So I did a drainage test yesterday since my soil is a little heavy and seems to stay moist for quite a while, i.e. it seems to hold moisture well .. and maybe too well.

As all the guides suggest, I dug a hole, about as wide as a harden spade on all sides, and about 16-17" deep.

I filled it with water and let it drain. Then I filled it back up with water and watched the results.

Heres the problem, online Ive found four different grading methods... guess what... they are ALL different lol.

The first hour the water level dropped 1.5", the second hour it dropped 1". Keep in mind the hole was very wide at the top and narrow at the bottom.

I filled the hole for the second time at 4:27 PM. At 10:30PM it had about 4" left in it. I went to bed, set my alarm and checked it at 12:30.. it was completely empty.

So my guess is the hole took about 7 or 7.5 hours to empty.

16" / 7.5 hours = 2.13" per hour total.

Ive read that if you drain at over 1" per hour you have decent drainage.

Then Ive read that if the hole takes longer then 4 hours to drain you have poor drainage.

Then Ive read that if it takes over 8 hours to drain you have poor drainage; below 8 is good.

Then on yet another site I read below 6 hours is fast drainage, between 6 and 12 hours you have moderate/adequate drainage, and beyond 12 hours poor drainage.

So what do I have!??

approx 2" per hour level drop on average, 7 to 7.5 hours total drain time (it took about 4 gallons to fill the hole both times).

Can anyone tell me what Im looking at? Im guessing moderate to fair drainage??