Elaine, I refuse to spend any more time getting sweaty and mosquito bite-y over compost piles too. Kind of fun & fascinating in central OH, but no novelty value left in that at all in south AL, (and even hotter in FL.) Now I just put compostables somewhere where I won't have to move them again. It's going great & takes even less time.
Chelle, well said. Organic matter mixed under the surface can create problems with unnatural growth, settling, nitrogen robbing, etc... and is why amended planting holes are no longer recommended. Any kind of disturbance to the soil wrecks the structure, drainage, and damages the microbes. Necessary to add a plant to the ground, but that's the only reason I do that, aside from slightly burying kitchen matter sometimes between plants. The sooner one can put/replace OM on the surface, as mother nature does, the sooner the benefits of it can start to be realized, repair to the soil structure can happen more quickly. This will also help immediately start to moderate moisture levels in the soil, and prevent the sun from baking it so harshly. The microbes and other soil dwellers break the material down and distribute the bits to the proper levels in the soil to be utilized by plant roots. Huge difference between such tiny words, in and on.