Permaculture in Local Context

Permaculture is a form of living with the land that involves a set of ethical and ecological principles. Our permaculture studies have motivated us to observe the local landscape in greater detail and to appreciate the opportunities as well as challenges that we experience in our local context. 

We can take inspiration from what grows--and thrives--naturally around our farm. We have sandy soil, and we established our asparagus patch using seed from asparagus that we found growing wild on a nearby sandspit. Summers are dry here, so we look at what kinds of plants thrive in areas like roadsides and abandoned lots without irrigation. We are also working with ecological succession processes in landscape restoration, for example, using red alder groves (since alders are pioneers and nitrogen fixers) as nurseries for other tree species. 

Our permaculture knowledge comes from WWOOFing, Oregon State U's PCD program, and lots of YouTube.