That seems like a lot of compost, but for a poor unamended soil, it may be just fine. Hard to know without more data about the soil AND the quality of the compost.

You will see the level sink down next year as all that organic matter degrades and the fluff from tilling compacts down.

I'm curious why nothing would grow there before. You might want to get a soil test on the *unamended* soil to see if what the ph is, organic matter, NPK, etc.

If the pH is way off, compost will help it toward neutral, but it may not do the job entirely.

tox has given you excellent advice - get a soil test on the bare soil without the compost. Just go outside the edge to grab a sample.

I suspect you will be okay, but it does sound like a lot of compost vs. sand, etc. A far as amounts, a number of first-rate commercial mixes are, by volume, equal amounts of compost, topsoil, & silt/sand. You can vary a fair amount from this and not get into trouble. But straight compost tends to hold too much moisture and not drain as well as you would like. If I were in your situation, at this point, I would shoot for what would be about equal volumes of your base soil plus compost. If your base soil drains well you could add some of the stuff you removed back and mix it in to get to about 50:50. If your base soil is mostly clay vs. sand and is and drains poorly, you could add some coarse sand to the mix.

BTW - blood meal is a very good N source (about 11%), and bone meal is typically about 11% P. Take those into account as you add "fertilizer".

Contact your counties office of the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service about having a good, reliable soil test done for soil pH and the major soil nutrients, Phosphorus, Potash, Calcium, Magnesium, and the balance between them. Then dig in with these simple soil tests,
1) Soil test for organic matter. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top.

2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drainsâ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell.

5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.
to see what you have in that bed now.
Removing that top 6 inches of soil removed some "topsoil" and organic matter that could have been a valuable nutrient source for your Soil Food Web.

Fantastic info here.

I've only seen ONE earthworm in the some-100 sq ft I dug/tilled. I have considered that as a possibility the soil sucks, but there is some research to suggest whether earthworms are present or not means soil is bad/good.

As far as pH testing with county extension. I have thought of doing that, but I just don't want to spend the time. If I were able to dig up the garden last year, for example, I would.

I forgot about the water in hole test. I will be trying that out. Last year I did the jar test, forgot about that one. I will do it today.

The tilth is there.
And smell, I'm terrible with smelling.

Excited to see the jar test reslts and water hole test.

After thinking it out last night, I have thought maybe tilling in some peat moss would do the trick?

Haven't done a pH test/mineral test yet.

What are your thoughts?

Anyone actually have soil start out like mine and be ammended well in the first year of gardening with it?

Also, I thought I'd like to add that the compost I've used is from a friend who runs a farm. It's pretty amazing stuff.

" I have thought maybe tilling in some peat moss would do the trick?"

Peat moss is more organic material, and once wetted tends to hold moisture rather well. My concern is that you're already overboard in that direction.

Okay. So no peat moss.
Does perlite help lighten soil up? like b52?

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it being too heavy.
I grow in clay which holds much more water than compost.

I can't imagine that a raised bed with a lot of compost would be 'heavier' soil than the unamended sandy clay. It should drain better since it's raised, and the density should be less after the tilling and fluffing.

But yes, perlite would lighten it further. If you think the compost level is too high, you need that or soil w/o a lot of organic matter to dilute it.

I'd just plant in it though and see what happens.

I'd say plant it and see how it goes. If you decide it needs to be "lightened", then coarse sand (builders sand) can help , so can vermiculite (horticultural grade only). Add in modest amounts and turn to distribute it evenly. But really, just plant and see how it goes.

Unless you add hugh amounts of sand or perlite to clay soils. somewhere around 45 percent total ,according to most soil scientists, you will accomplish little and may create more problems than you solve. Do contact your University of New Hampshire about that soil test for soil pH, etc. since that is as important as what your soil is made of. Plants grow well in a fairly narrow soil pH range, 6.0 to 6.8.

Here is a link that might be useful: UNH CES

Perlite is best kept in containers. You'd need a huge amount in a garden plot, and it's fragile stuff. Every time you dig into the soil, you're breaking up the big pieces. And a winter freeze will do the same thing.

Thank you ALL, I will be hardening off seedlings this week to plant this coming weekend!

You're awesome.