Adi Yaar

Thanks Michael! Right, there is a slight decline going away from the house. Run-off is hardly visible but seems to be going slightly towards the street.

I've seen orchards planted on raised beds and swales, this made sense to me but now my orchard is already in place and not planted in orderly rows, yet I still wish to make use of as much water as possible. Any ideas on how to achieve this to some extent
As for the compaction, I am experimenting with temporary planting of Eucalyptus in between the trees.

Hello everyone,

What I have is a backyard orchard of subtropical fruit trees, trees 1-3 years old, on a flat land of very compacted sand.

I am looking for techniques to slow down and absorb run-off (avg ~550mm winter-rain), and help loosen and activate the soil. Should I dig mini swales in between the planted trees? Any other techniques\ideas?

Thanks