I first read of this unusual healing technique in Moon Time: The Art of Harmony with Nature and Lunar Cycles by Johanna Paungger and Thomas Poppe when I first moved to New Zealand in 2001. At that time for some reason I couldn’t get my hands on cold-pressed sunflower oil and I never had a chance to try it. I suddenly started hearing about this method again last year and we tried it out with great results. It seems that Oil Pulling is also used in Ayurvedic healing which goes back at least 5,000 years, so the roots of this old European version are indeed ancient. It is supposed to be very helpful for removing heavy metals from the body, and people have used it for nasal congestion, eczema and various other issues. The following is taken from the book Moon Time and describes in detail the old method of practising this ancient healing technique.

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This tasty snack can be made with any nut or seed or combination of. It makes a great crust as well.

• 1c curds (ground)
• 1c pumpkin seeds (soaked, toasted and ground)
• 1/2 c sunflower seeds (ST&G)
• 2T butter or other fat (coconut, tallow, goose)
• 1/2c parmesan

Method: I don’t have a food processor, but I have a great spice grinder which I use for everything I don’t use my mortar and pestle for. I grind up my curds and seeds with this and then mash everything together with my hands. I have always loved feeling the texture of foods ever since I baked as a kid. Feel free to just use a food processor.

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We had a serious attack of spider mites. They started in the catnip and yarrow and somehow got to the choko and beans. They took the choko down in no time, fortunately it is a hardy plant and it has now grown back to where it was when the spider mites devoured it.

This was my first real run-in with spider mites, which are quite a common especially in container and greenhouse gardeing. I tried neem oil and washing the leaves off, but I think my problem was too advanced by the time I used these measures. I finally found a recipe for a light glue that is sprayed on the back of the leaves and smothers the mites. This has to be done every so often as the eggs will keep hatching. It seems to have finally put a stop to them and my beans are looking a bit better. I also gave them a dandelion tea because I thought it might help add some potassium to the soil and that is another thing beans can easily become deficient in if they are in containers.

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