Compost is great for adding organic matter to the soil, but pretty lousy when you need mineral fertilizer, the NPK the article mentions. Doesn't compost contain only about 1-1-1 of NPK? Certainly not much. In your terms look at it this way, compost is mostly filler, little mineral fertilizer. Another matter, to get enough compost for a small area takes a huge lot of raw organic matter. By the time it breaks down and is composted, very little quantity is available. While you measure chemical fertilizer by the cup full on the small garden, organic matter you measure in the bushels for the small garden. And to get those bushels you start with a pickup load or two of raw vegetable matter. A big difference, a really big difference demarcates chemical fertilizer from compost, and doesn't break in favor of compost alone.
Compost is great for adding organic matter to the soil, but pretty lousy when you need mineral fertilizer, the NPK the article mentions. Doesn't compost contain only about 1-1-1 of NPK? Certainly not much. In your terms look at it this way, compost is mostly filler, little mineral fertilizer. Another matter, to get enough compost for a small area takes a huge lot of raw organic matter. By the time it breaks down and is composted, very little quantity is available. While you measure chemical fertilizer by the cup full on the small garden, organic matter you measure in the bushels for the small garden. And to get those bushels you start with a pickup load or two of raw vegetable matter. A big difference, a really big difference demarcates chemical fertilizer from compost, and doesn't break in favor of compost alone.