“NO MUD, NO LOTUS. Both suffering and happiness are of an organic nature, which means they are both transitory; they are always changing. The flower, when it wilts, becomes the compost. The compost can help grow a flower again. Happiness is also organic and impermanent by nature. It can become suffering and suffering can become happiness again.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering
Written by @sitastarchild - Princess Poo-Poo
@anwenbaumeister - The Queen of Sh!t
Today on CozyBones Farm we've made our first steps in tending to the land by making a lovely pile of compost! By collecting all food wastes, soil, chicken poop, dead leaves, twigs, and straw, we created a hot heaping pile of smelly compost.
Though it was a rather gruesome and stinky process, we learned how to transform our suffering into happiness in knowing that "without the mud there will be no lotus", or in plain terms, without the shit we won't be able to grow the really good shit!
Here's how we got this shit done:
We collected our organic composted food waste that had been building up for quite a while.
Then we created a 3x3 foot foundation of branches in a square formation on a plot of land. We gathered a mixture of Brown & Green Materials - Browns offering more carbon and Greens offering more nitrogen.
Browns
- wood
- cardboard
- newspaper
- leaves
- fruit waste
- sawdust
- straw
Greens
- garden waste
- grass clippings
- hay
- manures
- vegetable scraps
- seaweed
- coffee grounds
It is essential for the content of the pile to be the correct mixture of nitrogen and carbon ensuring the best decomposition.
Then we packed on some extra gnarly food waste that had been composting and decomposing for the past year. Worm HEAVEN!
The Queen of Sh!t loooooooves putting her hands in rotten food and worm poo 😛
From there we gathered a bunch of leaves, dirt, and chicken shit! Princess Poo-Poo almost dropped her phone in the pile of poo while attempting to be a photojournalist of this composting adventure. SACRIFICE AND LOVE.
Then we gathered a bunch of dead bamboo leaves and twigs and tossed it on top of the pile. We then gently poured some water on it because this accelerates the heating process in the pile.
As much as the Queen of Sh!t loves poo, she can really appreciate a pile of dead leaves too.
We repeated this process of layering like adding layers to a delicious lasagna. Nature loves diversity, so the more shit you can add the better!
To complete our beautiful leaning tower of shit, we added some more water as the moisture assists in increasing the temperature to 160 degrees and coated it in straw to keep the smell from attracting rats, mice, and those pesky raccoons.
Lastly, we covered the pile with a tarp and inserted a thermometer to keep track of the pile’s temperature. We will turn the pile after 1 week and add water to the pile while turning it to help the decomposition once again.
Despite our temporary disgust, we found deep joy and gratitude within the process of honoring the Cycles of Life and Death. We have a new profound appreciation for playing with poop and how much it can do to give back to the Earth.
To learn more about what us crazy earth faeries are up to - check out our new website!
cozybonesfarm.com
Hope you enjoyed this composting adventure with Princess Poo-Poo and the Queen of Sh!t on Cozy Bones Farm!
Until next time <3