My first year – so far:
I am now at the 1 year point since my ‘conversion’ to permaculture techniques.

This morning’s evaluation tells me it is a success.  The current areas that are totally devoted to poultry haven’t been mowed in a while, the 5 adult turkey have mowed the clover pretty short, are keeping the wild area to a medium height and the areas that were previously mowed have not needed it in a while.  The birds eat the new seed heads as they emerge.

The new chickens have totally cleaned up an ornamental area that I used to have to clean out and re-mulch each year to keep the mosquito population down.  The ornamentals, hydrangea, azalea, tea olive that are there have been fertilized by the birds and some dead wood and bugs at the base of the pecan have also been cleaned up.

The two geese have assumed their role as watch dogs for the chickens.  Where ever the group is the geese sit, like guard dogs, and if approached the male will get up to see who it is.  If it is me or hubby he just lays back down (unless we have food). 

The snake habitat has been restored and I am no longer seeing vole holes all over the yard.  I am still losing some potatoes and onions here and there to voles and in my hugel bed they will immediately eat the roots of any tomato plant I attempt but the other plants have been left alone.  There are castor plants in that bed as well so that may also be protecting the other plants from voles.

I don’t have anywhere near the food production that I could have.  Right now I am just at the stage where there is minimal yard maintenance from me and a very small daily-ish supply of herbs or fruit/vegetables.

My biggest expenditure of time or labor comes from feeding/watering the birds and moving the pens of the baby turkeys that were penned because they wouldn’t stay in the yard.

Now that I’ve minimized the labor involved with maintaining the yard and gardens the next step is to increase food production without increasing labor…………And if I could just get someone to do the work of making the garlic powder, processing the muscadines, drying and storing the herbs, cutting the lettuce……………

For more information about permaculture visit:  http://www.permies.com/