I was digging a hole, never fun here in the canyon, and then I hit some relatively hard material, a little over a foot down. With a breaker bar, I found it to chip away pretty easily. It's not all that hard, but after going a good 8 inches through it, hoping get some soil again, i'm starting to wonder if I should continue.

If not very clear in the video, this strata is both tan and whitish in color in areas.

If it matters any, I'm looking to plant an Orchid Rockrose there..

Thanks for any input or feedback you might have.

I had never heard of that term before. After researching it, I believe you are correct. And, my joking to myself that I needed a jackhammer, actually seems to be a legitimate solution. These can be feet thick though. Another solution is drill "chimney" holes. I do have a hammer drill, 1/2", that is a foot long. I think I'll do some exploratory drilling to see if I can hit pay dirt.

Caliche, as I was reading, is bad news as roots cannot get through it, and it makes for poor drainage.

Thanks again.

And given the proper set of circumstances, such as water, pressure, heat, and decomposing rock with certain kinds of mineral content, and iron in the soil can settle as ferrite. If there's enough, it can form a layer. I name iron, but there are other minerals that can do this.

I'm no chemist, but what you say makes plenty of sense. I had a several chemistry classes during my undergrad years (minor in science)...

I suppose whether it is iron, caliche (calcium carbonate), or some other mineral / chemical compound, it clearly presents problems with respect to drainage. It's like having a pot underground...

Tomorrow I will drill some holes into this stuff, whatever it is. I'll go a foot down, or until I see some brown dirt spitting upward... If the foot long bit never sees decent soil, I'll fill it back-up and dig another hole.

I'll try to remember to report back...

On another note, drilling might be your best alternative, see if you get thru that 'layer' and into something more reasonable. If that layer is less than 2 feet then its reasonable to stick with it (lots of hard work but feasible). If not you should perhaps consider some good raised beds for the plantings..... Unless you happen to have a backhoe available to really rip thru the layer.

It is. :)

" that physics is just applied mathematics. :-p"

All true :)

I dug a hole a few feet over, same thing. I dug another one a few feet higher, and that looks pretty good.

I'm doing drainage tests now on these holes, or perk (percolation) test as some call them. I found this link to be pretty good

Interestingly, the water drains fine through it. Roots getting through would be problematic, at least for some root systems. I say that because I do see some roots shooting through in various places...