Sorry I did not get back to you yesterday- had to deal with a family emergency.

Anyways,
One of my favorite magazines/websites (see link below). This article is a nice read and provide some different ideas. On one of the pages you will see a section about black plastic. I've been to a strawberry farm out near Marble Falls that uses this very technique for their gazillion rows of strawberry plants. Since you removed your cardboard, your drainage has probably improved and might benefit from this idea, using your soaker hoses.

Hope this helps,
Bryan

Here is a link that might be useful: Mother Earth News

I like to use alalfa but it is not cheap. My garden is small so one bale usually does it. This year I am using some cedar chips if I can get to my frieds. They just chipped up a bunch of trees on rthier land and have gargantuan piles. I have not had the time. composted barkmulch from a Bulk garden stor or compost are all good alternatives.

I like pine needles for my veggie garden.

I use free mulch from the city on my veggie garden.
Can't beat the price, nor the free workout when loading and unloading it.
Tally HO!

I agree with Texanjana - pine needles are wonderful for veggies. They're easy to pull back to check things out, and they tend not to mix into the soil like wood chips do. For me it's easier when I'm doing my fall beds to move the pine needles aside.

Now, if I didn't have access to pine needles, I'd probably use my shredded leaves since I have those in abundance. Again, will be easier to remove what hasn't composted for the next round of planting.

In my flower beds I use wood chips and leaf mold that I get from the city or the electric co-op..free mulch. It's easy enough there to move them aside to plant something new.