What's CPP?
CPP stands for Cow Pat Pit - a biodynamic soil conditioner made from cow manure, egg shells, volcanic rock dust and six herbal remedies.

All of this is mixed for an hour and then buried in the ground for a few months to mature into a beautiful mixture that doesn't smell - you would hardly even recognise it as cow manure.

Part One:

We'll start on Friday 9th June by emptying the CPP pit, stirring up the very last of the mixture, applying this through the food forest, and then putting down a fresh layer of broken terracotta pots, perhaps making the lining a bit thicker than it has been (depends on how many broken terracotta pots I can find by Friday)

This first session is an optional extra, with the main part of the workshop happening on June 16th.

Part Two:

On Friday 16th June we'll make the actual CPP - this involves mixing cow manure for 60 minutes. It's a job I'm used to doing on my own and you're welcome to just watch.

Any questions? Please email me at katrina@blueborage.co.nz

How the Sharda workshops run:

You are welcome to book a room at the Sharda Centre on the Thursday evening and create your own mini retreat: bring a yummy dinner, breakfast and lunch, some artwork, a favourite book, good sturdy shoes for walking through the bush... you know best what makes a night away a special time for you.

I recommend an early morning wander around the gardens, and please know that you're welcome to explore the composting systems that are up and running already.

I'll arrive in the morning, around 9:30 and then we'll get stuck into the workshop.

What to bring:

- Gumboots, or sturdy shoes suited to gardening on uneven slopes with blackberry and other invasive weeds.

- Wear suitable clothes for gardening. We will go ahead in light rain.

- Gardening gloves.

- for the CPP workshop it would be wise to have some food grade gloves so you can aerate the cow manure (a bit like kneading bread) and not end up with smelly hands.

- two jars or bottles to take some CPP mixture home with you. You'll take about a handful of the powder mixture to use later, and about a litre of the liquid mixture to put on your garden as soon as you get home.

- Notebook and pen to take notes (you'll get access to the CPP online course, so will be able to go back to this later)

- Sunhat, water bottle, and please remember to put on some sunscreen in the morning.

- You are welcome to bring a snack and stay afterwards to enjoy the bush walk and forest area around Sharda. It's ideal for meditation or artwork. Perhaps your idea of relaxation is a picnic blanket and a book?

- If you are staying overnight, then please contact the office to make your booking and pay Sharda for this separately to the gardening workshop: shardacentrenz@gmail.com. Note there are two prices for overnight stays - it's your choice whether you want to bring your own bedding or not. https://shardacentre.com/