I haven’t done this for soil, but I’ve done this for potting mixes that are so dried out that they won’t take water….

Yucca extract is a non-ionic organic surfactant that you can water into the ground. It will create better water retention until you build up the organic matter.

Yucca naturally grow in the dessert, of course hydrophobic soils. So the plant generates the surfactants to retain water in its root zone, since water is scarce.