Compost/Soil Ratios

Hi there! This is my first post 

I am in the process of clearing and preparing my first plot - which I acquired at the end of January! (Have added some pictures to my gallery.) I will be constructing raised beds. I was wondering if it is ok to fill up the raised beds - after a layer of well rotted horse muck forked into the bottom - with compost, compost and more compost, instead of finding topsoil and using that for the bulk of it? Is there any danger of the substrate being too rich, or any problems that might result? I'm planning to first plant onion sets and early potatoes, followed by maincrop and various other 'test' crops - probably having a root crop bed which for this year would only have a load of compost in it and no manure.

You may run into the sort of problems you get with pots full of compost (rather than soil-based mixes) - dries out fast, and nutrients can leach.  If you're on clay, I might be tempted to dig out half a spit of the clay when you dig the rest of the place, stick the clay in the raised bed (to bulk up the compost), and add more compost to your main garden.

Hi, when i made my new beds ( 12 foot by 4 foot ) i put the wood round dug the base put 3 barrow loads of manure on then dug all round to a depth of about 3" for the paths and put that on top. Got me off to a good start.

Keep on a troshing J W