Your thoughts on doing a "test garden" as a newbie....just wondering

[cajamk]

The title states it all... did you create a test garden?
Thanks

Carol

 

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[ChampFerguson/TN]

I did and I consider it to have been a waste of time. I learned more/faster digging up trash (and a few goodies) in the local pounded park.

I do think a garden is helpful to HONE your skills, but I think the very best strategy in beginning metal detecting is to learn by making mistakes.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Definitely.

I have a dozen various coins and objects buried and test frequently. Put a quarter 6" under a pull tab and/or a nail and see which settings give the best returns.

 

[boogeyman]

Yes, they help for different tests. I've got stuff buried between 6' and 10' for testing two boxes a 5# coffee can of lead works great. A hint for you. Go to the landscape area of the box stores and pick up a bag of the green spikes they use to hold down plastic & weed barrier cloth. After you bury your test object put a spike in. It'll save you from roto tilling up your bed. Don't ask how I learned this. One thing I've noticed is if you make your bed in a well watered area you'll get the oxide halo quickly.

 

[Carolina Tom]

I think that it's a good idea for newer machines/dectorists. It gives you a nice little test bed to practice in. Remember to include coins on edge, collocated targets and trash too. That way get familiar with the junk, and what a "maybe" target sounds like.

ChampFerguson has a point too. If you play in the real world, you gotta practice in the real world. It can be a bit daunting to dig 200 holes in a day, if you are not used to it. When I started, I could only dig about 40 holes before I got tired. I lost 40 Lbs and can now dig several hundred holes per day. If you have the strength, go to the old school or park and try to ID the target prior to digging it. Practice makes perfect!

I hope that helps. GL!

 

[Tom Bigbee]

It's a great idea... If there is a tot lot around those are good to practice in. It will give you an idea what surface targets sound like. A good place to find jewelry also!

 

[RobRieman]

Go to the nearest school and dig targets until you can guess what it is before you dig. There's 10's of everything buried there and you will quickly learn it's language.

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

One other thing that I rarely see discussed about test gardens; they are DAMNED hard work to initially construct. If your yard is like mine (and we are only the 2nd owners & 1st owners were only here 5 years), it is FULL of rusty iron bits from construction + some of you will have older houses and 10's of years worth of debris in them. to get clean readings, you need to clean out ALL of the metal in the garden area to a good depth. And folks, that is a LOT of work. Don't scare off the noobs until they have had a taste of success!

 

[richirich]

Hello all im a new member here im interested in detecting with somebody in the Philadelphia area im new to this only did testing in my back yard

 

[richirich]

do you need permission to go on school grounds and dig

 

[boogeyman]

do you need permission to go on school grounds and dig

Give it a sec and Tom in Ca will be by to explain it all to you! He's the expert here.

 

[MrMikeJackie]

Test gardens, imo, are a waste of time and further introduce bad habits. What you "learn" in the test garden cannot be applied to real world scenarios and will only keep you from finding the good stuff.

 

[Geobound]

I didn't build a test garden per se, but I did have my wife bury in the backyard at different depths and different locations, the various denominations of our Canadian coins.

I then spent a few weekends working out what was good and what was junk.

Eventually I found all but one coin and had to get her to show me where it was. She was unaware that she buried the coin right overtop of a piece of siding, so when I got a giant hit when my detector was well over a foot off the ground........well I didn't dig it.

I still don't know if I would have been able to figure it out now if I'm honest, but there is certainly some merit to practicing in your own yard first.

The other reason why I would suggest practicing in your own yard first, is so that you can learn how to dig a proper plug.

You may as well screw up your own grass to start, as only your wife/husband/partner will give you crap, instead of a groundskeeper or a law official.

There are a zillion threads on how to dig a plug, or YouTube videos, so I would take the time and watch them too.

Good luck with your new machine.

 

[fistfulladirt]

I used a test garden to set up my Minelab Explorer, got it down in just a few minutes, then 'off to the races!'

 

[ARC]

I cannot begin to tell you how valuable a test garden can be in the learning process.
I am an old school detectorist...
most of the many detectors I have owned over my time in this have no display / readouts and each has its own "quirks"...

In fact I do a "set test" almost every time I turn a detector on prior to running... UNLESS I am already tuned in for that particular area.
It seems that few realize that every area is slightly different than another to a detectors "recipe" ... This is WHY detectors ARE "adjustable" in "tuning"...
OTHERWISE... they would only have 2 settings. heh

Its like this... for general detecting... anyone can basically "turn on and go"... and MAYBE you will pick up the "hard targets"...
BUT... IF you are looking for items made of various metals such as gold WHICH are made of various metals then tuning and finding the "sweet spots" of EACH detector are essential.

See some detectors "sacrifice" one "benefit " for another... due to set up... power consumption... and various other very important settings that within a HAIRS "offness" heh

Take the Excalibur 2 for example... without proper notching... you will NEVER.... EVER... find anything of metallic value.
This...
Also applies to EVERY detector of similar designs.

Wanna learn what your detector IS and IS NOT set correctly to "pick up on"... then TEST it with items of similar composition.

ALL detectors will pick up "metal"... On any setting... wanna find more ?

Then "fine tuning" is essential... and a "test garden is essential in doing this. IMO

 

[ARC]

PS...

I wear a couple of rings... which also serve me well in the field... when I turn on I ALWAYS toss one or both down in the sand... and spend a moment or two tuning in finding them.

 

[Butter Hat]

We didn't create a test garden but worked a bare patch in the yard. We found big aluminum tent pegs and a rusty piece of bent metal strap.

It was okay; we had lost the tent pegs.

 

[fistfulladirt]

We didn't create a test garden but worked a bare patch in the yard. We found big aluminum tent pegs and a rusty piece of bent metal strap.

It was okay; we had lost the tent pegs.

will you scrap them out?

 

[Butter Hat]

will you scrap them out?

Just the strap.

 

[coinman123]

My house is from the 1860's, and has 150 years of iron and trash, more than you could picture, I spent half an hour griding to find a clean spot (which didn't happen). I had to try in a clean patch of woods behind my house. Half my yard was filled with 10 inches of new fill dirt, for flooding problems, but somehow that area is more trashy than the rest of the yard.