I know this is more of a long-range strategy, but are you doing anything with all those maple leaves? Do you have a stash from the fall?

You will only need a bag or two of compost (2cf) to adequately amend a standard sized (4'x8') raised bed, so not an overly expensive proposition unless you have LOTS of raised beds! Or you can just fertilize as needed.

But unless the bed is lined, those tree roots will be back rapidly as they seek out the richer, amended soil

Do you have a friend with a truck? https://www.mass.gov/doc/list-of-active-composting-sites-in-massachusetts-january-2017/download?_ga=2.134284214.634226835.1614965036-1246414786.1614965036

prairie - I think I;d consider not growing in raised beds. If you have an in the ground bed and every year either turn the soil over or drive a spade in around the edges you'll have eliminated the root problem very simply. You won't have the expense and time spent on carpentry and I think it's better for the planet. if you edged every year you'll be cutting off new feeder roots which will cut easily with the spade. In my case the spruce roots were all at the top of the soil and were at most maybe 2 1/2" in diameter at most.

As far as drainage I had raw clay here surrounded by Norway Spruces 50 or so feet tall when I put in my new 34x65 foot garden. I find that when I amend the clay with 3 inches of horse or mushroom compost the soil fluffs up a good 8 inches. So my veggie roots are above the surrounding soil.

I dug the whole garden for the most part in 2 years with a spade. I knew I couldn't control a rototiller; as 35 years ago I put in a new garden on a plot that had been wooded and had trouble handling a rototiller then. The model name was "Horse" I insisted it should have been "Mule". I'm eyeing another new plot with a stump near it. I'm considering using a backhoe to clear the roots. The digger bucket has fingers in front that do the digging. I'm thinking of pushing the diggers into the ground and just dragging them thru the soil without picking up any dirt.

It's difficult to do things instantly, and even dug-in compost does continue to decay (and use oxygen to do so). That has some minor consequences, so a year lying fallow really isn't the worst idea there.

Topdressing, now...has no real consequences! Why not four inches of mulched compost and let that work in by itself? Feed organically and well on top of that, which will encourage worms to move in via bus and train and...do worms have planes and spaceships yet?...and work all that material in slowly and naturally.

Fast? Not so much. Natural and healthy? Oh, yes.

And even year 1, with the mulch, is so much nicer, even in heavier soils. I have a 99% silt that benefitted from being treated like that. Over the years, it's just become a dream to work.

Now, I've also used a soap spray on that soil, but apparently I've done nothing but sterilize the soil and kill the millions of happy worms, so I think I won't repeat that here. :-) The worms didn't really seem to notice, and the plants...well, just flourish.

But you can check with me or DCHall about that one if you're interested. Flocculation of the soil really helps clean things up, and yep, it works.