Starting to convert your leaves, grass clippings and organic debris to compost now means the soil amendment is likely to be ready to apply to your fall garden.

Fort Bend County Master Gardeners Clarence Gray of Missouri City and Sam Guardiola of Houston talked about composting and vermicomposting on June 13 to about 45 people at the Bud O'Shieles Community Center at 1330 Band Road in Rosenberg as part of the “Grow Your Own” class series.

Gray called composting "a natural process" Each year tons of leaves, yard wastes and grass clippings are taken to landfills, representing about 20 percent of trash. The collection and disposal of yard waste adds up to more than $200 million annually, he added.

Composting is a mix of "greens" - nitrogen-rich materials - and "browns" - carbon-rich materials. The ratio of the mix is three parts browns for every one-part green.

Homeowners can create a pile in their backyard of compostable materials, avoiding shady areas. Or homeowners can use wood pallets or wire to build a unit to hold the compostable material. Recycling bins also can be purchased.

In answer to an audience question, Gray said that weed killers applied to grass from which clippings are used in the compost bin isn't a problem. However, you should not add grass immediately to your pile. The compost pile/bin will heat up. "It will kill weed seeds," he said. He said it's also OK to use chlorinated tap water in the composting process. Gray added that the homeowners can also use material cleaned from their chicken coops in the composting process but in moderation because of the high nitrogen content. Never use dog or cat feces, he said. "Composting is not hard," said Gray.

Guardiola does both composting and vermicomposting, but he focused on vermicomposting in the presentation. In vermicomposting, red wiggler worms (Eisenia fetida) do the work. He said his worms live in a bin on a shelf in his laundry room and their diet includes apples, cabbage leaves, coffee‚ grounds and eggshells, among other foods. They can produce compost in as early as three months.

He said their diet cannot include meats, butter, dairy products, fish and poultry among other items. Moist shredded paper or shredded coconut coir lines the bottom of the bin with a sheet of moist paper at the top of the bin, which has screened holes to provide ventilation. Visit “Easy Gardening: Composting” at https://cdn-de.agrilife.org/extension/departments/hort/hort-pu-102/publications/files/easy-gardening-composting-2.pdf and “Vermicomposting & Compost Tea” at https://www.tcmastergardeners.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Composting_with_Worms_TJC_06092018.pdf to learn more.