Billy said

In article ,
DirtBag wrote:

I started my first compost pile last fall, mostly leaves mulched
with my mower. I turned it several times, but given the limited
time, it's not yet compost - mostly just leaves.

Anyway, I'm planning to use raised beds this season, and I was
hoping to use this "compost" in the raised beds. I was planning to
rototill this compost into the first several inches of soil, then
install the raised beds, add some more of this compost, and finish
off with some local topsoil from the local nursury.

Sounds OK. What is the base soil that you will be placing the raised
beds on? If not clay, you probably don't need to turn the ground. The
decomposers ( ameba, fungi, bacteria) have already enter the compost,
so blending the compost into the soil is no problem. Compost
shouldn't be more than 10%- 15% by volume of you soil. Since you will
need to fertilize the bed anyway, add chicken manure at the rate of
18 lbs/100 sq. ft., which will also address the nitrogen demands of
the brown organic material that you add, and add the microbes that
the soil may be deficient in. You could always use the bottom portion
of you compost pile to make a compost tea to increase the population
of soil microbes. The other possibility would be to spray a dilute
mixture of molasses or sugar on the bed, once it is preped, which
will set off a population explosion among the mirobes.

My soil is good old Indiana clay. I think I'll add a bit of the leaf
matter to help break up the soil and get a mess of chicken manure as
you suggest.

Am I missing something? Will this leaf-compost be problematic?
Should I swap the topsoil planned for the raised beds for something
else.
There is little true topsoil for sale. There is always the worry that
the soil may be contaminated with herbicides or heavy metals. If you
have soil that you can use, top or not, just blend it with organic
material. If your soil is mostly clay, you may want to blend in some
sand as well. Ideal soil composition should be 30%-40% sand, 30%-40%
silt, and 20%-30% clay. As I wrote, 10%- 15%, by volume, of you soil
(the above) should be organic material.

Thanks for your guidance. I'll try to achieve this ratio

mmmm, I can almost taste the tomatoes already....