Slate or concrete paving blocks. Cheap, and they last forever. Gravel would work as well.

wood chips

I think growing something there is probably not an option.

Dh suggested gravel for in front of our own compost bins, but I was afraid it would be too rough on bare feet, fwiw.

Woodchips, mulch, the cleaned bones of lawyers and politicians- all possibilities.

Old chunk of carpet over thin layer of straw or leaves. Carpet gets ratty, replace it. There are always renovations going on so supply is pretty well unlimited.

Lloyd

"..the cleaned bones of lawyers and politicians.."

ROFL!! That might contaminate the compost.

I use woodchips, but I never garden barefoot.

I have the same problem, or had. Now I put down corn stalks harvested from Halloween displays. Remove the ears of corn so as not to encourage vermin. I pass the corn along to the horse owners who give me horse manure. By next halloween the stalks will be decomposed/tromped down into the soil. Time for new stalks.

I have some black rubber mats that used to be in a horse stall. They work great :). I agree that planting anything would be a waste. If I were you, I would use whatever you have handy or if looks are important, then spend the money.

Kristi

Wow, it seems this is a universal problem. I thought it was just my spot.

All great ideas, but I think I'll go with the straw with carpet on top because I have plenty of both. There was a big roll of new carpet in the basement when I moved here, and I've been using it for a variety of projects.

if you are a small time composter like me, you can move to a different area. the place you leave behind will be quite fertile with a microherd. On the other hand if you are like gonefishin' and a few others you could write the State or Federal agencies and have them construct a road or sidewalk. J/K

You may be spending way too much time working on your compost if you are wearing the grass away. The problem I have is the grass grows too fast and I have to dig it out to get the doors on the bins open.

"You may be spending way too much time working on your compost if you are wearing the grass away."

hahahaha, truer words never spoken. I just started it last summer, I think in about July.

Understand that I grew up on Sevin (in a farm family where we used it for everything but cereal topping) and garbage disposals. Once I made the decision (after a year of pondering) to compost, I threw myself into it 100 percent. You could even say I became a bit obsessed with it. I went to it every day and looked at it, found things to add, sniffed it (smells so good), and just liked to admire it.

My compost pile was what I thought of as I went to sleep every night...what was I going to add tomorrow?

You could say that's pretty tragic, but I like to think it's just because I'm making up for lost time of a lifetime of waste.

For what it's worth, my uncle says we always had a "pile" going out by the barn that was a crude compost pile. But I don't remember anyone shoveling manure onto it, or putting crop waste there (maybe there was no waste), or even putting potato peels there. The only thing I remember on that pile by the barn was a dead fox, and I always felt so sad for that fox.

Anyway, I've calmed down to a more reasonable amount of time spent at my pile now, but I'm SO looking forward to spring when I can shovel some out and work it into my ground. I still like to pry it open now and then, work it a bit and look at my lovely worms and talk to them. And I still can't stop sniffing, but I've always sniffed dirt and roots...it's my version of snuff. I'm a bit nuts I guess.

>>but I'm SO looking forward to spring when I can shovel some out and work it into my ground. I still like to pry it open now and then, work it a bit and look at my lovely worms and talk to them. And I still can't stop sniffing, but I've always sniffed dirt and roots...it's my version of snuff. I'm a bit nuts I guess.A bit nuts? Nah, sounds completely normal to all of us on this board, Julianna!

If you enjoy turning and working on compost a lot- then you're not spending "too much" time on it. "Too much" time only occurs when you find it a chore, as there really is very little work required.