adding compost if soil already has high phosphates?

Hi, I had a soil analysis done with https://kinseyag.com/services/soil-analysis/, and it came back with a high level of phosphates - the desired value was 750, but they found a value of 847.

I amended the soil with protein meal, sulfur, potassium sulfate, and micro-nutrients per their recommendations.

I called them up and asked about adding compost as well, and they actually counseled me against doing so. They said the soil already had high phosphate levels and adding compost could increase the phosphate levels so that they would be too high & detrimental to plant growth.

How do I square this advice with everything I've heard re: compost is gold and add it to your garden every year? If I don't add compost, how will I maintain fertility?

I asked a friend and he said that in his experience, agronomists are often not a fan of compost.

Any thoughts on this matter will be much appreciated.

Thank you,
Boris

How would they know it was high in phosphates without testing the compost?

Did you make the compost with manure? If so it might be high in phosphates.

Since you added bonemeal per their recommendation it will release phosphates and is also useful for balancing out other high-nitrogen, organic soil amendments.

I would do a side by side comparison, two 10 foot by 10 foot plots, one with compost and one without. See how they do over the course of the year and maybe get a soil test for each plot to see the difference in numbers.

Well, I would take their advice to mean no more phosphate additives.   Not chemical, not organic, like bonemeal.

Given what else you’ve given it, you could no doubt at least skip a year, right?

If you are worried about soil structure you could mulch it good.  Still P in there, but slow.

P is practically everywhere in North American soils. The best you can do is not go out of your way to add more.

i think it depends on what was composted to make the compost. manures will add a lot more phosphorus than compost made from just crop residues/plant materials.

I agree with Jim.  If it looks like your plants are suffering or not doing as well as you want you could either douse or spot treat with a homemade tea (compost or weed) to get the microbes and fungi to do the heavy lifting for you.

Awesome, thanks everyone for your responses and for teaching me that the source material(s) for the compost affect its phosphorus load. The compost I'd be using would be made up primarily of leaves and branches, maybe some food waste, no manure. Perhaps the advice I received assumed a fair bit of manure in the compost. And I really like the idea of testing out two nearby plots, one with added compost & one without. I agree I'm probably fine for this year; just thinking about the future. And appreciate the reminder about homemade teas as a way to jumpstart the soil life.