Mulch in the garden beds can be dried hay or grass, coconut husk or rice husk. Some other gardeners I know use dried leaves that they cut to pieces. Mulch is placed on the ground to cover about 6 inches to 1 foot of radius from the stem. This covering serves to shield the ground from excessive heat of the sun which in effect conserves water. Instead of watering the plants twice a day, you need to water it just once a day when you have mulch. One gardener said that mulch also serves as a sort of fertilizer because the mulch mixes with the soil when they decay.
I use coconut husk as mulch in hot climate. They are really sturdy and last for a long period of time. It helps in retaining water by preventing excessive water loss due to sun light. It also induces microbiological activities on earth which is really beneficial for the plant. Dried leaves and grass are also excellent ways to protect and nourish your land. People use to set fire to dried leaves which is not recommended as it actually kills the friendly worms. Also once rainy period starts it fertilizes the earth deeply.
Mulching is a very practical way of preserving water in a garden. When I was teaching an elementary agriculture, I taught my pupils of keeping the garden soil from getting dry by putting some rice stalks or rice bran in the garden. The pupils loved doing it and their garden plants like pechay, eggplants, etc. survived the dry season.
This immediately brings back some pretty awful memories, but thankfully they are starting to be replaced with better ones. I had a landscaping job a ways back and the mulching was terrible on the hot days. I do not miss that job.
