That's why it's good to understand your options, and there's an eco-friendly choice that your tomatoes will love. Rather than using straw or compost, you can spread cocoa bean hulls around your plants, which will feed the soil and suppress weeds. Usually about one to two inches of cocoa hulls is enough to do the job. Another reason tomato plants thrive in cocoa mulch is because it adds organic matter and nutrients to your soil. The advertised NPK (Nitrogen-Phosphorous-Potassium) ratio of 2 ½-1-3 in Hull Farm Cocoa Bean Mulch releases slowly so it won't burn vegetation.