Mulches are in general under used by many vegetable gardeners yet they are very helpful indeed in stopping not only weeds growing, but also in adding nutrients back into the soil.
They also help to stop the soil drying out too fast as they help retain moisture, they have the added benefit that they stop the soil getting too warm, and hence dry, in the heat of Summer.
Whilst we know it is good to have warm soil, after all that is why raised beds are now so popular, if it is too warm then it will quickly dry out and starve the plant roots of essential water.
To use mulch you simply cover your soil over with it, this then helps stops vital nutrients being washed away when it rains heavily.
When it comes to vegetable gardens you should use an organic mulch as they are easy to put down or remove from the soil, and yet they have the number one benefit that they breakdown to compost on the soil, thus providing a great source of additional plant nutrients to the soil.
Grass cuttings can be used as a mulch but never on a vegetable patch as slugs and snails love to harbour in grass mulch, just the opposite of what we want on our vegetable patch.
If it is purely a mulch for keeping weeds at bay then you would be best off using bark chips as they are readily available in garden centres and they also keep the soil warm, and they breakdown slowly releasing nutrients back into the soil.
However the best mulch for your vegetable patch has to be compost from your compost bin! It is free and easy to make compost, and whilst a good wooden compost bin can cost several hundred pounds you can easily make one yourself out of second hand pieces of wood or off cuts.
Using compost as a mulch will give the best release of nutrients into the soil but you will need to keep weeding it, as the weeds will love the nutrients just as much as your vegetables will do.
One solution to this is to put down a layer of compost as mulch and then top it off with bark chippings.
Lastly when putting down a mulch always remember to clear the area of all weeds first.
A good mulch can boost your crops growth as well as reducing the need for weeding.