I made a new veggie bed at the start of this year, about 18' X 18'. Half of it had been used for growing spuds the year before, so I gave that side a good digging, but the other side had always been lawn, so for that I took off the turf and dug it as best I could. It was very difficult to dig because it was extremely compacted and the underlying soil is clay. I then put down 3 tonnes of imported topsoil. I haven't had good results, which I guess is partly due to weather conditions, partly due to invasions by moles and mice, but I also don't think the soil is good enough. One thing I noticed is that the topsoil really compacted down and didn't seem to be draining very well. This autumn I want to do everything I can to improve the soil so I'll get better results next year.
I've got plenty of leaf mould bagged up in various stages of decomposition. Does it all have to be completely rotted down or is it ok to put some on that's partially rotted?
I'm also going to put down as much compost as I can get from my bins. I was thinking of trying a good scattering of rock dust in with this, which I read should be put down in the autumn so the worms can take it down over winter. Next spring I'll also add a generous helping of BFB and chicken manure. Is it overkill to use both? And is there any benefit from putting these down in autumn as well?
Can I get away with just putting layers of leaf mould and compost on top, without digging it all in? Given that the underlying soil was so difficult to dig effectively, and the fact that the bed's surrounded by fencing with a high board around the base, I'm thinking of a kind of no-dig system. I don't like the idea of layers of straw and unrotted materials, because I'd like the option of sowing seeds in the bed, but if I can put down enough layers of leaf mould and compost I could build it up that way instead. I can get access to horse manure but it won't be rotted and I'm a little nervous of using it given all I've read about aminopyralid. Any suggestions for anything else I can do that might help?