Ringer® Compost Plus Organic Compost Starter 

Want to convert your yard debris into free compost for your garden? Safer® Brand makes it simple with our organic Ringer® Compost Plus Compost Starter. With one bag, you can convert an amazing 750 pounds of yard debris into compost.

Start composting and use compost to fertilize flowers or a vegetable garden. Learn how to compost and watch your garden grow with healthy vegetables and gorgeous blooming flowers. Our compost starter contains a blend of microorganisms specially designed to start the composting process quickly and efficiently.

Stop paying money for compost; create your own organic, nutrient-rich soil with our organic compost starter box today.

Why Composting??

Composting yard waste breaks down the plant tissue to simple, basic nutrients in a form that plants can use for growth. Yards and gardens can receive the benefits of rich, moist humus when worked into the soil in the Spring or Fall or anytime during the growing season. Knowing how to compost can save you alot of money and produce a healthy organic garden.

Ringer Compost Plus Compost Maker uses a range of natural microorganisms that are designed and selected for the material that they decompose. In particular, they combine thermophilic organisms that work at higher temperatures. Ringer Compost Plus contains specially designed nutrient sources that start the compost process more quickly and efficiently.

Directions for Use and how to compost:

1. Select a shady spot with good drainage. Place a thin layer of bulky material such as twigs or wood chips on the bottom to reduce packing and to aerate the bottom layer. Start your compost pile with a layer of yard waste (shredded brown leaves, grass clippings, chipped wood trimmings, etc) 4-6 inches deep.
2. Sprinkle Compost Plus liberally over top of pile. Use about 1 cup for a 3x4 ft x 4 inch layer. Do not pack materials too tightly or make pile too large.
3. Water to moisten (water until pile has the dampness of a sqeezed out sponge
4. Repeat steps 1-3 with each additional layer. For best results use a combination of fine and coarse materials and do not use meat, fat or bones in your compost pile.
5. Every 7 to 10 days, aerate pile with an aeration tool or turn with forked tool or spade
6. Grass clippings will compost the fastest, leaves are slower and twigs, woodchips, etc. will take the longest. That is all it takes to learn how to compost. If you would like more information about composting, please visit our 'How to Compost' page in our Gardening 101 section.

How to use your Humus:

• Humus enhances the supply and availability of all nutrients to the soil
• Improve garden soil by applying a 3 inch layer of humus and turn it into the soil before planting.
• Your finished humus makes a great mulch over a bulb garden
• Add to a new lawn- blend compost into the soil prior to seeding or sodding

Ringer® - A dramatically better way to have a dramatically better lawn

Ringer® Compost Plus Organic Compost Starter - Specifications

Product Features:

• Contains a blend of microorganisms with specially designed nutrient sources that start the compost process quickly and efficiently
• Specially formulated to compost lawn clippings, brown leaves, wood chips, pine cones and twigs

What's in the Box:

• (2) 2 lb. boxes

Specifications:

• 2 lb. -  each box
• Quickly reduces waste into rich, moist humus in 60-90 days

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  Review Posted on Amazon.com August 15, 2011

I have tried other brands before but I actually saw progress with this one in a week. I over filled my composter with dried yard clippings from piles I had made from weeks before and had it so packed that when I spun it nothing really moved. When I checked it yesterday so much was breaking down that I had thought my husband had removed 1/3 of my pile. This is the quickest breakdown to date! Great product.

  Review Posted on Amazon.com August 11, 2011

It seems to work. 2 comparable compost piles (grass clippings, chopped leaves, food waste), one treated with Ringer compost starter, the other not. After three days, temperature of the treated pile was 97 degrees, untreated pile 83 degrees (air temperature 81 degrees). The compost starter seems to kick things off in a hurry, so hopefully the compost will be just about done by the time freezing weather comes.

Packaging: Some of the pelletized starter leaked out of the product box into the shipping box. There did not appear to be any damage or holes in the box, so I think it just fell through some weak seams on the box.

All About Composting

What is Composting?

Compost is one of nature's best mulches and soil amendments, and when combined with an organic seed starter such as Concern Weed Prevention Plus or organic fertilizer such as Ringer Lawn Restore, microorganisms break down organic matter into nutrients used by your plants to grow stronger!

Using compost improves soil structure, texture, and aeration as well as increasing the amount of moisture the soil retains, allowing you to water less often.

Compost can clean and repair contaminated soil, including soils that have been destroyed by harmful synthetic chemicals.

How to Compost

There are two ways to make compost, actively or passively:

Active composting

Active composting is highly-involved. The more time you invest, ultimately the more fertilizer it will yield. Being active in the process involves occasional turning of the pile, shredding of the waste material (heats up and decomposes quicker).

Passive composting

Passive composting is just as it sounds. You place your waste in your compost bin and leave it alone, only adding to the pile. Eventually (usually in a year or two) you have your finished product with minimal interaction.

Images courtesy of Oklahoma State University and Forestry Images.
For a complete list of content sources please visit our site bibliography page

Why Organic?

