Revisiting a plug??

[eureka77]

Have any of you revisited a site that you've done detected a few days earlier and come across a plug that didn't take? Earlier this week I went back to a park that just a few days prior I had been to and noticed maybe 4 out of 20 plugs I dug didn't look to good even though when I dug them to begin with they were placed back with care and you couldn't even tell I dug at all. Also they were dug no differently then the other 16 that came out fine and showed no indication of anyone digging but for some reason those four, the grass was turning yellow and the plug shrunk. IDK... just wondering aloud if it's happened to anyone else. HH

 

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[RustyGold]

The plugs that dry out don't always do so well, maybe need water?
Or the gophers were having lunch on the roots.
Best of luck!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

One of the things I've run into is this same scenario. Maybe when we're hitting manicured lawns we should carry water with us to soak those plugs after we replace them. Especially during dry times. Personally I need to get back into probes & screwdrivers and save the plugs for when they're deeper than a screwdriver can handle.

Those dead plugs haunt us and give us a bad name.

 

[ScubaDetector]

I can agree they CAN give us a bad name. But they do grow back. If you think about it dog pee also kills grass sometimes and so does an oil spill and a few other things. The problem is we know we did it and we feel guilty. But grass is resilient. It will grow back. Maybe not as fast as we would like so we don't feel guilty. I only hunt the water after it warms up and I am mainly in the woods in the spring but I have seen it. I have been cutting flaps lately. this is the first year I have tried it and maybe better results will become of it. However, I was in a park in Detroit and unless we get a bunch of us together with a few packing, I won't be going back.

A flap is one idea, cut on three sides and leave the 4th. Don't hunt in dry weather is another especially in well manicured lawn.

 

[Carolina Tom]

The recent dry weather in the greater Iredell County area accounts for this. If the roots get dry, the plug shrinks and turns yellow. The deeper the plug, the better. Hopefully the rain that is predicted for the next couple of days, will wet the ground thoroughly, and we will be back in business.

Bet of luck to you sir.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I cut flaps, not plugs. I guess you just get into the habit of saying plugs.

After living in Metro-Detroit off and on for over 30 years, AIN'T NO WAY I'd ever hit a park or a lawn there. And there are some beautiful (but shameful) ruins of majestic homes there. Co-workers and I made the mistake of having lunch at a Ferndale diner on the border with Detroit, and a rather unwashed abrasive individual of a different ethnic persuasion came in and sat down with us, demanded we give him money before he'd leave. We left instead.

The last construction project I worked there was the Marathon refinery on the South side. There were 6 people shot dead there within a block of our office in one year, the last being a co-worker shot dead in his car. One morning another fellow and I were going into the refinery to check out some equipment. There were two bodies laying in the street near the entrance gate.

I left Michigan then (June of 2009) and have only returned to visit two of my children who live in Royal Oak. I'll be returning to visit here within the next couple of months. Scuba, maybe you and I can catch a hunt together then!

There's a city block sized park in Royal Oak, right across from my son's apartment. I don't know if it's legal to hunt there, kinda shy about that. But it has tempted me now for quite a while. Before I go back I'm going to check out the rules there on Royal Oak's website. It's about time!

 

[frostdigger]

I agree that once the ground dries out the plugs don't take as quickly. Once the ground dries out I try to not dig in high traveled areas or really nice yards until we get a little moisture. I have also had a grey squirrel come along behind me and double check my plugs?, think he was tring to get me in trouble.

 

[Jason in Enid]

"flaps" are nothing but a feel-good measure. I have spoken with university sod-farm department personnel. The flap does nothing. It's all about protecting the roots and not letting them dry out. The "flap" is no different than the plug in this aspect, but make sure the dirt is dug deep enough to protect the roots and that the ground isn't too dry to dig in the first place. Lastly, it's not killing the grass. It stuns it temporarily. It's not different than replacement sod being laid down. It may look brown and ugly for a few days but if it has water it will green up very soon.

 

[nsdq]

If really dry i take water with to soak the plug some it seems to help or if i can sheild the plug from sun light till it goes back in

 

[kcm]

Another idea when it's dry is to carry a spray bottle of water. Spray your plug/flap when made, before you return to its original position, and intermediately if extremely dry and hot and exposed to the sun. Make certain to get trapped air away from the roots, as Skippy recommended, by stepping on the plug/flap. Maybe even mix some lawn fertilizer in with your spray bottle.

Plant leaves don't like urine. Plant roots, on the other hand, love it....at least up to a point. It's simply liquid fertilizer. Not the BEST fertilizer, but still the same concept.

 

[Jason in Enid]

And yet, when I dig plugs, the likelihood of going all brown, vs. a flap is like 10x. I think some of it has to do with the care involved in a flap (and the amount of time roots are exposed.). In my opinion, though, flaps are better than plugs because you're exposing at least 1/4 less roots! And BOTH are easily better than "the roll method" of pulling up the roots with a probe, then digging the soil underneath (which is what the city to the east of me REQUIRES). So stupid. I've YET to see a roll method exposed root system survive better than a flap. They're horrible on the lawns. Some lawmaker felt that it wouldn't do as much damage as cutting a flap. uggg.. Way to go city board...

Depending on exactly how you make your flap, I can see that. Most of the flaps I have seen end up being a plug with only some surface grass tendrils connecting it. I think its mostly because most flaps are so small they end up ripping out the roots on the connected side when they bend it back. How big are the flaps you cut?

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Plant leaves don't like urine. Plant roots, on the other hand, love it....at least up to a point. It's simply liquid fertilizer. Not the BEST fertilizer, but still the same concept.

Yep! I pee in my compost barrels, provide nitrogen to the soil Most of my pee comes from coffee, which is also good in compost barrels

 

[against the wind]

I use the new Lesche Coin Transporter. After getting a fix on the target, I point the Lesche Transporter and hit Transport.
I also carry a 5 gallon bottle of water. (Recycled, of course )

 

[CoilyGirl]

I've heard you should dig your plug,hole,what have you at an angle instead of digging straight down so less roots are exposed. Does this make sense?

 

[Jason in Enid]

I've heard you should dig your plug,hole,what have you at an angle instead of digging straight down so less roots are exposed. Does this make sense?

No, this is not correct. Then you cut them at an angle, you leave the center in good shape but the edge roots all get chopped very short which contributes to that brown-out stunned grass for a time. Larger plugs are also better as you get more undisturbed roots in the middle. Tiny plugs means that you are injuring all the roots.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

The best you can do is keep the size of the plug as small as possible. That way, if it dies, it's not really noticeable as a plug. Just looks like a little patch of dead grass.

My rule for shallow targets (2" or less) is to cut a plug the size of a golf ball, if possible. For deeper targets, I cut one just big enough to get my hand in the hole. Doesn't always work out that way, but I try my best to pull it off.

Pinpointing the target is the key. Some days I can pinpoint very accurately, but other days it's way off. Not sure if it's me or my Ace 250 acting up on those days!

 

[Ammoman]

Digging in hard dry ground is not my idea of having fun. Its hard work and very unproductive.

 

[kcm]

For anyone interested, you can come any summer day and practice digging plugs in the yard. I'll supply the gopher traps!

 

[GA_Boy]

Skippy, I agree on the triangles. I usually cut a 5" equilateral and turn over a thick flap. The long slit works too----just need a different recovery tool.
Marvin

 

[ScubaDetector]

I got a letter today that made me think of this thread. It is from TruGreen. After the address window it has large green letters that says Address lawn threats now.

I just had to laugh. How dare you folks with sharp pointy things threaten my lawn.