I used to use a rake to gather leaves in the fall. This is a slow, tedious process that requires hours of work. It is also pretty hard on the lawn since our grass tends to have shallow roots and pulls out easily. A few years ago, we bought an electric leaf blower that greatly expedites the autumn leaf collection ritual.
If you have an area on your property that could be used to compost leaves, the simplest option is just to blow all of the leaves into that area. Leaves make great compost and they will become rich soil within a year or so. If you have a fenced yard, avoid composting leaves against the fence since damp leaves will cause wood fences to rot and metal fences to rust. A mesh tarp could be used to form a corner on your yard where leaves can be blown and contained in a compact area.
If it is not easy to blow the leaves where they need to be, consider using a mesh tarp as a landing platform. In this photo, I use a couple of trellises to prop up one end of a standard roll tarp normally used on my utility trailer. I also laid a trellis onto the front of the tarp to keep it from lifting.
Mesh tarps work better than solid tarps since they allow the air from the leaf blower to go through them rather than causing them to kite and flop around. This tarp is only about 5 feet wide, so it is not ideal. For this application, I would recommend a tarp that is at least 7' x 12'. 60% mesh is ideal. If you happen to own a utility trailer, you could size the tarp according to the dimensions of your trailer and make it a multi-purpose tarp.
After blowing the leaves onto the tarp, you can easily drag them to where you want them dumped. The trees take nutrients from the soil as they grow; dumping leaves at their base gives those nutrients back.
