I have never had a problem growing anything in my garden soil when i have added leaves and tilled them in the super early spring (like mid February). We use a cover crop in the fall and winter, then add leaves and till under. You cannot find a trace of cover crop or leaves by mid-April when we plant the garden. However, I believe it largely depends on the climate. That's just my opinion though, have no scientific research to back it up. We warm up pretty quick in the spring, so the soil organisms have plenty of time to take care of the garden spot. I would think with a short resting period before planting, if you tilled it in, you should be okay if you are in a warmer environment. The first time we did this method, we tested an area about a quarter of the garden space. We figured that way, all was not lost if it didn't work. Good luck!

This will make compost if you use a good mix of ingredients and keep it moist and turn it once in awhile. It will not get hot or be super fast. If you can remove the bin entirely from the pile without having to empty it first, simply set it up next to the pile and fork the pile back in. :-] Some composters allow you to do this but I haven't seen this one in person. At some point you'll have to stop adding and let it 'finish'. The biggest problem with having a bin is...you need a second one. I remove the bin and start a new batch in it, then cover the pile with burlap or a little tarp to keep rain from washing it out too much, and let it finish for awhile. Meanwhile refill the bin with new stuff. When you're ready to use the other pile, throw anything not finished back into the bin.

Some people are extreem purists and quite worried about composting many things. Others take the view that people are not likely to spray their lawn before bagging the leaves so taking leaves is ok but grass clippings are not. Others like me, figure that most of those chemicals are not likely to survive the hot composting I do so it is worth grabbing them for my compost pile. Heck, I use compost from my county and the county collects all those leaves, grass clippings and all the other yard waste so if chemicals survive the composting process I'd be getting em either way. There do exist some herbicides that can taint your compost but I don't think they are available to homeowners and were in the process of being outlawed in most states a few years ago.

Are they getting at least 6 hours of direct sun a day? Leafy vegetables are fine with less (in fact usually you get bigger leaves with less sun), but plants like tomatoes and squash need lots of sun. When you filled up the amendments into the raised bed did you compact them down? Those amendments you listed can make a very aerated soil with the wrong ratios. While aerated soil is good, it's only good to an extent. If you have pockets of air in the soil, you'll have problems with roots drying out. This is one reason I always add peat moss to my "gritty" mixes. Another thing regarding soil composition, it relates to how much water the plants should be getting. If you have very aerated and fast draining soil and it's getting at least 6 hours of sun a day, you probably need to water those puppies at least once a day in the growing season here in AZ. You can tell if they need water by sticking a finger into the soil about 2 inches down when you think it's time to water. If it feels wet/soggy, it's probably over-watered and that can cause some plants to die. If it's bone dry 2 inches down, you need to increase the frequency of your watering schedule.