permaculture

["roxann" <roxann@ancientearthwisdom.com>]

is permaculture/food forest adverse to cutting trees at all, or is it 
permissable to clear some for letting sunlight reach crops, or just what 
exactly does the principles of "food forestry" consider to be permaculture? I 
live in a very forested area and I have been clearing small plots and 
building gardens. I also have chickens, and find that they naturally prefer 
to stay in wooded or at least areas with lots of shelter from overhead, so I 
am going to incorporate that into any containment areas I set up for them in 
the future. right now they free range entirely. the gardens in my zone 1 area 
are all terraced on a slope of around 20*, but my main production beds for my 
market garden are on a clearing on a flat spot at the end of a nice slope, 
and that is where the tree clearing is taking place. A pond is being 
installed above the garden, so i will have gravity feed water for irrigation. 

i guess i'm just getting confused about whether what i am doing is considered 
permaculture or not- and i have not taken classes but have the mollison book 
and am trying to model my 160 acre homestead around those ideas. 

roxann, nw ar
http://ozarkginseng.com