Soil temp. Want to let it get well up into the 70s first. I shoot for mulching at 75.

Dave

I agree with letting the soil warm up. Also, in my area I wait until the rain season is over. With cool temps and rain the soil stays soggy. I also prefer a mulch material that does not absorb too much water and does not get mushy. Last year I tried grass clippings ( after sun drying) but did not like it for the reason of getting mushy and getting caked. My favorite mulch come from pine : Pine Needles(straw) or Pine Nuggets.

I think mulching is good also to prevent the top layer of the soil moist from drying out. To my experience, tomato plants grow lots of shallow roots in addition to deep roots. I am never worried about weeds.

I have seen people cover their beds with newspapers, wouldn't it contaminate soil with leaching ink / lead into the ground? Also, I am assuming same will apply to shredded used papers, advertisement material, etc used as mulch products?

Newspaper ink is no longer a problem because it is derived from vegetables. Dioxins used in the production of paper are so miniscule as to not be a problem either. At least that was what I was told when I worked in the Pulp and Paper industry 20 years ago! I often use newspaper as mulch on my gardens, as well as for making paper pots for my seedlings and do not consider it an issue, although I tend to avoid the shiny stuff that advertisements are sometimes printed on.

Linda