Help with plugs.

[kpratt]

My name is Kolby and I am new to metal detecting. I have been going to lawn (Mostly mine and my friends field) and I make a plug and put it back and stomp on it. When I got back about 2 days later the grass has died. Is this because of the dry ground or am I doing something wrong? Any tips will be nice, and I want to say I love the treasure hunting community they always seem to come together. thanks!

 

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[cactusrat]

Dry soil is the worst time to dig a plug. The grass is under stress from lack of water to start with.

Try cutting a flap instead of a plug. A flap leaves some of the root intact, given the grass a better chance to recover.

Wetting the plug/flap after digging might help, but if it’s100º, a cup or two of water isn’t going to do much good.

 

[GPS53]

When it is dry I always try and cut a deep flap even if it is a shallow target, then probe upward carefully for the target, helps a little bit, leaves deeper roots intact.

 

[nickeltabs]

My name is Kolby and I am new to metal detecting. I have been going to lawn (Mostly mine and my friends field) and I make a plug and put it back and stomp on it. When I got back about 2 days later the grass has died. Is this because of the dry ground or am I doing something wrong? Any tips will be nice, and I want to say I love the treasure hunting community they always seem to come together. thanks!

Hi welcome to the fourm--here is something to check out very good advice on digging targets



Metal Detecting Recovery Method
FOSSICKERS.COM - Videos on Prospecting, Gold Pans and Gold Panning

Fossicker's Recommended Object Recovery Techniques
http://goldpanprospectors.com/files/METAL_DETECTING_RECOVERY_METHOD11.pdf

Target recovery 101, video blog


Metal Detecting 101 Basic rules and where to go. blog #3.avi

 

[Dtektor]

Welcome kpratt! Here in the eastern NC area, alot of the lawns are Centipede grass which is a "running" type grass. The shoot run along the top of the ground and send anchors down into the soil to obtain water, etc. In my experience, it is almost impossible to not kill a little of the grass in the plug when digging 3 sided fold back plugs because you are gonna be cutting some of the runners no matter how hard you try. The good news is that Centipede is very quick growing and after a couple of good dew-falls or small rain, you cannot tell where i have been.

 

[Shortstack]

Evaluate the area you are hunting and if it has never been re-sodded, you shouldn't HAVE to plug. Pinpoint the target and gently lift the target from the soil with your probe. I've detected all over the country, including Alaska, and have found that coins and jewelry will be about the depth of the grass roots.......no deeper IF the ground has not had new dirt fill or sod put into place. My oldest coins were IN the grass roots. An old tax token was found at about 4 inches in a low area that had fill brought in by rain runoff through the years.

If you think your target is 4" to 6" deep, try locating the object FIRST with your probe and then cutting a slice in the dirt and reaching into the slice with a pair of long nosed pliers or a hemostat to grip the object. I've used the needle nosed pliers technique and wrapped the nose pieces with electrical tape or duct tape to prevent damage to the target.

I stopped watching that T.V. program called Diggers because those guys are amateurs. They cut big plugs in every recovery. I was almost cringing everytime they made a recovery. They were digging huge plugs in the front lawns of some fine old houses in New Orleans and other historical homes. They were finding good stuff, but I'll bet you the people at those homes would never let them come back after seeing the large areas of dead grass that would show up after a couple of days.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I do not cut plugs, I slice, make a single cut/slice (like a surgeon) over target, bend it back on each side, recover target then squeeze it back together. There is next to no damage to roots so nothing dies...... If you leavng patches of dead circles of grass at local parks, it want take long to get you kicked out or detecting banned...... Learn to leave it so they can never tell you were there.... Practice on your lawn, if I can do it anyone can...............

 

[Nickleanddime]

Man I've been having the same problem the last two trips. The school yard looks like Swiss chews from all the spots. We haven't had rain for about 3 weeks just heavy dew. But when I'm digging the ground is either like rock or clumpy dirt. I'm just going to stop Until. It rains which it did today, but I'm just going to start carrying a gallon of water and water my plugs. Hopefully that will take care of it.

I I cut flaps by the way and they still died off. But again the ground is really dry here lately.