Very dry soil

[Scottydog]

Hi, I'm quite new to all this and would appreciate some advise. I took over half of a very overgrown plot in June this year and have been gradually clearing it. The soil seems very good at the front of the plot which was just covered in grass but towards the back, which was covered in 7 foot tall brambles, the soil is very dry. At the far end of the plot there are 2 well established apple trees. Will the soil water content improve now that the brambles have been cleared and the rain can get at the soil or are the trees at the back taking all the moisture out?

Thanks in anticipation.

Scotty

[sewer rat]

Hi Scottydog
I'm sure that the moisture content will improve a bit following the removal of your brambles, especially over the winter.
Whilst the established apple trees will obviously soak up a lot of water, and the soil around them will be drier, as a general rule, the roots are the same distance from the trunk underground as the branches are above ground, so beyond that you shouldn't notice too much difference.
What you will find is that the brambles and the grass have taken a lot of the goodness and fertility from the soil, so now that you have the area cleared, you could dig it over then spread a layer of compost or FYM over the dug up area and leave it over winter for the weather and worms to pull it down into the soil. Then in Spring it should be easy to fork over and you will not nly have increased the fertility but also the moisture retention properties of your soil.
Of course if you are going to go down the route of raised beds, put these in firdst before putting the FYM / compost in place - no point fertising areas that will be used solely as paths.
As for the trees - put a mulch around the base of the trees as this will help conserve moisture and in a small way stop the roots having to travel further afield in search of water.

[Scottydog]

Thanks for the advise Rat. That's my job for next Saturday sorted then!!

Scotty