I have access to free wood chips, sawdust, and leaves and a lot of brush. I would love to use these to amend my alkaline/clay soil and am patient if need be. I've heard hugelkultur is amazing but it's not all rotted yet (and it's cedar, dunno if that matters :/). So far I've used the wood chips to create pathways (between my amended/raised gardens) about a foot deep and would like to add more as it becomes available. I compost my scraps and collect coffee grounds (from starbucks and work) in a worm bed but I'm rather stingy with it. I'm getting ducks in a few months so they may help with the sawdust. I was worried about getting leaves from a landscaper (which is available) as they could have pesticides/herbicides. I had him drop off a load but didn't ask if he knew if they were 'contaminated' so-to-speak. Either way I'd rather let them cook for a few years to be safe. Anyway, what I was wondering is if anyone knows of a free nitrogen rich source I could tap? I want to do an aquaponics system eventually but don't have the capital to fund it. I could do a small scale system that's maybe more labor intensive but I prefer the easiest way possible. Any and all advice on how to tap local resources is welcome. Any well known cover crops for this specific area (8a/b NW.aTX area) that I could grow and when it would be ready to till under. I want to get a soil test but I feel like I'd need several for each different area of my yard and that gets expensive. I like raised beds but filling them is expensive on a large scale. What is ya'll's advice for trying to amend a large area of clay soil? I'd love to do alfalfa but I don't know if it'll grow in this soil. Is there any specific crop that grows well in low rain, heavy clay soil. Could I use sweet potatoes?