For most of the US this cold blast will be the last and it will be time to start getting our hands dirty. I have a 12 acre farm that fully supports my family and leaves plenty left over for storage and the future. While I'm biased a bit, I think it's time to bring back victory gardens.
Get out there, dig in the dirt, and plant some seeds.
Feel free to ask advice here!
You are removing all the nutrients from your soil by gardening. If you don't add nutrients back in things will not grow. Leaves have very few nutrients. The manure probably helped with some nutrients, but not all.
I'd recommend you invest some time learning how to compost(it's easy and free). In the meantime use miracle grow.