I had an empty 4 x 8 raised bed at the end of the summer last year. (the others were full of strawberries). I used this bed for my compost pile. It was not a typical compost bin, because I just simply dumped my OM into it, covered it with whatever broken down stuff that was already in there, sometimes I added old potting mix from pots I was emptying etc. Wherever it's well composted/broken down, the material is BLACK GOLD, really pretty.

MY QUESTION: Would my garden benefit overall from a little of this spread around the top where I have planted stuff (peppers, tom's, okra, squash etc) or would it be better to plant something into it where it lays?

I guess the gist of my concern is, whether or not a few inches on top of the soil around the base of a plant is enough to make a healthy plant? since it's just ONE 4 x 8 bed (maybe 10 inches deep) how far would that go and again putting just a little on as many plants as I can, is that enough? is that worthwhile? is that what is done?