Building a Test Garden --

[FocusSpeed]

For those who have created test gardens, what would you do differently if you were to make a new one? Additionally, what is the best way to keep an item at a specific depth for many years while ensuring it remains surrounded by soil to achieve the halo effect?

I want to create a test garden where I can test multiple detectors and programs for research purposes. The key is to have the items suspended at a specific level and not move over time.

 

[maxxkatt]

I made an adjustable test garden.

go to home depot or lowes and buy a 2" x 6' PVC pipe and one end cap.
Cut off a 12" or 18" section of pvc and glue on the end cap.
Dig a 12" or 18" hole in an area that you have cleared of all metal.

You want to test a silver dime at 10 inches deep? Pour in the PVC pipe 2" of dirt, drop in the dime and pour the remaining dirt into the pipe.

You can also test any coin with iron 2-3" above or below the target coin.

Of course this won't let your coins develope ion halos. That takes a long time anyway so I don't worry about that.

When your hole is not is use, cover up with a flat rock so dirt does not wash in your hole.

If your soil is dry and hard to dig like in clay, buy a cheap $8 2" auger for your battery powered drill. I hit clay about 6" down and had to go buy the cheap auger to finish the hole to 12" deep.

I made a normal test garden 10 years ago and buried my coins 6" deep. Now with my XP Deus 2 I have to have deeper buried coins so I came up with my adjustable PVC pipe test garden.

 

[FocusSpeed]

I made an adjustable test garden.

go to home depot or lowes and buy a 2" x 6' PVC pipe and one end cap.
Cut off a 12" or 18" section of pvc and glue on the end cap.
Dig a 12" or 18" hole in an area that you have cleared of all metal.

You want to test a silver dime at 10 inches deep? Pour in the PVC pipe 2" of dirt, drop in the dime and pour the remaining dirt into the pipe.

You can also test any coin with iron 2-3" above or below the target coin.

Of course this won't let your coins develope ion halos. That takes a long time anyway so I don't worry about that.

When your hole is not is use, cover up with a flat rock so dirt does not wash in your hole.

If your soil is dry and hard to dig like in clay, buy a cheap $8 2" auger for your battery powered drill. I hit clay about 6" down and had to go buy the cheap auger to finish the hole to 12" deep.

I made a normal test garden 10 years ago and buried my coins 6" deep. Now with my XP Deus 2 I have to have deeper buried coins so I came up with my adjustable PVC pipe test garden.

Yes, I have thought of the PVC Pipe method; it was the method I was going to use, but I wanted to hear from others before I went down that route if it would be the best method.

 

[MasonDixonMding]

I made my test garden when my detector was in for repairs so I didn’t realize I put it in a bed of nails. Which works good for me because thats where I do most of my hunting anyway. I made the test area in a triangular layout. I put a lot of stuff in the ground so the triangle makes it easy to know where things are. I also put clad quarters in 12” apart in a row starting at 4” deep than 6”,8”,10”and 12”
Did the same with dimes. I use this a lot. I’ll change some settings and see what changes on the different deep targets. As for changing depth. My soil in my yard is pretty hard it gets driven over with a car some. I don’t think things are going to move much in a couple of years. I am a sign maker by trade so I made some small plastic id pieces and put on each target. I also drew a layout and marked how deep I put everything.
And when I say everything I mean it. I put everything from bottle caps, pull tabs, alum reflector, lead sinker, clad, silver and gold. You name it it’s in there.

 

[FocusSpeed]

I made my test garden when my detector was in for repairs so I didn’t realize I put it in a bed of nails. Which works good for me because thats where I do most of my hunting anyway. I made the test area in a triangular layout. I put a lot of stuff in the ground so the triangle makes it easy to know where things are. I also put clad quarters in 12” apart in a row starting at 4” deep than 6”,8”,10”and 12”
Did the same with dimes. I use this a lot. I’ll change some settings and see what changes on the different deep targets. As for changing depth. My soil in my yard is pretty hard it gets driven over with a car some. I don’t think things are going to move much in a couple of years. I am a sign maker by trade so I made some small plastic id pieces and put on each target. I also drew a layout and marked how deep I put everything.
And when I say everything I mean it. I put everything from bottle caps, pull tabs, alum reflector, lead sinker, clad, silver and gold. You name it it’s in there.

I was going to make a couple of test gardens in the yard, and one will be iron "rusty nails" masking quality targets.

