While I don't have any 'caliche' on my property, I am blessed with a
lot of randomly placed rock. Driving any ground rod to about 6 feet
is a guessing game more than anything else. I've found that ground
radials are more practical. Not easy, just practical. They seem to
work as well as any ground rod I've ever used (better in some
instances).
The local power company is supposed to put down ground rods for
safety. Having seen some of their methods, I'd tend to go with the
radials (ground wire attached to water pipes... PVC water pipes, great
idea huh? And, NO, I'm not kidding.)
- 'Doc