Can you tell me about the soil in these raised beds? I am having a hard time guessing how they could become compacted. Have you been doing Irish Clog dances on top of the beds? Running heavy machinery? What does the soil consist of? What is happening to the water - do the beds turn in to bath tubs? Is it running out the bottom? What are you seeing water-wise?

I don't know exactly what the soil consists of its just a compost/sandy loam mixture. I think 80/20. As far as what's happening with the water, I'm seeing a good amount of pooling when I'm watering. i water with a watering wand and i soak the top layer just to get the soil moist before going back a second time and really watering them heavily. the second thing I'm seeing besides the water pooling while watering is between waterings the soil is very compact, solid and seems like its holding water longer than it should with a kind of tough crusty surface.

I should add that I pulled all the weeds and cleaned up the beds, as seen in the top picture. then i cleaned out the soil as best i could getting rid of roots and whatnot. then i added a 6' layer of the new 80/20 compost/sandy loam mixture to the top of the beds then transplanted my starts

Sorry for not understanding here. "Sandy loam" - is that dirt or some commercial product? Also, when you dig in the soil to plant things - is it hard like concrete or is it easy to dig and crumble with your fingers?

80% compost is too much. If it was 20% compost then it's the soil texture, but if it's 80% compost, the compost is controlling the soil behavior. Usually compost should be 20-50%.

You could poke holes in it with a sharp stick, length of rebar etc. to help drainage.

Not much you can do till it decomposes and shrinks again, and next year you can add more mineral soil and little or no compost to rebalance it.

Wow, you did an amazing job unearthing those beds from the weeds!!

Ditto. Reminds me of Jeff Foxworthy: "If you've ever mowed your lawn and found a car, you might be a redneck." :-]

OP says “planter box”

Richard Brennan say “ raised bed”

randy41’s pertinent question goes unanswered.

Until OP clears up this matter, anyone trying to help is just spinning his wheels.

@randy41_1 yes the bottoms are enclosed but only with thin pieces of wood every 8” across

@Richard Brennan yeah sandy loam is just the texture of the soil. Not a specific product. And when I planted the original soil was a bit more compact but I made an effort to loosen it all up before planting

@rifis (zone 6b-7a NJ)@randy41_1@Richard Brennan i appreciate the replies , it definitely seems to be the 6” layer of heavy compost/soil I added to the top. I think it’s holding water while the soil that’s deeper is drying out. Hopefully as I continue to water it’ll all mix together and even itself out

I don't think what you are describing is "compaction". As organic material degrades in the soil the level will inevitably go down, but there are still air pockets for roots to move through. Compaction is when there is pressure on top of the soil that squeezes out all the air pockets. This often happens if you step in the bed or regularly walk though it while you are gardening. Or worse still, dragging a heavy wheelbarrow loaded with bricks over the top of it.

None of that is happening in these beds.

It sounds like there may be too much organic material (compost, decomposed shredded wood) and not enough clay or silt based "dirt".

"I think it’s holding water while the soil that’s deeper is drying out."

Another term for that would be "underwatering". Gravity is going to pull the water down. The only exceptions are if there is not enough of it, or it the layer at the top is acting as a seal and the water is running off of it. Is the organic material at the top becoming water-resistant and blocking water from being absorbed?

I had that thought as well, some composts can become hydrophobic when dry. Either that or it absorbs so much that water doesn't get into the lower layers.

Where there is room, you could take a shovel (a small one like a Sharpshooter or even a trowel) and dig straight down between your plants, through the top layer and into the lower one. Mix up the two layers and return the blended soil to the hole. This should help some in the short term. And of course when early crops come out you can dig freely to blend it.