No you don't need to mulch the potted plants. The main point of mulching is weed control. Planting in compost is not a good idea because the compost is too hot and likely to burn the plants, or cause excessive foilage growth and no fruit.

Mulching with kitchen scraps? Not me those things go in the compost pile.

The problem with lawn clippings from chemical programs is the pesticides and herbicides. Use them if you wish, its only you and your families lives your playing with.

FWIW post emergence herbicides work real good on tomatoes, lays them flat and black in no time at all so you don't have to worry about them any more. Even some of the pre-emergence herbicides will effect the plant like atrazine.

It's okay to grow in compost that has finished breaking down and has cooled. It may be used as a top dressing or a soil additive, very old compost works great for growing as is because it has become soil-like in its qualities, but as it ages it loses much of its living biota simply because there is nothing left for them to feed from and plants that you grow in it will require supplemental feedings.

Kitchen scraps should be completely composted and broken down before spreading in the garden, otherwise they will attract vermin.

my wife's grandfather throws his fruit peels down around his plants. he likes to sit at his table outside to eat fruit and the peelings are thrown around them as he eats. no problems there.

but if you are talking about a bucket of scraps at a time, then just put them in the compost pile and top dress with compost as it is ready.

texas-weed and trudi, thanks for your response on compost. I should have considered it before planting. Fortunately, I planted them only yesterday, so I can rectify my mistake today and take out as much of the compost as possible and use potting mix instead. The compost I used was store-bought (Kellog's 5 cu ft bag from HD). This would be considered aged, right, and hence okay?

davidandkasie, yes, i should start a compost pile of my own. Have a lot of food scraps.

TIA.

Mulching serves several purposes bedsides weed control so yes, it can be quite beneficial for your containers and is a definite must in the garden.

It will help retain moisture in the containers, decrease the watering needs, keep the roots cooler, and feed the soil and the plant as it decomposes.

But I too would pass on the kitchen scraps as the mulch used in the containers - garden if you want - but not the containers. They go best into the compost pile as others have said and use the finished compost as your mulch.

Like Trudi said I don't have a problem with using finished compost in containers but it's the garden soil you used in them that can cause problems. It compacts and doesn't drain well. Dirt is great in the garden but not in containers. Stick with compost and/or soil-less potting mixes. ;)

Dave

I filled my raised bed with at least 50% Kellogg N'Rich compost, mixed with some native soil, a bag of Amend, some potting soil, some of my own compost, and a smidge of other light things like peat and vermiculite that people wax poetic about here every few days.

So I'm hoping that a majority-compost mix is a winning recipe. I've read that some commercial growers will grow tomatoes in 100% compost. (Anyone care to comment?) FWIW, after six weeks, my plants look mostly exceptionally good -- although the minor leaf curl I mentioned in another thread may be an indication that the soil is suboptimal for rapid root growth.

Mulching with kitchen scraps . . . No.