Chernozemnsliving soil: a guide for gardeners and allotment holders

An independent guide to soil for gardeners. It is not a news outlet or a laboratory, does not sell fertilisers and has no connection with the former website on this domain.

Archive

Archive

The archive lists all of the guide's published articles by the date they were prepared. This is handy if you want to go back to an article you have already read, or check whether you have missed anything since your last visit. Each entry has a topic tag, making it easier to find articles on soil composition, soil types, acidity or organic matter. New pages are added to the archive as soon as they are published, and older ones are never removed or rewritten retrospectively without a note.

The archive holds only what can be opened and read. There are no dead links or promised articles here. If a page is on the list, you can open it right now and read it in full.

— Editor's view

The selection rule is simple: an entry appears in the archive only once the page is published and available. The date is the day it was prepared, and the topic is the main question the article addresses. Addresses from the former website are not included; the one exception is the old address that now hosts our quick guide. If an article is significantly updated, the date in its entry changes and the gist of the change is noted in the new articles feed. That way you can always tell which version of a page you are looking at.

2026

The domain's former address

This domain once hosted a different website, and its pages were later filled with spam. The Chernozemns guide has no connection with it and does not restore any of its content. External links still point to the old address of the former home page, so we have placed a useful quick guide there: how to get to know the soil in your garden in a single weekend. No other addresses from the former site have been carried over, and the spam pages have been removed for good.

  • Reference

    Glossary: humus, soil texture, structure, pH, salinity, compaction, mulch, green manure.

  • New

    A feed of the guide's articles with dates and topics.

  • Sections

    Four topics: soil composition and types, fertility and organic matter, water and air in the soil, and common soil problems.

  • Collections

    Reading paths: your first season on the plot, heavy clay, and sandy soil that won't hold water.

Sources

  • Chernozemns guide articles

This article reflects the general understanding of soil science as of the date it was prepared. Every plot has its own soil, so before making big changes to how you look after it, it is worth having a soil test done and reading the label of any product you plan to apply carefully.