Best mulch?

[casserole]

Pine shavings is from the inner wood and is not the same as pine BARK. Pine bark decays much slower than pine shavings or hardwood mulches or shavings ,this is why it is prefered because it doesnt tie up as much nitrogen as it decays slower

[zabby17]

tracydr,

I suggest paper and then whatever you can get cheaply and easily to go on top. I use straw, because I can get it cheaply from a farmer compared to what bags of any kind of commercially produced mulch cost.

I've used leaves when I had them but I prefer to use them as a brown for my composters and let the the rest decompose over the winter and then dig them into the beds.

My one recommendation is not to skip the paper. In my experience it makes a BIG difference in terms of preventing weeds from getting through. I did some beds with and some without two years ago, and the difference was significant.

In fact, while generally I am a reuse-recycle-get-it-free kind of gardener, I've started using brown Kraft paper from a big roll instead of newspaper because it's just SO much faster and easier---two eight-foot strips from a 30 inch roll cover one of my best perfectly, take almost no time to put down, and don't blow away as easily when I'm trying to lay it down.

I feel a bit guilty about this, but I always feel like it's such a battle to get everything in the ground---somehow work always seems to be at its busiest around planting time---and this is one area where I can make my life easier for not much cost. And we had the Kraft paper roll from my husband's former business and he doesn't need it any more. (When it's finally used up, I'll be sure to buy recycled....)

Good luck!

Z