I just bought my first house in the foothills of Mount Rainier and me and the missus are planning a small permaculture garden with a small flock of chickens to help with the weeding, fertilizer, tilling, and bug control. Fresh eggs will also be amazing! We are planning on doing research, planning, and building the coop/garden beds over the course of the year and get our flock and start planting early next year. I might jump the gun as I am super excited to get it all started but we want to go into it with the knowledge and resources to do it right. So I'll be creeping around reading and learning as much as I can until we feel confident in moving forward.
Well, hello!
When I was a child, we could see Mount Rainier through our picture window, on the clear days in Seattle.
There are loads of good information here on BYC - not all of it compatible with Permaculture Principles, but most of the people I have encountered in the last nearly six (could it be almost six already?) years here are dedicated learners - and so, they are good teachers.
From what I have read, chickens are an excellent first choice for starting in on Permaculture. Once you are sure you can protect them from predators and various other kinds of trouble, you may in fact want to get them on board pretty early in the development of your place, because of all the labor they will supply. You already know the details, I suspect, but for those unfamiliar with Permaculture design, I'll list the first few to pop into my head.
Tractoring - preparing soil for planting
Pest control
Fertilizer
Acceleration of the composting process
Joy and beauty and amusement and amazement
Oh, yes, and eggs. Meat, too, if they don't become pets.
