I've composted for several years...would grab some bags of leaves from
peope's trash or a few bales of hay or whatever for bulk, then feed into it
all my kitchen scraps (minus meats, milks, bones, grease).

One time it smelled bad for a couple of days: I made a new pile almost
solely out of grass clippings. It got *HOT* fast but it stunk for 3 days.
Only time in couple of years I've had that problem and it wasn't from the
food :)

One time I had animals get into/onto it: I had some big piles of leaves I
was trying to compost over winter so I covered them with these huge plastic
bags to hold the heat in. One of the neighborhood cats used to come sleep on
top of the plastic because it was so warm with the pile slowly cooking
inside. We did have rats and possums at this house but neither of them
bothered the pile even though I'd bury a big bowl of kitchen scraps in the
pile every two to three days.

hth,
John
Austin, Tex

"Lynn F. Russell" wrote in message
. ..
My first husband used chicken wire, I think. He stapled it to a frame
(say
4'x 6') just to keep the the material confined. He turned it occasionally
as it "cooked". We only added organic matter (grass clippings, garden
waste, things like that). It NEVER had an odor.