One year we had free horse manure compost at the community garden, so I piled one or two garden beds with 12-18 inches of it. Then, in the spring, I hollowed out a space big enough to plant each tomato plant with a 5-gallon container of homemade compost. All the tomatoes did well.
On the other hand, there's that book by Steve Solomon where he says the optimal amount is something like one-eighth inch of compost per year, and he rants about the evils of relying solely on compost. Nauta in Building Soils Naturally doesn't include a rant, but he concurs about the amount of compost needed in established gardens.
I've basically added as much as I could produce, which lately has been 1-2 gallons per plant (including top dressing later in the season).
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