@Dave, I just discovered your guest appearance on "A Way to Garden" with Margaret Roach. I really enjoyed listening to your hugelkulture interview with her. I built a bed last fall, and am excited to see how it performs this spring. How would squash work the first year?

I also plan to get some compost from the local site in the spring and pile that on top. Do I need to add some topsoil as well?

Hi Reid, we found that squash worked really well, actually. You should do well with it. The compost sounds great and yes, I would add topsoil. The topsoil gives the bed some extra density that seems to me helps the bed maintain moisture. Post pictures as your springtime progresses!