That is gorgeous shnkrmn.
ince it’s morning in China, and I’m watching the Olympics I made a little chicken sausage patty and some fresh Araucanas eggs from the girls at the barn.
Rock hard soil might not be the soil.
Could be heat.
Could be hydrophobic from your watering pattern.
Don’t think a garden center would sell bagged soil that has that much clay.
What’s the brand? Ingredients?
Your plants will recover. Just give ‘em time. Don’t overwater. Let the roots stretch...
My mom gifted me an olive tree a few years back.
The oil was fresh as you can get in a can.
https://www.nudoadopt.com/olive-oil/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImc3q__7p9QIVyiCtBh0BaQkOEAAYAiAAEgJrn_D_BwE
I'm gonna agree with the posters who told you 1 plant per 4 sq feet.
That would be 2 plants in a 2x4, or 4 in a 4x4.
Don't make it harder on yourself than you need to. Especially for a newb.
You start crowding plants together you will have more bullshit to deal with.