Most areas of West Cork have been subjected to glacial action fairly recently in geological terms [Until, maybe, 10,000 years ago]. This action has left its mark in the form of hanging valleys, great exposed rockfaces and the stony soil of the area. Rock outcrops will be dealt with in another 'rambling' but in this one we will concentrate on the stony soils.

The glaciers left behind them a very varied mixture of broken rock and stones, some sharp edged & freshly broken and others in the form of smoothed boulders. Size varies randomly from sand to boulders as large as, or even larger than, a house. The geological source can be local or from many miles away. Large 'erratics' often stand on the surface unless cleared for agriculture.

On the whole this leads to a well drained soil, and, as in many cases, the land has previously carried peatlands, to a moisture retentive one. Of course, there are places where the glaciers gouged out huge hollows on some soft underlying rock. Most of these have collected soil and are now very boggy. If carefully emptied they can be the basis of excellent ponds, even lakes.

As far as the soil itself goes, the stone which it contains can be thought of as a 'dilution'. This dilution affects the soils fertility and its water retaining capacity. It other words, large plants will need wider spacing than in a less stony soil and will at times succomb to drought sooner than may be expected. This question of moisture retention is a complex one, as large rocks in or on the soil actually improve the stability of moisture levels under normal conditions. The result can be a sudden collapse of plants under drought conditions, which needs to be carefully watched for to apply extra water. However, I believe that too much artificial watering is detrimental as it encourages surface rooting which cannot sustain a plant under extreme conditions. Be vigilant.

Very large buried rocks can make planting very difficult at times, there are areas of our land where a planting session needs a long crowbar and a wheelbarrow of soil to fill the hole. In these circumstances, small plants often establish better. Large buried rocks can also leave a very dry area above them, where little but moss will grow.. so beware as things seem fine when the soil is moist, but come Summer things fail.

Lastly, please make sure that trees and other tall subjects can spread their roots in all directions, or they will eventually blow over.