The benefits of going organic in your lawn and garden are exponential!  In addition to helping improve the environment and decreasing the chances of accelerated disease in your family, going organic can provide mental and physical benefits, long-term money-savings, and increased vitamin and mineral content in your soil, among other things.  A compost starter is a good way to begin preparing for your organic garden.

Learn more:

Benefits of Going Organic

Organic gardening provides for intense, realistic flavors in your food, and higher vitamin and mineral content than in conventionally produced foods. Organic Gardening: It's good for the environment and healthier for you and your family!

Organic vs. Natural - How to Read Labels

In the world of pesticides and repellents the words "organic" and "natural" are often mistakenly used to replace one another. Understanding product labels and certifications can help clear up the confusion.

Organic Pest Control - Different Ingredients Work for Different Insects

Nature has strategies to deal with insect pests without the use of synthetic chemicals. These strategies include organic pesticides as well as mechanical methods such as using traps, using beneficial bugs, and simply handpicking the pests, etc.

Composting Tips

For the Active Composter 

• First, seek out a level, well-drained area. In wet and cooler regions, you will want to store your compost pile in a sunny spot. This will allow you to trap in solar heat (for during the colder months of the year). In warmer, drier areas, store your compost pile in a shaded spot so the pile does not dry out too quickly.

• Build your pile over soil or lawn to take advantage of the earthworms, beneficial microbes, and other decomposing organisms.

• The key to good compost is moisture. Placing your compost pile on uncovered soil makes for better drainage, leaving moisture behind. A good rule of thumb is to leave your compost as damp as a wrung-out sponge.

• A turning or tumbling unit is typically used for active composters and consists of a series of bins used for building and turning active compost piles. A turning unit allows wastes to be conveniently mixed for aeration on a regular basis, speeding up the overall decomposition process.
  

• You will want to keep your compost pile properly aerated as the organisms that will assist in the decomposition process need air to breathe in order to survive. Using a product such as Ringer® Compost Plus Organic Compost Starter will provide you with the proper microorganisms necessary to break down organic matter into nutrient rich compost for your plants.

• Decomposition occurs most rapidly between 104-131 degrees Fahrenheit. Conventional thinking is that one should leave the pile alone when in this temperature range. Aerating and turning should only occur when the temperature slips below 104 degrees. Should you choose to go the active composting route, you can purchase a compost thermometer that will help you gauge the ‘peak’ times of your pile. For the Passive Composter

For the Passive Composter

• Wastes can be held in simple holding units, where it will sit for slow decomposition. These are simple units that contain the waste until the end of the decomposition process. This is the easiest way to compost and requires minimal involvement. Easing the process also involves using a product such as Ringer® Compost Plus Organic Compost Starter which provides you with essential microorganisms which break down organic matter to feed your plants essential nutrients.

• Yard wastes can be composted either in simple holding units, where they will sit undisturbed for slow decomposition, or in tumbling compost bins, which produce finished compost as quickly as just a few weeks with a good mix of materials. Non-wood materials such as grass clippings, crop wastes, garden weeds and leaves work best in a simple holding unit.

• The finished compost is dark brown, crumbly and earthy-smelling. Be sure that your finished product is completely decomposed and thus, is ready for use. If you notice small pieces or leaves in the pile, these are partially decomposed remnants and should be used as a mulch. Do not use them as fertilizer as it will deprive your plants of nitrogen. Nitrogen is essential to the growth of plants nearby. A smart move would be to sort out those items not yet decomposed and leave them for the next batch of compost.

• Finished compost may be spread on the soil or dug in. The compost will help your garden soil hold air and water, drain more efficiently, contain a nutrient reserve, encourage a larger population of beneficial soil microorganisms and bring about healthy plant growth.

Images courtesy of Oklahoma State University and Forestry Images.
For a complete list of content sources please visit our site bibliography page

FAQs About Starting an Organic Garden

Q:  We want to start a garden in an area of our backyard.  How should we get ready for it?

A:  One of the best ways to prevent insect problems in your soil is to till the soil.  When you till it, insect grubs and
      larvae will be brought to the surface where they likely will end up dying.  More»

Q:  I want an organic garden, so I don’t want to use harmful chemicals.  Will the organic
      products work as well as the chemical pesticides?

A:  Yes, they will be even better for the environment and for your insect control needs.  Organic
     control methods target the specific insect pest, usually without harming the beneficial insects
     you want in your garden to help with insect pest control.   More»

Q:  I would like to start composting.  How do I choose a spot for it?

A:  You will need to seek out a level, well-drained area. In wet and cooler regions you will want to store your compost pile
     in a sunny spot so as to trap in solar heat (for during the colder months of the year). In warmer, drier areas store
     your compost pile in a shadier spot so the pile does not dry out too quickly. Build your pile over soil or lawn to take
     advantage of the earthworms, beneficial microbes, and other decomposing organisms. You may want to start with
     a good compost starter.  More»

Q:  If I use a floating row cover, how will bees and other pollinating insects reach the plants?

A:  They won’t be able to so you will need to pollinate them yourself by hand.  Check with your local garden center or
     farm supply store to find out how to hand pollinate them.  You may want to remove the row covers during times
     of insect pollination.