Mulching gardens, what do you use?

Am in Canterbury, very dry watering on a daily bases, thanks

Depends a lot on what you are growing in the area. Also how temporary it is to be - just this season, or hopefully 2-3 years? And what you want to achieve.

Some plants just love the heat retained by stones, like grape and passion fruit for instance. Stones (anything from lime chip or driveway chip to larger 2 inch rocks) look ok and are low maintenance. Weeds (which do pop up in a stone area after a year or so) are very easily pulled by hand.

Weed mat (good quality) under something like stones is good - but even good stuff gets to be a maintenance headache after say 3-4 years. After about 4 years I end up ripping it out as, what happens is, dust. wind blown dirt, leaf moult etc. all start to accrue in the mulch area above the weed mat. It becomes a rich mulch good enough to support growth of weed seedlings, and so you get weeds growing above the weed mat. Hence the point of the weed mat is lost.

Some plants (berries) love the acidity of pine needles or wood chip. More aged wood chip is more neutral and can be used almost anywhere.

More neutral is stuff like cocoa bean shells and pea straw. Both are really great but like most mulches need to be laid at least 1-2 inches thick, and they do rot down into the soil. So after 1-2 years max it has disappeared, but you end up with great soil!

On Pea Straw - if you can buy it in old fashioned bales from a semi-rural supplier it is very cheap and effective (for 1 season). To buy it in small plastic bags from M10 is not cost effective.

Bark chips are good but the common complaint with them is that birds (pretty much exclusively Blackbirds) kick it everywhere. They can spread the stuff for metres and always out of the garden and onto a path. I have never been able to train them to kick mulch back in to the garden!

I'm using pea straw myself. I didn't need that much, a few 90L bags from mitre10 but at about $20 a bag that would quickly add up if you needed more, better getting it from somewhere else as mark_g mentioned.

I have found my tomatoes are holding the moisture in the soil much better since adding it. I'm in Christchurch and with the weather we're having I was finding that the soil was quickly drying out even with watering everyday.

I use grass clippings (not too thick, 1 or 2cm) good for suppressing weeds too.

I use leaves from friends maple tree. A thick layer, works well, and when it does rot in eventually, it makes the most amazing soil, crumbly, black, awesome.

I think the critical thing here is to emphasise that mulching needs to be done at the optimum time - not as an afterthought when the moisture has gone! Don't intend to be critical but the whole point of mulching is to conserve the moisture that is in the soil for as long as possible. So, mulching should be done in spring - not when the ground is sodden and wet but when growth is starting and the soil has been prepared for the season. Mulching with some materials can actually have a reverse effect - ie the mulch absorbs the available moisture. I've never been a fan of using weedmat - it's marginally better than plastic insofar as it does allow the water to penetrate but it does nothing to improve the structure of the soil - which is really what you are aiming for.
If you have a large garden, then invest in some chippings. Find yourself a knowledgeable arborist who will NOT chip all the crap you don't want in chippings and compost it for at least six months. When you spread it, good and thick, you will probably need to give your soil a feed with something like blood and bone first, as being wood based, it will draw out the nitrogen. But, it breaks down to a wonderful loamy, friable medium, that worked into the soil, improves it no end and allows easy pulling of weeds. Mushroom compost is another good mulch - but be aware - there is high lime content in it so acid loving plants will not like you for spreading it! Understand your soils, your plants requirements - and the need for this process (mulching) to be an ongoing part of your gardening cycle every year and you will have new found delight in the results.

I use compost first of all what we make ourselves, then when we run out, buy bags & bags of it from B-----gs as they have the cheapest.

same. I also sometimes use either pea or barley straw.

As a landscape designer I suggest what is called Rose Mulch for perennial gardens. it is a fine mulch, otherwise I recommend 'Cambium' bark mulch. Put on a layer 100mm thick. This reduces weed growth and keeps moiture in. Put it on anytime before summer.

Anyone else noticed how the Bunnings compost stinks and attracts flies? I'm guessing it is so much in demand it simply isn't being processed for long enough.

Rotten baleage

That's exactly what I have used works well, thanks for all your replies

I like Zoo Doo, which comes from zoo animal droppings, and I believe it's made in a sort of sheltered workshop so proceeds go to a really good cause.