A CHICKEN-AND-GRAPE ""PERMACULTURE"" SYSTEM

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With the framework in place, we proceeded to install the poultry netting. Since we didn't want our chickens to scratch their way out under the fence — or other critters to burrow into the enclosure — we first dug a shallow trench (about 4" deep) along the outside of each row of posts, to enable us to bury the lower portion of the fence.

Next, we unfurled a 4'-wide roll of wire along one side of each row and, working one 10' section at a time, nailed the wire up so that the bottom half of the mesh — which included the part that we placed in the trench and then covered with earth — formed a vertical wall. Then we folded the top half of the mesh over horizontally to stretch across from the posts to the vines.

When we completed one side of a row, we repeated the process on the other side and connected the folded-over halves (cutting around the grapes and their supports where necessary) to form a flat roof. (At first, we used store-bought wire clips for the job, but eventually we decided that simple twists of wire worked nearly as well . . . besides, they cost almost nothing.)

After we'd finished constructing all three row cages, we still had to provide shelter for the chickens, so I designed and built a small coop at the end of each row. The shingle-roofed structures rest above the ground on pilings (to give the poultry some shaded space underneath) and have access doors to each of four nests so that we can gather eggs without having to actually enter the coop or cage.

With the houses built, all we had to do was add chickens. . . and wait to see just how our "odd couple" — plants and birds — would get along.

A SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP

Two growing seasons have passed, and we're happy to report good results from the arrangement. We didn't, of course, expect (or get) a first-year harvest from our new grapevines . . . but at the end of the second year (1983) — despite the fact that we had a hot, dry summer — we were able to pick about ten pounds of grapes from each vine. And we anticipate gathering substantially more fruit this year.

Meanwhile, our chickens are healthy, happy, and productive . . . thanks largely, no doubt, to the fact that they're free to roam and forage over a relatively large area. In addition to providing us with plenty of eggs to eat, sell, or give away, the birds supply our plants with an excellent balance of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium . . . they hold insect problems to a minimum . . . and their busy scratching and pecking keep the rows nicely weeded. The Coastal Bermuda grass that's gradually establishing itself in the runs is fast-growing and highly tolerant of traffic . . . and in July, August, and September the chickens can barely keep up with it (but they do). During the remaining nine months of the year, they eat it faster than it grows, and the vegetation's runners simply hold the soil in place.

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