It's extremely dry in Ohio. According to the United States Drought Monitor website, southeast Ohio is "abnormally dry," and areas in the west and northwest parts of the state are experiencing "moderate drought" conditions. While it's always a good idea to keep soil covered, it's especially important to do so now, to reduce moisture loss as much as possible, and to prevent the top few inches of soil from becoming dusty and lifeless.
The easiest way to keep soil covered is to plant thickly enough that the plants fill in the available space, as in the photo at the top of edamame. Weeds are suppressed and moisture is conserved since the soil is completely shaded. This doesn't work with all plants. Slow growers or plants prone to fungal problems aren't good candidates, but I've had great success with carrots, all types of squash, strawberries, and annual flowers.
Wherever space must be maintained between plants, or when beds are harvested, mulching is the way to go. I've been a bit lackadaisical about mulching the last few years because it's been exceptionally wet. This year I'm spending much more time getting empty beds covered after harvest, and making sure soil is covered around perennials. The easiest way to do this is to pull weeds and throw them directly onto beds. I really feel sorry for permaculturalists who have no weeds, because they really come in handy this time of year. In a few minutes I can cover a bed completely without taking more than a few steps.
I could compost my weeds and I often do, but throwing those super useful weeds directly on the beds saves time and means more organic matter (more carbon) is retained in the garden rather than being lost to the atmosphere. Plants considered to be dynamic accumulators are often recommended for this purpose because it's believed they bring up micronutrients from deep in the soil and make them available to other plants when they decay. It is possible that some plants perform this function better than others, but I can't know by observation whether it's true. If you're using animal manures in your garden as I do, you probably don't need to worry about micronutrients. Any unwanted plants, as long as the haven't gone to seed, can be used as mulch, and benefits will accrue .
If you're looking for specific plants to use for mulching, in addition to using volunteer weeds, comfrey is hard to beat. Often listed as a nitrogen fixer (it isn't) and a dynamic accumulator (it might be) it is excellent at suppressing weeds and conserving moisture. You don't have to do anything besides plant it. When it dies back it leaves a nice mulch on own. Mine has died back a little due to the dry weather, but is already rebounding. It works well along the fence to prevent grass from creeping in.
My new favorite mulch material is banana leaves. They are huge, so I can just cut a few of the lowest ones and quickly cover a large area. Needless to say, I have big propagation plans for bananas this fall. They love water, but are superbly adapted to catch whatever rain falls and divert it to their roots, so they have survived the dry weather well. Rain is starting to fall as I write this. Looks like the long dry spell might be over. Yippee!
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