50% tree shrub mix, 25% composted mulch, 25% native junk

My husband does the crow bar and hammer thing to the caliche, but we were told to make a mixture of orginal Tide (no bleach, etc) and drench the area first..it goes down and dissolves the caliche..it actually ate away alot of it without much effort..

I love my pick axe too, LOL (and my safety goggles!). I don't have a specific recipe, but I usually toss the caliche back in after I've mixed it with whatever I'm using to fill the hole (native soil, planting mix, whatever). The only real exception for me is if I'm planing a small fine-root shrub or perennial. If that's the case I won't put a BIG chunk back in.

Let us know what you do and how it works out.

Raven, what's the recipe for Tide you use? I'd love to do a little experiment by making some and tossing a piece of caliche in to see what happens. Thanks for sharing!

Take care all,
Grant

Hi Grant, I use one Tablespoon of Tide to 2 gallons of water, then just drench the spot you want to dig..it helps alot..I have seen a few pics of your garden and it has helped quite a bit, having lived most of my life in a small town in So. Calif, where if you accidently dropped a seed, you got an orchard, lol, this area has really been..well, kind of depressing plant wise. I fried everything I planted the first two years, but am learning.

FYI -- you can buy an electric jackhammer (runs off of normal household plugs) at Amazon for $192.00. It makes life very easy.....

Here is a link that might be useful: Amazon Link to Jackhammer I bought

haha. now that would make an interesting book title: Gardening with a jackhammer.

The trick is to presoak the soil a day or two before and dealing with our clay isnt so bad. For what its worth I plant everything I grow in unammended native soil and have terrific results. Just because our soil doesnt look like it does in Iowa doesnt mean that its not fine to grow in. Remember that farming is huge business in Arizona....and they grow in native soil.

Hah! Thanks for the link to the jackhammer. I may actually think about it! I hope it comes with good instructions. :)

Thanks too for the Tide recipe--I'll whip some up and toss a piece of caliche in it to see what happens. Should be a fun little experiment.

Take care all,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden so far this October

I bought an electric jackhammer (it's actually a "demolition hammer" when we moved to Havasu. It made all the difference in the world. I highly recommend it for digging through calche.

That Tide trick looks pretty good too. I'll have to try that as well.

My roomie swears by digging down to the caliche, whacking a shallow hole in it and dumping pool acid (HCl) into it. It chews through the caliche, fizzing wildly, and the caliche neutralizes the acid.

Then dig out the sludge and whack some more.

Thank you all for the information. I will definitely try the Tide recipe. I have heard of the acid trick, but didn't feel so good about possibly killing everything in sight. I will post the follow up.

please consider the environmental expense of "a jackhammer for every household!" and rent one instead :)