A new visitor : Yellow Ladybird

Towards this early evening, I was surprised to see a yellow bug which clung onto one of my red "corns".

I took it off carefully & was told by my hubby that it was a lady bug which was said to be beneficial to all plants. Lady bugs were beneficial insects who helped in getting rid of pests such as aphids. By eating them of course.

However, out of ignorance, I brought the lady bug down to the ground floor & left it onto a flowering shrub as I didn't believe that it was a lady bug since it was yellow & not red with black pokka dots as typically depicted in cartoons or photographs.

I almost kicked myself when the search engines on the internet has confirmed that it was indeed a precious yellow lady bug! I've just sent off a good insect that would benefit my plants!

Ain't I stupid?

Right now, I could only be hopeful that my plants would be a future resting place for more lady bugs in the near future.

And the worse part was, I didn't even take a photograph of the yellow lady bug.

This was how my yellow lady bug looked like...

I think I must be crazy to chase away such a precious insect whose doing good to my ginger plants. *sob* Let's just hope that other lady bugs would find their way to my plants.

Outcome of a single application of IJO's Organic Worm Tea

After a single dose of ijo's worm tea, this is the outcome of my plants:

Even after I stopped watering the plants with worm tea, I did notice that the plants were blooming again with just watering them with tap water.

I had a sneaky suspicion that becox the N-component (Nitrogen) has been higher in percentage than the P-content (Phosporous, which is essential to promote flowering), the plants were growing vigorously with green leaves & new baby shoots at the expense of blooming.

After I stopped watering the plants with worm tea for the time being, my "Ginger" plants had been blooming consecutively for days when they had been exposted to an abundance of strong morning sun.

The following photographs were taken on 7th February 2012:

IJO's Organic Worm Tea

I read through the web & got in touch with IJO Corporation's representative, Powan.

Both sources had suggested that the key for prevention of such infestations & diseases is to build up a healthy plant.

Powan of IJO had introduced the idea of worm tea derived from worm castings when I touched base with her earlier on in view of IJO Organic fertiliser in the form of gray coloured granules. However, I wasn't keen on the idea back then becox I didn't fancy using the faeces/ stools of worms for my plants when they seemed to be doing fine prior to over-fertilising!

Now that I had been driven to desperation, I had decided to throw in my lot with IJO worm castings.

The photograph below shows my newly acquired bottle of IJO worm castings & a well-oxygenated dispenser of worm tea derived from the product:

IJO Organic Fertiliser (gray pellet form)

Of late, I require a replenishing of this organic fertiliser after the repotting process but realised that I couldn't find the product at Giant (Tampines) & other supermarkets such as NTUC Fairprice.

Although my plants had been overfertilised & didn't require fertilisers for now, I swore by IJO's organic fertiliser becox they worked wonders on my plants & they do promote healthy green leaves spotting fattish stems.

A photograph of IJO's organic fertiliser:

I was relieved that I didn't discard the empty satchet as the contact details of IJO Corporation was printed on the back (of the satchet).

So for you folks who are still interested in purchasing IJO's organic fertiliser, please contact the company directly to obtain details of where you could purchase the fertiliser from:

IJO Corporation Pte Ltd
3018 Bedok North Street 5
#06-49 Eastlink
Singapore 486132
tel: 6-447-8867

(email address: enquiry@ijocorp.com)

I was told by this manufacturer that IJO meant "It's Just Organic" in short. My verdict for this organic fertiliser is that it's a great product for nurseries & plant lovers.

Post-script:    It's sad to learn that this range of organic fertiliser has been discontinued & has been replaced by a new range of organic worm tea.  Although I had been informed by nurseries that the worm tea product has its regular buyers, it is most unfortunate that it didn't work out for my plants.  On the contrary, it killed off my poor plants eventually, promoting diseases & pests.

If you are interested in learning about the latest development of what detrimental effects it had on my ginger plants, please stay tuned to this blog!  Thank You!