Plug question.

[cj74]

I was wondering what some of you do for you more deeper targets and digging the plugs. I noticed in my yard a few of the spots that were dug fairly deep, the spots are dead or turning yellow. I'm not concerned about my yard but if I would ever get permission from a private land owner, last thing I would want to do is tick them off my ruining their yard, especially if it's plain to see like near the house for example. Thanks.

 

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[Loco-Digger]

You need the discipline not to dig in private yards when the ground is dry. Maybe find wetter sites or go into the woods, fields, rivers, or beaches during the dry times.

 

[Tpmetal]

its the dry ground. When it is dry out you can still hunt but its a pain in the butt. You gotta carry a gallon jug of water around, and wet the plug and area before putting back in.

 

[Terry Soloman]

 

[cj74]

My God, that was freaking hilarious!! BUTT PLUG!!!

 

[Underwonder]

I learned something new today. I did not know about dry ground plugs after effect. Thank you!

 

[ZR2guy]

Dry ground = no plug.

 

[Swaveab]

I found out pretty early on about the plugs during dry spells. It's simple to tell the owner to throw a bit of water on the lawn because it looks like it's drying out. Problem solved.

I've run into circumstances on the phone when people don't hear you correctly. I solved that by spelling for them and yes, some couldn't understand that either so I did it phonetically. It's a pain to do, but these days people don't speak, they text so they are lacking in that area.

 

[namxat]

This worked for me:

i) Water afterwards, as said my many before my
ii) Cut down straigth, not at an angle
iii) The sharper the instrument, the better: You want a clean cut not to push the plants into the ground
iv) A plug should be cut only at three sides, then levered out to the side with the root network intact.
v) Be generous, it seems to me that a too small plug does not have enough root netwoork to survive.

Greets namxat

 

[No gold in NY]

I have read on the forum to carry a spray bottle of water to spray the hole and plug. I have a windex bottle in my Park Ranger pouch. It could make the difference between yellow or not. If nothing else, if challenged it could be another demonstration of your care and responsibility as a responsible detectorist..

 

[sprailroad]

You need the discipline not to dig in private yards when the ground is dry. Maybe find wetter sites or go into the woods, fields, rivers, or beaches during the dry times.

Loco is right, Discipline is the tough one.

 

[dts52]

You need the discipline not to dig in private yards when the ground is dry. Maybe find wetter sites or go into the woods, fields, rivers, or beaches during the dry times.

Great advice from Loco-Digger. Hot, dry weather with the sod already stressed almost guarantees a dead plug. If you're on someone else's lawn, wait for rain or for Fall. Experiment with the "T" technique which doesn't cut a traditional plug in your own yard. Whatever you find isn't worth losing a good permission. The landowner will be favorably impressed when you explain the reason you don't want to hunt until conditions are better. Maybe he won't care and tell you to go ahead. I had permission to hunt a cornfield from the owner. When I spoke to the guy who farms it, he told me he just planted corn so I said I'd wait a few months until the corn was cut in the late Fall. The farmer said to go ahead anyway but I declined his offer. I didn't want to risk losing that permission.

HH
dts

 

[coinman123]

I noticed that in my front yard too, I was even going to start a thread here about it. My plugs were beautiful, I couldn't even tell where I dug, until next week when I saw my whole front yard covered with round, plug sized yellow patches of grass. I noticed that after pouring water on my plugs one day while metal detecting in my yard, and even adding grass seed, the grass grew even thicker than before. I think it is probably best to not metal detect in the grass when it is dry and hot out.