I am thinking of purchasing a lawn tractor.

Those of you that own one....are you able to mow over (shred) your leaves in
the fall finely enough to either leave them on the lawn as mulch, or bag and
compost them?

My property really doesn't need a rider (144' x 85') but if I could do my
leaves myself (mostly oak which don't compost well unless shredded pretty
finely) it would nearly pay for itself in one season. Last year it cost me
$500 to have someone rake and cart off my leaves (a lot of trees). I'd like
to be able to shred the leaves, then put the bagger on the rider, ride over
them again, empty the bagger and dump them in a compost pile.

It will cost me nearly $500 to have someone mow this season (and that's only
once every two weeks). I would love to be able to compost my leaves but I
need to be able to shred them. The reason I don't mow myself is that after
the 1½ hours that it takes me in the heat of the summer, I am so wiped out,
it ruins the rest of the day for me. I know...I'm a whimp. (I'm 49, hate the
heat of the summer. I prefer 30° to 80°.)

Anyway, what are your thoughts on this?

Bonnie in NJ