The US cotton belt had intensive cotton cultivation leading to destruction of fertiletopsoil. Living mulches (LM) are being recommended to sustainably produce cotton. LM-es are cover crops grown within the interrow with cash crops. The objectives of these studies were to optimize LM vegetation-free strip (VFS) width in cotton and measure its short-term impacts on soil physical properties and moisture dynamics. The study was done at two locations; J. Phil Campbell Research and Education Center and Southeast Georgia Research and Education Center, comprising two different soil types and climatic conditions. Results showed 30 cm is optimal VFS width which maximizes cotton yield and LM benefits. LM had limited influence on soil moisture dynamics. LM did not affect soil moisture management zones and physical properties except for bulk density in lighter soils. Thus, a long-term study is required to understand difference between soil health parameters before and after establishing LM