After you go through any "Garden Corps of Engineering" scheme that appeals to you, consider a mulch-and-compost alternative, the "cover crop". You would have to ask at a local "feed store" or "farm co-op" to find out the usual cover crops for your area.
If you dedicate the late Fall and Winter to something like buckwheat, Fall Rye, alfalfa, clover, vetch or field peas (or combos), their roots add organic matter. If you plant a legume (ones that have nitrogen-fixing bacteria called Rhizobia bacteria in root nodules) , they will add some Nitrogen to the soil. If you till the stalks under, in the spring, that will add even more organic matter. And while they are growing, they hold the soil in place and shade the soil like mulch.
Some cover crop varieties are especially food in clay soil, or cold climates, or dry soil, or whatever. That's why I suggest going to the local feed store and seeing what cover crop they sell the most of. But they might get cranky if you try to buy fewer than 25 pounds of cover crop seed!
