Help setting up a test garden.

Fishingfromakayak · Apr 17, 2017

I am going to set up a test garden/spot. Any suggestion/comments as to doing this is greatly appreciated ? So far I was thinking of setting it up in a line 4" deep: quarter, dime,nickel,penny,bottle cap, iron nail, quarter+iron nail. Thank you for any help.

cudamark · Apr 17, 2017

Just about any machine will find those. I'd put them down at least 8", add a little fertilizer to accelerate the formation of a halo around the targets to more accurately simulate an older target. Freshly buried targets just don't read the same otherwise. Make sure you separate them enough so their signals don't interfere with one another. At least 3 feet if you have the room.

boogeyman · Apr 17, 2017

Also, look in the garden section for the green stakes that are used for holding down weed barrier cloth. I used a soldering iron to mark them with what's there and depth. Helps when you forget where your lines are and get a little carried away with the tiller or misplace your drawing / map and have a memory like mine! I've got a few 1lb cans of scrap engine block from a car fire buried at 6' 10' and 13' Ran out of extensions for the gas post hole digger. Works great for testing deep seekers and two boxes. Cudamark has a good idea with the fertilizer. Didn't think of that. I just used a cup of vinegar with a half spoon for the small ones. One and a half cups of vinegar and a heaping spoon of salt.

Charlie P. (NY) · Apr 17, 2017

Put a quarter at 8" and a nail at 4" just off to one side. See if you can get a signal on that quarter. Play with settings until you get the best hit and keep those in mind to trashy sites.

I also have a one ounce musket ball at 10" and a 12" quarter in mine.

perry2 · Apr 17, 2017

As stated above you want to locate each item so that 2 years from now you can ID them/////
After 2 failures I started in line between 2 trees and 2 ft apart--I can still find this one-after 8 yrs -Perry

Twinkletoes · Apr 17, 2017

If you're going to put multiple target metals in one hole (ex. multiple coins, coin & iron, etc.) be sure to take a picture before you bury them. You might also consider burying shallow bottle caps, foil, sinker, even pull-tabs for testing too. And don't forget the zinc pennies at different depths! It would be a blessing to learn to ID those without digging. Tt

Charlie P. (NY) · Apr 17, 2017

I made a map and used different colored plastic golf tees to mark them. All in a single straight line a foot apart beside my driveway.

cudamark · Apr 18, 2017

boogeyman said:
Also, look in the garden section for the green stakes that are used for holding down weed barrier cloth. I used a soldering iron to mark them with what's there and depth. Helps when you forget where your lines are and get a little carried away with the tiller or misplace your drawing / map and have a memory like mine! I've got a few 1lb cans of scrap engine block from a car fire buried at 6' 10' and 13' Ran out of extensions for the gas post hole digger. Works great for testing deep seekers and two boxes. Cudamark has a good idea with the fertilizer. Didn't think of that. I just used a cup of vinegar with a half spoon for the small ones. One and a half cups of vinegar and a heaping spoon of salt.

That should work good too, as long as it doesn't kill your landscaping! :laughing7:

You just want something to break down the target a bit to simulate the natural degradation of the metal. I haven't had to make a test garden for my 2 box. I just turn it on and pick up my car across the street! :laughing7: