Leaves make good mulch for next year’s garden if they are saved from the dump. It is easy to fix a corral for leaves so they don’t blow around the neighborhood. Some wire fencing or pallets held upright by metal posts will do the job. That is a better investment of time than trying to make a compost pile with fall leaves. In Boise’s climate, this writer’s experience is that leaves do not break down at all during the winter. In the spring, clean dry leaves are easier to work with than ones dirtied by soil, manure, “compost starter” and so forth. Running the lawn mower over leaves helps them decay faster. Chopped leaves are also less apt to be scattered by the wind.