Amending Soil With CompostCompost is one of the most common, useful, and potentially inexpensive amendments you can add to your soil. You can easily create your own compost, but given the amount that you will probably need to amend the soil in preparation for a new lawn, you’ll most likely want to buy what you need from a local source. You can buy bagged compost, but that would be exceptionally pricey. It’s wiser to buy in bulk, by the cubic yard.
Be aware that not all compost is created equal. Compost needs to be “finished” to be at its most useful; the compost itself should smell somewhat sweet. If it smells at all of ammonia, it’s unfinished and you should find another source.
Good compost adds immeasurably to the soil. It improves the structure so that the soil drains well, but retains a good deal of moisture. Compost also adds a wealth of beneficial microorganisms to the soil (and often, larger helpers such as earthworms). The material is not as rich in nutrients as other amendments are. But although the amounts are lower, compost contains some amounts of all the macro- and micronutrients your lawn needs, in slow-release form. Use about three cubic yards for every 1,000 square feet of soil area.
Preparing for planting a new lawn is the perfect time to add compost to the soil, but it’s not the only time. Compost is an excellent yearly top-dressing for a growing lawn, one that helps keep your soil healthy.
Thinking Green: Composting 
Making your own compost is a simple way to help the environment, help your lawn, and help yourself to one of the best soil improvements you can use.
Large home improvement stores and garden centers carry many different designs of composting bins, but all do the same basic things: contain the pile of yard and kitchen waste and other debris that you will be composting, provide for airflow around the pile, and allow access to remove the completed compost.
Of course, you can also make your own compost bin for free. Use scrap boards and posts to create a square bin, or chicken wire and poles to make a round one. You can even make a simple pile in an out-of-the way corner of the yard or garden.
Ultimately, how you maintain the pile is more important than the design of the composter. You’ll be composting two types of organic materials, generally referred to as “browns” and “greens.” Browns are leaves, twigs, bark, and dead flowers. Greens are grass clippings, kitchen waste, and other similar materials. To create the most efficient pile, use a ratio of two-to-one in favor of brown elements. Help a new pile get started with a compost starter kit available at nurseries and home centers.
Keep the pile moist, but not soaking wet. Turn it regularly; the more you turn it, the faster the materials will compost. You know the pile is working if the center is hot. Harvest it when the compost is finished. It should be black and crumbly with no recognizable bits or pieces of the original material.
Turning your compost regularly accelerates the conversion time it needs to be ready for your yard and garden.