u/SoCalVolleyDad

I am in zone 9b and have three rows of tomatoes, peas, beans, peppers, melons, squash, and onions. All were planted from seedlings in the last few weeks.

I have a pile of mulch delivered by the city, looks like mostly bark and leaves and is pretty nice (i.e., no inorganic matter, fairly finely chopped up).

I have heard that fresh mulch can pull nitrogen from the soil, which would obviously be a negative in this situation with young plants. But I'd love to spread something to keep moisture in the soil as it gets hotter.

Any other pros and cons?

Thoughts?