How tall are these new beds? Filling with only uncomposted organic material probably will not be enough since it will compost and settle over the winter. You will probably have to add some additional mineral component like soil come spring. Or better yet you can add soil and manure now and mix it with your leaves and grass and come spring you should have some pretty good growing medium depending on the severity of your winter.

LoneJack, I don't use the organic material I've started with as the only growing medium. In early spring I will turn the material into the existing ground with a shovel. In essence it will be tilled in. For some reason, most raised bed growers seem to think there is something inherently "wrong" with the soil in their yards and avoid using it. Really the way I do raised beds is more of an amending process to the ancient soil that's already there. So the stuff I begin with will compost all winter. The beds themselves are only 4-6 inches deep. Once I turn the soil in the spring, the ground will "fluff up" and pretty much fill the beds due to the ground no longer being compacted. Also, doing it this way takes MUCH less fill material/growing medium. Then, each year, add more organic material.

friedokrie.blogspot.com

Then from your description it sure doesn't sound like you are building raised beds. You are just framing in some existing ground that has had some amending with organic material. Very different thing and what we in-ground gardeners do all the time. The point of building actual raised beds is to grow in soil that is much better than your native soil. If your native soil can be easily improved then there is nothing to be gained by framing them in except for the appearance.

Dave

I guess I was confused by the same thing as Dave. But now that I looked at your blog I can see that you are using land scape timbers stacked 2 high for your frame so about 6" which is shorter than the typical raised bed of 10-12" or more. Did you till up the native soil at all yet before piling on the organics? I think even with fluffing up the existing soil and mixing in with the grass/leaf compost in spring the soil still won't be to the top of the frames without bringing in some additional but over time you can keep adding compost and that should raise the level. As long as your native soil is not rock hard clay down past where your tiller is able to reach you should be OK, but you might look into double digging to get your amendments a little deeper.

One other note...landscape timbers warp and twist pretty quickly so you might have to replace them every few years.

Good luck with the Okrie next season! Okra roots do a good job themselves of breaking up soil to a depth of a couple feet or more so you have that going for you too.

Thanks for the input yall. I used this method last year and had good results with it. I continually add compost as the year progresses. I still consider these to be "raised beds" even though I incorporate the existing soil. The seeds are planted 3-4 inches above the surrounding ground level and over time, the medium becomes increasingly organic. I haven't had issues with the soil being compacted, even though it has a high clay content, due to the process I use.