I've just finished reading "Teaming with Microbes" which suggests that annuals/veggies prefer soil with bacteria to soil with fungi. An indication of soil with a lot of bacteria would be lots of worms. My understanding is that to keep that soil heavy on bacteria, we need to use mulches that are green (not brown). So, as Scott indicates above, grass clippings would be great. In view of that, I would compost the majority of those dead leaves and add a ton of green matter to them.
Linda
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