raised bed soil

Hello Permies!

I live in eastern Pennsylvania. I have raised beds on top of clay soil but the raised beds didn't have much soil in them and because of the terrible drought last year, I didn't really do much io try to build up the soil in the raised beds. The concrete 'apron' next to the barn had accumulated decomposed organic compost-like soil which we pushed into a big pile. It is, of course, full of weed seeds, now starting to sprout.

My question is: How do I build that accumulated soil into real productive garden soil? Time? Cover crops? Some leaf mold as mulch on top?

I may have a nitrogen test, not sure but want to get this question to all of you.

Thanks!

I'm a big fan of producing my own compost to be utilized on my gardens. I actually have a few different compost piles going at any moment depending on what I have for inputs. If you can get a 'proper' hot compost pile going, you can take care of weed seeds and pests pretty reliably.

Leaf mold is a solid amendment to add to garden beds if you have access to leaf piles that have sat for some time.

How much existing soil is in the beds above the clay? A few inches? A foot? Do you use any mulch on top?

I find that my raised beds soil level drops after each gardening year from decomposition and time. My yearly maintenance is adding in organic matter and nutrition for future plant growth.