planter tool

[GroundScrounger]

I recently bought a tulip bulb planter(picture available). It worked well for carving out a hole, and should be much better with a pin pointer, which I do not yet have. It works like a cookie cutter pulling out a 5" plug of soil, grass on top. You can also take a second tap if additional depth is needed. You pick apart the soil plug to get at the coin, and what is left intact fits right Back in the hole. Question-would there be a perfected tool of this sort available? I think it would work better with no taper or a very slight one. I might fabricate one myself from a soup can.

[creekrat]

i would suggest some thing a little more thicker than a soup can.and with a long handle to pop it up with.,,,,,,,,,,creekrat

You can get one ready made from the sponsors on here. It is called the plug popper. the one I see is $39.95 from Tools for Metal Detecting: Pro -Proven by Jimmy Sierra.
Most of the sponsors should have them.
I saw one in use and from what I observed it is hard to use in dry soil.
I think I would save up for the pinpointer first.
Of course this is just my humble opinion.

[rip]

You might want to remember that the proper way to cut a plug is to only cut 3 sides and fold your plug back.Cutting all sides can kill the grass ! I've found that the best tool is a good survival knive.With a knive you can work it around rocks and such.With the plug popper one small rock could be a problem.Although the plug popper would be fine in areas were killing the grass is not a problem,but even so it would only work well in non rocky soil

[Harry(PA)]

The towel is to place the dirt on to keep the area clean.
I used a plugger a few times. All it did was get hung up on rocks and roots, which caused reverting back to a knife and than ending up with a ragged sloppy filled in hole.

Harry (PA)

[cjoej]

My first reaction to your post was YIKES!

As Rip and Harry pointed out cutting a plug will kill the plug. Cutting a flap with one side still attached will help prevent your excavation from dying and getting us all a bad name.

The SLIT METHOD:
My preferred method is to cut a single slit beside the target. Then it can be spread open slightly and the necessary soil removed onto a drop cloth to recover the target. Then return the dirt from the cloth to the hole and press the sides together. Finish off by stepping on the excavated area and it can end up being invisible when done, and since only one cut was made ALL adjacent turf is attached and shouldn't show any signs of dying or excavation.

This is especially important in arid (dry) areas.

Happy Hunting and welcome to the hobby.

Joe

.....disagree with Joe and RIP on this one. The "plug pooper", and the earlier "hole hog" are awesome tools for recovery. From my experience, they are the "best" way to go on a nicely manicured and watered lawn.

The "3 sided slit" method works as well, but taking the entire plug out, and replacing it carefully after having retrieved the target, will NOT kill the grass, as the roots for the grass removed are still there, basically untouched. Plugging with a 'popper" type tool is very similar to the way lawns are aerated by professional lawns caretakers.

If the plug is returned to it's original hole, tanped down, and then you run your fingers through the grass to make it stand up again......you have done no harm.

I have to agree with Chuck...... I have a plug popper and it works great on lawns. I have had people watch me us it and when I have replace the plug, they say, wow, you can not tell you even cut a hole.... One of the places I am using the plug popper at is a ball field. I have been back many times and I have not seen any dead grass plugs as of yet. This is just my take on how it has worked for me. But I am a rookie......

Tom

[pris]

This is an interesting thread to me because I am so new to the whole digging thing. I have been doing the "C" cut method and sometimes it ends up to be a mess of a hole because I am not finding what I'm looking for. Also, coins like to embed themselves in the grass, so I have to totally shred the grass to find the coin. I've had about 5 totally shredded holes with little bits of grass everywhere. I think of all the pros on this forum and just know you would all be embarrassed for me.

Just as an aside, I also have very successful holes and you really can't tell that I dug anything at all. I find that I am able to do this when I get a really strong coin signal. Not sure why. I guess I'm just learning.

I have thought about getting the plug thing because I've seen them at Wal-Mart...I didn't because it's just another thing to carry.