Thanks! I use and recommend compost, compost, compost and then compost tea! I believe in no till gardening. I have added mulch, expanded shale, gypsum, lava sand, green sand, azomite, and epsom salts at various times in the past, but mostly compost. This year I have a red wiggler worm farm and I plan on using mostly actively aerated compost tea.
You can also buy it by the bag or truckload. I used to have 3-4 square yards dumped in my driveway every spring to spread over all the gardens. Last fall I started picking up bags of leaves left at the street. I put 1/3 of them in the beds and I'm composting the rest. I had compost piles everywhere. I bought some black plastic hardware cloth to make temporary bins. I had 9 piles going at one point + 2 small piles for the chickens to play in. I'm now down to 6 piles + the 2 chicken play piles.
Hi, I'm in Waco, Tx about an hour and a half up I35 from you and also a first time winter gardener. Ironically, I aslo procrastinated and built two 4x8 raised beds... lol I used layers of leaf mulch and compost to build up my beds. In one bed I planted from seedlings and that bed is doing okay. The other bed was planted from seed and is just now beginning to show signs of life, as well as a planter seeded with garlic. My garden does seem to be moving along slowly but then again, patience is the name of the game. You won't see the same kind of growth spurts as quickly as you would in a spring garden due to the shorter days. Keep me posted on your progress and I'll try to do the same. I'll share some pics later.
