Depends on what I'm planting. I don't like straight compost at the surface if I'm seeding. It's difficult for small seeds to push through straight compost. Peat moss fluffs it up nicely.

I usually mix it all in anyways. But I find that too much compost in a bed gives me more leaf growth at the expense of fruit. I have this problem in my heavily composted beds. I have to supplement tomatoes and peppers with 4-12-12 fertilizer to offset the massive nitrogen contained in my leaf compost. There's nothing wrong with just side dressing this year as you did it last year.

Close up pic of soil

Definitely a clay type soil but looks good; lots of tiny pieces of organic "stuff". ;-)

How you amend the soil at the end of the season is just as important as at the beginning. In late October leaves are in wonderful abundance. Collecting autumn leaves, chopping and forking them into this soil will give you a richer and fluffier growing medium the following year. This means purchasing less amendments in spring.