I looked around online and found a recycled biodegradable paper mulch that came in 3' x 50' rolls by a company called Easy Gardener. It sounded good since one of it's selling points is that you can till it into the soil at the end of the season rather than ripping it up and tossing it into the trash.

Overall, the installation went ok, but when it gets wet, you can't really touch it or it rips like, well, wet cardboard. I wasn't able to find any reviews on this particular product out there and I haven't been able to find any posts on past experiences with this product or products like it.

Well, I'm giving it a shot this year and I'll post what I find, but in the meantime, if anyone has tried this stuff, I'd be interested to hear about what I can expect.

The real issue is that birds peck at it and tear it apart in searching for worms. There are currently more holes in the paper mulch than it is covering - well, just about. If the birds were not an issue, I imagine I could get away with using it just fine, but as things stand now, I may just go back to the plastic stuff, I'll reserve final judgement until the end of the season.

Basically I'm using shredded newspaper laid down around the base of the plant with grass clippings laid over top. (Make sure the clippings don't come from a chemically treated lawn). So far no weeds at all and it's definitely helped to keep a constant soil moisture - which is always my biggest problem with toms, they crack on me like the dickens because I can't remember to water consistently. I'll try to remember to post back here after I see how they do this season. I'd love to not have any splits this year!