City gave me permission to detect but...

Onaug said:

Mark your target in your mind or by sticking a screw driver in as reference. Cut around the mark in a open square or horseshoe shape leaving one side uncut. Slide your digger just under the roots and loose the under soil. Slide a gloved hand under and cradle your flap as you flip it over using the uncut side as a hinge. And you should know the rest on placing your dirt on a towel so you can easily side all dirt back in the hole when done.

Flip the flap back over and carefully tuck it back in. Be sure to tamp it back down good so roots hit soil again. Some people carry water in the dry season to dampen the roots to give them a good start. Helps to eliminate brown spots.

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Joves said:

I was going to suggest bringing a bottle of water along for the demonstration and water the plug as well.

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After getting a little more experience digging our East TN soil I don't think the slit method could possibly work. Our soil is laden with chert rocks once you dig in there is as much rock as their is dirt under the grass. So plugs do not come out nice & neat. The dirt crumbles apart. I broke my first digger in this stubborn soil and now have a Lesche. I would get a Japanese sod cutting knife, but since there is no sod here its pointless. Other places I dig are muddy creek bottoms and well that's kinda like digging through oatmeal. Needing to water the grass is not a problem; aside from the occasional odd year there is no dry season here. It pretty much rains weekly and like right now 3-4 times a week. I just wade through the muck and mud and look like Pigpen on my way home.

hillbillydigger said:

After getting a little more experience digging our East TN soil I don't think the slit method could possibly work. Our soil is laden with chert rocks once you dig in there is as much rock as their is dirt under the grass. So plugs do not come out nice & neat. The dirt crumbles apart. I broke my first digger in this stubborn soil and now have a Lesche. I would get a Japanese sod cutting knife, but since there is no sod here its pointless. Other places I dig are muddy creek bottoms and well that's kinda like digging through oatmeal. Needing to water the grass is not a problem; aside from the occasional odd year there is no dry season here. It pretty much rains weekly and like right now 3-4 times a week. I just wade through the muck and mud and look like Pigpen on my way home.

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I see your point. All you can do is refill the hole and swish the topsoil about.

Maybe I'm not understanding this correctly.. but, they said they 'prefered" that you didn't dig any holes, not that it is forbidden. So I don't why you need to talk with the park super. Just be carful with your holes do your best to make them invisable and fix anyone elses that don't look good. (I hate it when people watch you mark out a place but not dig, than they come in behind you and dig holes)

I'll surely get flamed after saying this, but even the worst dug holes in the worst soil conditions, will look transparent to the observer after a week or two, depending on the rainfall, AS LONG AS the digger puts ALL of the dirt back in the hole as best he can. Around here...the flaps just don't hold together, root systems are terrible. I have to say though that it's nearly impossible to find most of my holes days or a week later, some are vanished to the eye the same day. Very many take more time to recover though, but they always do, and it doesn't take that long. Regular rainfall is a drastic plus.

Non detectorists over panic IMPO. Some people just have too little to do with their time, so they cause trouble. martin