Apologies, references in the original message to 'square' yards should be cubic yards.

Don't bother to double dig anymore, just put your compost on top. I'm serious.

g'day chazza,

ouch all that back breaking work, the main benefit of raised beds is they are 'no-dig' and if done right 'no-weed' and 'water-wise'.

you are welcome to come have a look at how we do ours, with pic's and descriptions, i won't ever be digging again.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

Take 1, 2, 3, and 5 and pile them all on your beds. Dig and turn until somewhat mixed. It sounds like you're going to need a lot more quality dirt/compost to get a good, deep bed. Start a compost pile nearby and collect up those coffee grounds. For the next couple months, toss the grounds on the beds, spreading evenly. Then put the rest in your compost pile. Put vegetable/fruit/egg shell kitchen waste in the compost pile. Put grass clippings, leaves, pine needles, and any plant matter that doesn't have seeds hanging off it into the compost pile. Water the compost pile. Turn it a little to mix.

When parts of the compost look like dirt, put them into your beds. Mix up the rest of the non-dirt compost.

If this doesn't put enough volume in your bed, you can supplement by buying potting soil or bagged compost (or both) from nurseries. You might also buy a bale of straw and mix that in, or get other people's leaves.

Put down #5 first. Then throw everything else in there, semi-mixed. I wouldn't bother with a separate compost pile- just throw everything on the beds and let it rot there.

That's it. Stop digging, it's too much work :)

I agree with everyone. Pile it all up, but I would recommend leaving a bit of the soil to one side. Then go out and get as many fall leaves as you can drag back to your beds and pile them up too. Use an occasional sprinkle of the reserved soil to weight the leaves down. Hopefully, when you are done, you will have a nice, high mound of leaves and other available organic "stuff". It will settle and compost and shrink down to a tiny percentage of its original volume. I doubt that you can overfill the beds with organic material.

You can plant on it now although you probably won't get much yield, but it's worth a try. The worst that will happen is that you will wind up digging in some green manure in the spring. Favas are fall planted in your area, maybe? Wheat or barley or rye could also be planted on top of the leaves to help them break down. Whole wheat berries should be easy to find at any health food type store. Mustard is another possibility. Spread half of your left over soil, sprinkle your seeds and top with the rest of the soil. Water and watch what happens. It may be kind of anemic looking, but the roots of whatever you plant will be burrowing down into the leaves and breaking them down into beautiful compost.

Maybe, possibly there was a need to double dig those areas and there are many garden writters that do champion that, but I also think those people are masochists. As others have stated do not be overly concerend with what you have only with what you are going to do about that. Start by adding a lot of organic matter, and it might be that you would need to use peat moss (shudder) because that might be what is most plentiful and easiest for you to get.
Save the sawdust to use as mulch, because it you mix that into the soil you will have problems with Nitrogen deficiency, otherwise add what you have and get more. These simple soil tests will help you determine when you have almost enough organic matter in your soil;
1) Structure. 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. 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 drains 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 you 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.

Thanks for all your great suggestions! I've now built three of the beds, one more to go. The reason I double-dug the first two was that the soil was literally solid clay, compacted, one worm max per shovelful! The last had much better soil, and lots more worms, so I didn't bother with the double digging, just forked it over. Two beds are now planted with vetch/tares and one with field beans for green manure over winter. I'm looking forward to making lots of mistakes and learning from them, next year!

Thanks again for all the advice.