The Dr Forest blog · Est. Stockport · England · 2020

Soil science & growing guides, properly explained.

Evidence-led guides to organic fertiliser, feeding and soil science for UK growers. Deficiencies, ingredients, biostimulants and crop-by-crop feeding, with every claim checked against the original paper.

Older guides.

calcium and sulphur · Guide

Why liquid gypsum is a suspension, not a solution

Gypsum barely dissolves. About two and a half grams in a litre of water, and then it stops. That single number explains why liquid gypsum is...

·8 min read

bokashi · Guide

What are organic dry amendments?

What organic dry amendments are, the main categories, and which ones your soil actually needs. A plain guide to feeding the soil, not the plant.

·8 min read

available vs total NPK · Guide

What is a bloom fertiliser?

A bloom fertiliser is a lower-nitrogen, higher potassium and phosphorus feed for the flowering and fruiting stage. Why the big middle number is not what the...

·10 min read

all purpose fertiliser · Guide

What is living soil?

Living soil is soil with a working population of bacteria, fungi and worms doing the job of turning organic inputs into something a root can use....

·8 min read

biostimulants · Guide

Benefits of humic acid for plants

Eight peer-reviewed benefits of humic acid for plants, each with the trial behind it. What the field data shows by crop, and where the evidence is...

·18 min read

biostimulants · Guide

How to apply humic acid

How much humic acid to use and how to apply it: soil incorporation, root drench and foliar rates, timing through the season, and the common mistakes...

·30 min read

Ascophyllum nodosum · Guide

Benefits of seaweed fertiliser for plants

Seaweed's benefits come from its bioactive fraction, not its NPK: faster rooting, heat and drought tolerance, chlorophyll retention and yield. What the better trials show, including...

·5 min read

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