2nd day out finds. Question about digging in public parks

[tamaco]

Well, today, we made it out again, and found the following in a park and tot lot (only out for about an hour w/kid and dog) ....



3 soda tabs, one 2006 penny,and one kids necklace. We also found a pencil!

Question about techniques for diggin in the lawn in a fairly high use park. How do you do it? Do you just fill the hole back in and then put the grass patch back on top? I don't want to do anything to signify that I was even there

This is a very fun hobby, even if I don't find a super relic or any valuables, it is a great family activity, and we help to clean the parks!!

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

depends

Well, today, we made it out again, and found the following in a park and tot lot (only out for about an hour w/kid and dog) ....

View attachment 917372

3 soda tabs, one 2006 penny,and one kids necklace. We also found a pencil!

Question about techniques for diggin in the lawn in a fairly high use park. How do you do it? Do you just fill the hole back in and then put the grass patch back on top? I don't want to do anything to signify that I was even there

This is a very fun hobby, even if I don't find a super relic or any valuables, it is a great family activity, and we help to clean the parks!!

Depends on how deep you're needing to go. If it's just shallow pickens like you have there, then simply a flat screwdriver to probe around, make a crease, and pluck out with your fingers.

But if you are angling for deeper targets (as older coins are typically deeper), then you'll need to cut a plug, like with a bayonette type blade, or lesche, etc... Make sure you keep the soil and root-ball in-tact. Use a rubber catch mat for the dirt spoils. And when you re-assembled everything back in, make sure you stomp with your foot/heel with all your body-weight (so that the soil and roots take to being firm/same again). And don't do this during bone dry summers, lest the plug dry out and die.

 

[airscapes]

google metal detecting digging a plug on Youtube. Here is one that came up on the list.
Personally I did my plugs about 3-4" square .. these seem a bit to big to me.

 

[CoilyGirl]

I aspire to be as neat as the guy in the video.

 

[cudamark]

I used to use that method too but I find that the grass on a 3-sided plug recovers faster than a full plug. I would also recommend a much bigger drop cloth. I use a big freezer type ZipLoc bag which can double as a tote bag to carry any extra dirt you can't get back in the hole. I find that the dirt slides off back into the hole a little cleaner and easier also, especially in wet conditions.

 

[foiler]

Any finds 6" or less you should be able to recover without using the 'plug' method. The key of course is to in fact find the target using a probe of your choosing. Make a slit with your digging tool about 1" away, widen and lift slightly. Your find should be recoverable in the slot you made. Just press the sod back together when done. I believe there are some yutube demos on this old tried and true but forgotten technique. I use a 31" sampson digger. Usually I can get the shovel tip right under the find then push the probe and the find up the shovel head. Easypeasy.

 

[Jeremy S]

I dig a 3 sided plug and just fold it up. I then lay down an old rag to put all loose dirt on. When I am done I pour loose dirt on the rag back into hole, tamp it down, then fold the plug back down the make sure its pressed into place. When I leave you can't tell that I have ever dug a plug there.

But beware... in the summer months when the ground is drying out you can and will kill the grass by digging a plug of any kind. In the summer I typically go after shallow targets in parks while coin shooting and avoid plugs, and for that I use a Garrett brass probe and a screw driver. If the target is shallow enough that my Propointer can sense it I can typically get it out just using the probe and driver with minimal damage to the ground.

 

[Produce Guy]

Try digging holes in your own yard and see how you do,the trick is not to take the ground around the grass away,so when you put it back in the ground it will all grow back.Personally I would detected tot-lots their easier if your just starting out,and now with the kids out for the Christmas holiday you should have them all to yourself.

 

[Pointman]

I dig a 3 sided plug and just fold it up. I then lay down an old rag to put all loose dirt on. When I am done I pour loose dirt on the rag back into hole, tamp it down, then fold the plug back down the make sure its pressed into place. When I leave you can't tell that I have ever dug a plug there.

But beware... in the summer months when the ground is drying out you can and will kill the grass by digging a plug of any kind. In the summer I typically go after shallow targets in parks while coin shooting and avoid plugs, and for that I use a Garrett brass probe and a screw driver. If the target is shallow enough that my Propointer can sense it I can typically get it out just using the probe and driver with minimal damage to the ground.

I agree on using a screwdriver and brass probe, makes you better at pinpointing and it is faster on targets shallower then 3".