Dr Organics Living Soil alternative: All Purpose 4-4-4 for growth, then Bloom 2-8-4
A 4-4-4 for growth, then a bloom feed
Dr Organics Living Soil is a well-regarded UK brand. Its dry amendments include an all-purpose 4-3-4 and a Bloom 2-8-10. People often search for "Doctor Organics 4-4-4", but their all-purpose amendment is 4-3-4, not 4-4-4. If you want a 4-4-4 for the growing stage and a bloom feed after it, Dr Forest All Purpose 4-4-4 and Bloom 2-8-4 are hand-blended and packed in Stockport, and dispatched in 1 to 2 working days. Dr Organics Living Soil is a trademark of its owner; Dr Forest is not affiliated.
The recipes are not the same, and neither are the ratios. All Purpose 4-4-4 has one more point of phosphate than their 4-3-4. Bloom 2-8-4 has less potash than their Bloom 2-8-10. Every Dr Forest ingredient is on the label, with percentages.
The Feed Pair is 1.5 kg of All Purpose and 1.5 kg of Bloom for £21.50. Start with All Purpose, then switch to Bloom when the buds show.
£21.50 Feed Pair, 1.5 kg of each
Choose the Feed PairWant just one? All Purpose 4-4-4 or Bloom 2-8-4, from £12.00 for 1.5 kg.
★★★★★ 4.95/5 from 513 reviews. Free UK delivery over £40. In stock, dispatched in 1 to 2 working days. Hand-blended and packed in Stockport, compostable bags.
- Lowest price per kg of the brands on this page: sold by weight, from £5.11/kg in the 9 kg bag. Dr Organics Bloom worked out at £25.00 to £36.25/kg.
- Less to feed a season: £1.29 to £1.58 for one tomato plant in a 10-litre pot, against £2.53 to £6.18 for Dr Organics.
- Dr Organics' all-purpose amendment is 4-3-4, not 4-4-4. Dr Forest All Purpose is 4-4-4.
- Dr Forest Bloom is 2-8-4: the same N and P as Dr Organics Bloom 2-8-10, with less potash, by design.
- Not vegan: both bags contain bone meal.
Used Dr Organics 4-3-4 and Bloom 2-8-10? Why try Dr Forest
- The same two-stage idea. Use a balanced feed for growth, then a bloom feed once the buds appear. All Purpose is 4-4-4 and Bloom is 2-8-4.
- Clear about the differences. All Purpose 4-4-4 is close to their 4-3-4, with one more point of phosphate. Bloom 2-8-4 has the same nitrogen and phosphate figures as Dr Organics Bloom 2-8-10 but less potash: 4 against their 10.
- Priced by weight. £8.00/kg in the 1.5 kg bag, £6.13/kg in 4 kg and £5.11/kg in 9 kg. Both products cost the same.
- Every ingredient listed. All Purpose has ten inputs and Bloom has eleven, each with its percentage. You can see what you are putting on.
- Granular, sprinkle on. No mixing and no measuring jug. Mix it into compost or top-dress, then water it in.
- Sizes up to 60 kg. Choose 1.5, 4, 9, 15, 30 or 60 kg. The bags are compostable once they are empty.
Dr Organics alternative: side by side
Dr Organics Living Soil figures are from its own product pages. Dr Forest figures are from the live Dr Forest product pages.
| Dr Organics All-Purpose | Dr Forest All Purpose | Dr Organics Bloom | Dr Forest Bloom | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NPK | 4-3-4 | 4-4-4 | 2-8-10 | 2-8-4 |
| Sizes | 2, 3, 4 and 10 litres | 1.5, 4, 9, 15, 30, 60 kg | 2, 3, 4 and 10 litres | 1.5, 4, 9, 15, 30, 60 kg |
| Price | 2 L £33.00 · 3 L £43.00 · 4 L £53.00 · 10 L £115.00 | 1.5 kg £12.00 · 4 kg £24.50 · 9 kg £46.00 | 2 L £29.00 · 3 L £38.00 · 4 L £45.00 · 10 L £100.00 | 1.5 kg £12.00 · 4 kg £24.50 · 9 kg £46.00 |
| Price per kg | Sold by volume; weight per size not stated | £8.00 (1.5 kg) · £6.13 (4 kg) · £5.11 (9 kg) | £36.25 (2 L, 800 g) · £25.00 (10 L, 4 kg), from the weights on their page | £8.00 (1.5 kg) · £6.13 (4 kg) · £5.11 (9 kg) |
| Where to buy | drorganics |
drforest |
drorganics |
drforest |
| Delivery | 1 to 2 day UK delivery | Dispatched in 1 to 2 working days. Free over £40 | 1 to 2 day UK delivery | Dispatched in 1 to 2 working days. Free over £40 |
| Vegan? | No, bone meal, fish meal and insect frass are listed | No, contains bone meal | No, bone meal is listed | No, contains bone meal |
| Ingredients listed | Yes, listed on their page, including bone meal, fish meal and insect frass (no percentages) | Yes, 10 inputs with percentages | Yes, 6 inputs: banana peel (70%), bone meal, kelp meal, sulphate of potash, worm castings, molasses | Yes, 11 inputs with percentages |
| Brand | UK brand | Hand-blended and packed in Stockport, UK | UK brand | Hand-blended and packed in Stockport, UK |
Dr Organics Living Soil prices: drorganicslivingsoil.co.uk product pages, prices checked 15 Oct 2026. Prices may change.
