lay down newspaper first. (lightly spray with water as you lay it out so it don’t blow away until you get some mulch on top of it)… then whatever mulch you like…do it in sections so the papers don’t dry out till you get them covered….
………….. we’ve used grass clippings, straw, shredded paper, pine needles,compost… whatever… then it can all be turned right into the soil at the end of the season….. if you need a good footpath between rows, lay down some roofing shingles!…. they’ll be easy to find to take OUT before tilling….

Good for you! Organic mulch is so much better. Pine needles should be fine as long as you put them on top of the soil and don’t dig them in. Tomatoes like slightly acidic soil so your pine needles should be perfect. You should probably go about 4″ deep and keep them a couple of inches from the stems. Here’s a couple more science based articles on mulch .http://groups.ucanr.org/CLUH/files/56946.pdf

Roses are a cousin of the tomato plant and roses love pine needles. We use them on all of our beds.

I would think the pine needles would be too acidic without composting them first. The best for tomatoes would be either the weed fabric or not, and about 3 or 4 inches of composted forest product mulch. Yes the weed fabric is a pain. But, it is effective, especially if used with mulch, too. Avoid using grass clippings, too. Grass clippings retain the high nitrogen fertilizers that grass needs, and it could cause chemical burning of the tomato plant roots.

Pine needles:
This material makes a light, airy, attractive mulch. It is recommended to leave pine needles beneath pine trees rather than remove them. Pine needles are recommended for use around acid-loving plants.
See what kind of plants you have.
If you have any other material around your house check this website:
That is the site that gave me your answer, and i has plenty more in case you have other thing around your house you think can be used for mulch.
Hope this answered your question.