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I did the drainage test? Sort of. Opinions?

10 years ago

The directions were to dig a hole 18 inches deep, fill it with water and give it one hour to drain.

Well, the first 12 inches weren't too difficult to dig, but the last 4 inches were very hard. (you may have noticed that this only adds up to 16 inches. All I could do after 8 hours of work and an iffy back. Also the hole was wider at the top than the bottom.) So after crapping out early, I filled it with water and waited. The first 12 inches (the softer dirt) drained rapidly....The last 4 inches took another 15 minutes or so. The total drain time was 45 minutes. Well? Opinions please!

andrea

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Comments (3)

deervssteve
10 years ago
I've got clay (adobe soil) and struggled to get over 20".
The planting instructions said 24", but good luck with that.
One of the digging techniques I've used is to fill the hole with water to soften the bottom. On two the three holes the drainage was slow. A few months after planting, drainage was will slow, but not horrid. I really don't care because I've planted roses in the past in the same soil conditions and they did fine.
Kippy
10 years ago
My secret to digging holes....add water, come back the next day and dig some more...add more water.
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Zyperiris
10 years ago
I agree with Kippy but I would put Gypsum in the hole..it breaks down hard soil.

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