Dr Organics Living Soil is a trademark of its owner; Dr Forest is not affiliated.
What a season of feeding costs
Less to feed a season than Dr Organics.
One tomato plant in a 10-litre pot of unfertilised compost, fed for the 12-week season in our feeding schedule (4 weeks growth, 4 weeks bloom feeding, 4 weeks ripening on plain water). Each brand at its own published rates.
| Brand | What is used | Feed cost for the season |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Forest All Purpose 4-4-4 and Bloom 2-8-4 | Soil mix at planting, then top-dresses at 2 to 3 g per litre (our feeding schedule) | £1.29 to £1.58 |
| Dr Organics 4-3-4 and Bloom 2-8-10 | 4-3-4 mixed in at planting at 8 to 18 g per litre, then Bloom top-dresses at 2 g per litre in bloom weeks 3 and 5 | £2.53 to £6.18 |
Figures are pro-rata feed cost: the product used multiplied by its price per gram, not the price of a bag. Low figures use the lighter rates, high figures the fuller ones. Dr Forest is priced at the Feed Pair, £21.50 for 1.5 kg of each; at 9 kg bag prices the season is £0.92 to £1.12. The Dr Forest figure includes the soil mix at planting. The schedule is 12 weeks; a longer season adds feeds for every brand.
Dr Organics rates are from its product pages and feed chart. 4-3-4 is sold by volume and its page does not clearly state the weight per litre; the range covers 400 to 600 g per litre. Priced at the 10-litre packs, prices checked 15 Oct 2026; at 2-litre prices the season is £4.75 to £8.88. Dr Organics designs its amendments around its own pre-amended Living Soil; grown in that, the 4-3-4 at planting is replaced by the cost of the soil. Other products on its feed chart are not included.
What is in the bag
All Purpose 4-4-4, 10 inputs: alfalfa meal 33%, bone meal 18%, nitrogen plant extract 18%, flaxseed meal 10%, gypsum 6%, sulphate of potash 5.5%, kieserite 5%, Scottish seaweed 2%, humic and fulvic acid 1%, fermented biochar 1%.
Bloom 2-8-4, 11 inputs: bone meal 43%, alfalfa meal 20%, zeolite 11%, sulphate of potash 8%, kieserite 6%, gypsum 5%, flaxseed 2%, Scottish seaweed 2%, humic and fulvic acid 1%, nitrogen plant extract 1%, fermented biochar 1%.
Both are hand-blended and packed in small batches in Stockport, in compostable bags.
What the pair is for. It is stage feeding, the same idea as using Dr Organics 4-3-4 and then Bloom 2-8-10. All Purpose is balanced at 4-4-4 for the growing stage. Bloom drops the nitrogen to 2 and raises the phosphate to 8, for when the plant turns to flowers and fruit. Its potash stays at 4, so it is a lower-potash ratio than 2-8-10. For a few pots, one small bag of each covers the season; beds and borders need more.
Why Bloom keeps the potash at 4
Dr Organics Bloom is 2-8-10. Dr Forest Bloom is 2-8-4, the same potash figure as All Purpose 4-4-4. That is deliberate, and it rests on published trials by Professor Nirit Bernstein's group at the Volcani Institute.
- More potash did not mean more yield. In a 2022 trial, a flowering crop was fed five potassium levels through the whole flowering stage, from 15 to 240 mg per litre. Yield fell at 15. From 60 to 240 mg per litre, four times as much, yield did not differ.
