Let's Talk About Clay Soil, Again.

[Kenyadenola]

I have clay soil and it's been amended over the years, but I have noticed this tear that it seemed to compact even without me walking on it. Because of this compaction it is holding water even more so than normal.

Most of my plants are doing okay after overcoming some deficiencies, but a few in another plot I have noticed seem to be suffering from overwatering even though they haven't been watered in a while. I use a moisture meter and it's been hitting 10 for a while now so I dug a bit. While I can tell it's the color of moist soil, it doesn't really feel wet. It will form a ball, but it will also crumble easily, you have to clamp your hand really tightly to get it to form a ball, and some if it is really crumbly. It seems somewhat moist, but not wet like I would expect a "10" to be. The soil was also incredibly packed, so I know the roots are having some issues.

Now here comes the question, is there anyway to loosen the soil and get it to dry out a bit without damaging the roots to badly? I know a lot of you would say "just let it dry out", but it's been this way for about a month and a half, and two plants in particular are having issues. Others in the area seem to be thriving, oddly, but Opalka, Purple Russian and Orange Banana are not thriving. Orange Banana in particular is starting to struggle. If there are any solutions, I am open, I just hope there is something I can do to help them.

Thanks in advance!

Kenya