Percolation test. To determine watering times, get a feel for the moisture retentiveness of your soil by doing a quick test. It’s a good idea to test several areas since every property has a range of conditions and knowing the differences between spots can be a game changer when caring for plants. Becoming familiar with the variations will inform your watering times from place to place.

This simple exercise gets most of us where we need to go.

• Dig a plant hole and fill it with water. Let it drain.
• Fill and drain it again. It should take longer than the first time to drain and there might even be a reservoir at the bottom that lingers. 
• On a third fill, the hole should ideally hold water like a bucket and take around ten minutes to empty. 
• Cut away one side of the hole. If there’s moisture a few inches into the surrounding area, all is good! If you don’t see dampness, be sure to loosen an extra large area when planting and soak it several times before installing. 
• For ultra fast drainage or no drainage at all, check out problem soil.

Sediment test. You’ve probably come across recommendations to do a home soil sedimentation test if you’ve ever taken a gardening class. Soil types are clay, silt, and sand, with percentages of loam mixed in. Learning about this is useful but don’t get demoralized into thinking that your soil is terrible and requires all kinds of treatments. Just tuck the results away as an FYI that might help later with plant selections or troubleshooting plant failure. These tests are standardized for landscapes in general and not deserts specifically. 

Lab test. In most cases, sending soil samples for lab testing is unnecessary. Results will come back saying that the soil tested low in nitrogen and certain other common nutrients. This is normal for desert soil and our plants are perfectly suited for these conditions.