Saving oaks on a shoestring budget.

[beastmaster]

As the world turns. I find my self at a spiritual retreat donating my time doing much needed maintenance on their trees for room and board OM.
Anyway safety pruning the many hazards that are everywhere I can handle. Beautify the landscape, trimming the fruit trees, some dicey removals, got it.
The major and most severe problem is an oak grove where small cabins have been built. Machanical damage, trenching, tenting, people walking every where. This whole part of the state has been plagued by drought and most these oaks are badly stressed anyway.
My plan is to use an aurger bit and go around the drip line adding soil amendments, there is an abundance of high quality compost, I'm already brewing compost tea. I'm planing kn useing a big hand sprayer to applie ut. The 4 in. Of mulch around trees and rope off paths to control foot traffic. Think my plan is feasible? Any advice? I add some photos later

 

[beastmaster]

Some photos of the area im conserned with.8 . There is a real problom with compaction.

 

[ATH]

Anything you can do to increase the rooting zone. Is irrigation a possibility?

Mulch is probably the best long-term answer, but you need to keep them alive for that to start working.

Is air excavation (radial trenching) possible?

 

[The Singing Arborist]

Mulch is great for water retention. It seems like a lot of landscapes around here overdo it. About 2-3 inches of mulch does the trick without suffocating the roots. If the rains pick up or you get access to some irrigation, it may not hurt to feed the roots with a slow release, granular fertilizer too. A light feeding can help restore some of the trauma to the roots. If it is done when the soil is too dry, though, it could do more damage.