. I love finding gardeners who grow calorie-rich foods and know how to prepare them... and Marabou is that. The dude is pretty incredible in that he can make flours and pickles, pancakes and muffins, all from his garden. I have seen his jungly garden where each corner yields choice named varieties well suited for central Florida AND the dinner table. He has always been ever so kind and ever so open and sharing. His book entitled "Homegarden Cuisine Toolkit" is, in my humble opinion, outstanding. It showcases his garden know-how coupled with his chef-like kitchen skills. The book is funky. I mean, it has hand-written notes over photos that he snapped. Although a couple of older friends found the hand-written sentences hard to read, I suggested to them that they go slowly through the book with a magnifying glass. One would be wise to take the time to implement some of his advice from the book right into your garden. There is currently no book on Florida gardening that I know of that I prefer in fact! Thanks Marabou, I very much appreciate not only your garden wisdom, but also the way that you share it all with us. You are a gem.
ABOUT MARABOU: "Marabou Thomas grew up in Nairobi Kenya where he regrettably learned next to nothing about edible plants.
In the middle of high school he moved to Orlando Florida where he decided he really wanted to learn how to be a good human being in a world with a heck of a lot of humans in it.  The first step would be learning how to grow food in a low-energy low-input way.  The next step would be....well, He never got past that first step.
Marabou is still working at learning how to grow food and be a good human.  His current passion is working to inspire people to eat what they grow in their yard. Particularly calorie dense staple crops, and nutrient dense perennial leaf crops.  He made a book to help with this goal, called Homegarden Cuisine Toolkit: Ideas for Making Food in the Humid Subtropics.
His current occupation is helping manage Whisper Creek Farm, an onsite farm at the JW Marriott Orlando. Working with Bumper Crop Orlando, they provide year-round food for several restaurants inside the hotel.
When he is not planting or shucking cowpeas, Marabou also, somewhat guiltily, does a bit of art."
HIS OTHER WEBSITE: CLICK HERE.
HIS INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT: CLICK HERE.