- Nor did it improve quality. In the same trial, most of the flower compounds measured for quality, including the aroma compounds (terpenoids), went down as potassium went up. The authors settled on 60 mg per litre, the low end of the useful range.
- Too much crowds out calcium and magnesium. The three compete for uptake at the root. Higher potassium lowered calcium and magnesium in most parts of the plant, both in the flowering trial and in the group's earlier growth-stage trial.
- The need does not jump at flowering. The flowering plants gained nothing above 60 mg per litre, no more than the growth-stage plants needed. So we keep potash level through both stages: 4 in All Purpose and 4 in Bloom. Bloom changes the nitrogen and phosphate; the potash stays put.
These were pot trials fed through the water, so they are a guide to the ratio rather than a garden-bed rate. Sources: Saloner, A. and Bernstein, N. (2022). Agronomy 12(5): 1242. doi:10.3390/agronomy12051242. Saloner, A., Sacks, M. M. and Bernstein, N. (2019). Frontiers in Plant Science 10: 1369. doi:10.3389/fpls.2019.01369.
Switching from Dr Organics: how to use All Purpose and Bloom
Dr Organics Bloom is applied at 2 g per litre of substrate. Dr Forest Bloom is a different, lower-potash blend, so use these rates rather than the Dr Organics label.
| Stage | Product | Top-dress rate |
|---|---|---|
| Growth, before buds | All Purpose 4-4-4 | 2 to 4 g per litre of soil |
| From buds and first flowers | Bloom 2-8-4 | 2 to 4 g per litre of soil |
Full rates for beds, roses, fruit and potting mixes are on the All Purpose and Bloom product pages.
We provide one of the most comprehensive, easy-to-use feeding schedules available: week-by-week stage feeding with All Purpose 4-4-4 and Bloom 2-8-4. Enter your pot size for exact doses, the bags to buy and the cost per plant.
When to stay with Dr Organics
A switch is not right for everyone. Stay with Dr Organics if:
- you want a high-potash bloom feed. Their Bloom is 2-8-10; ours is 2-8-4.
- you want the Dr Organics recipe itself. Ours is a different blend.
Common questions
Is there a Doctor Organics 4-4-4?
On 15 Oct 2026, the all-purpose dry amendment on the Dr Organics Living Soil website was 4-3-4, not 4-4-4. If a 4-4-4 is what you are after, Dr Forest All Purpose is 4-4-4.
Is Dr Forest the same as Dr Organics Living Soil?
No. They are separate brands with different recipes. Dr Organics Living Soil is a UK brand sold through its own website, with 1 to 2 day UK delivery. Dr Forest is our own blend, hand-blended and packed in Stockport, and every ingredient and percentage is listed above. Dr Organics Living Soil is a trademark of its owner; Dr Forest is not affiliated.
How does Dr Forest Bloom compare with Dr Organics Bloom 2-8-10?
The nitrogen and phosphate figures are the same, 2 and 8. The potash is different. Dr Organics Bloom is 2-8-10 and Dr Forest Bloom is 2-8-4, so ours has less potash. That is deliberate: in published trials, more potassium during flowering did not raise yield, lowered most of the quality compounds measured, and reduced calcium and magnesium uptake. Dr Organics sells by volume, and its page states 1 litre is 400 g. Dr Forest sells by weight.
Vegan, and organic status?
Neither brand's pair is vegan: Dr Organics lists bone meal in both blends, and Dr Forest All Purpose has 18% bone meal and Bloom 43%. For both Dr Forest bags: Made with organic ingredients. It's not certified organic.
Other brand alternatives
- Gaia Green UK alternative
- Ecothrive Soil Food alternative
- BioBizz alternative
- All organic fertilisers
4-4-4 for growth, 2-8-4 for bloom, from a Stockport bag
Start with All Purpose 4-4-4 for growth. Switch to Bloom 2-8-4 when the buds show. The Feed Pair gives you both, from £21.50.
£21.50 Feed Pair, 1.5 kg of each
★★★★★ 4.95/5 from 513 reviews. Free UK delivery over £40. In stock, dispatched in 1 to 2 working days. Hand-blended and packed in Stockport, compostable bags.
Dr Organics Living Soil prices: drorganicslivingsoil.co.uk product pages, checked 15 Oct 2026; prices may change. Dr Organics Living Soil is a trademark of its owner; Dr Forest is not affiliated.