A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of application of naturally derived dissolved organic compounds (DOC) on the uptake of Cd, Ni and Zn by Lolium perenne L. from mixtures of soil and sewage sludge and on their extractability with CaCl2. DOC was applied at concentrations of 0, 285 and 470 mg l(-1) to a loamy sand (LS) and a sandy clay loam (SCL) soil mixed with sewage sludge at rates equivalent to 0, 10 and 50 t ha(-1). DOC applications significantly increased the extractability of metals and also their uptake by ryegrass, but the increase was greater where sludge was applied at 50 t ha(-1). It is suggested that DOC in soils significantly increased the availability of the metals to plants. This was especially the case in the LS soil, where DOC had less competition with surface sorption than in the SCL soil.