I don't have any trees on my property and not much lawn. I don't own a lawn mower. I just use a weed eater to cut the grass that is the cover crop under my maple tree.
I go to a friends house before leaf drop and bag the old leaves that have been decomposing all year and bring them home. I fill an old garbage can about half full .. maybe a little less ... and use an old weed eater to shred them. It's kind of like putting them into a blender ...
I just shred them enough so that they will stay put when I put them down and not blow away with the wind.
I bag my maple leaves and let them decompose all winter and by spring, they are black gold.