 

[maxxkatt]

Yes, I have thought of the PVC Pipe method; it was the method I was going to use, but I wanted to hear from others before I went down that route if it would be the best method.

I have learned to keep my dirt to fill my PVC tube in a 5 gal bucket in my shed. Left it out in the rain once, not a really good idea.
The main use for me is to put a silver dime down about 10" and see which factory settings work the best and which audio settings work best for my ears. I have not tried testing masking by putting a rusty iron nail above the buried silver dime. My soil is pretty mild.

 

[Silver Saver]

I ended up making mine in one of the most EMI prone spots in my yard. Didn't realize it at the time, wish I would've avoided that.

Other than coins at depths, I also added coins with rusty square nails or aluminum, with varying planes and separation. Plus a steel bottle cap and single square nail by themselves to test false signals.

If I were going to add anything else, it would be a couple coins on edge.

 

[GroundSweeper]

I kinda envy y'all test garden folk. I don't have the patience for that I don't think. I rarely have time to get out and swing the machine so when I have time I'd rather be out there doing that. I totally get the purpose and applaud those who do it though. I have only had 3 detectors so far, have always wanted to try many others, just short of time and funds to allocate. Interesting topic for sure.

 

[diggin4clad]

Anywhere I detect is a test garden. You learn as you go along and after 42 years of detecting, I'd rather be out in the field than fooling around in the yard.

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

I was going to make a couple of test gardens in the yard, and one will be iron "rusty nails" masking quality targets.

Great idea and post here!

 

[FocusSpeed]

Anywhere I detect is a test garden. You learn as you go along and after 42 years of detecting, I'd rather be out in the field than fooling around in the yard.

I get it and think that way generally, but I write articles about detecting and detectors and want to compare detectors and pinpointers with a controlled environment so I can understand the best detectors for various situations, the best pinpointers on the market, and also to play with programs and tweak machines.

 

[$MELTER-1]

I made an adjustable test garden.

go to home depot or lowes and buy a 2" x 6' PVC pipe and one end cap.
Cut off a 12" or 18" section of pvc and glue on the end cap.
Dig a 12" or 18" hole in an area that you have cleared of all metal.

You want to test a silver dime at 10 inches deep? Pour in the PVC pipe 2" of dirt, drop in the dime and pour the remaining dirt into the pipe.

You can also test any coin with iron 2-3" above or below the target coin.

Of course this won't let your coins develope ion halos. That takes a long time anyway so I don't worry about that.

When your hole is not is use, cover up with a flat rock so dirt does not wash in your hole.

If your soil is dry and hard to dig like in clay, buy a cheap $8 2" auger for your battery powered drill. I hit clay about 6" down and had to go buy the cheap auger to finish the hole to 12" deep.

I made a normal test garden 10 years ago and buried my coins 6" deep. Now with my XP Deus 2 I have to have deeper buried coins so I came up with my adjustable PVC pipe test garden.

I like that imm gunna make one out of 3" so I can get a hand down in it to push coins in on a 45 degree angle and straight up on edge.excellent idea indeed maxxkatt.

 

[$MELTER-1]

I

I made an adjustable test garden.

go to home depot or lowes and buy a 2" x 6' PVC pipe and one end cap.
Cut off a 12" or 18" section of pvc and glue on the end cap.
Dig a 12" or 18" hole in an area that you have cleared of all metal.

You want to test a silver dime at 10 inches deep? Pour in the PVC pipe 2" of dirt, drop in the dime and pour the remaining dirt into the pipe.

You can also test any coin with iron 2-3" above or below the target coin.

Of course this won't let your coins develope ion halos. That takes a long time anyway so I don't worry about that.

When your hole is not is use, cover up with a flat rock so dirt does not wash in your hole.

If your soil is dry and hard to dig like in clay, buy a cheap $8 2" auger for your battery powered drill. I hit clay about 6" down and had to go buy the cheap auger to finish the hole to 12" deep.

I made a normal test garden 10 years ago and buried my coins 6" deep. Now with my XP Deus 2 I have to have deeper buried coins so I came up with my adjustable PVC pipe test garden.

I made one like talking bout 10" with one end capped off then measured on the outside goin down in three different areas 1" to 10" marks with a sharpie on one set inches I put a horizontal slit at each interval big enough to put a quarter into,at the next set I put the slots at a 45 degree then the last I put the slots straight vertical.then I took a quarter,dime,nickel,penny and taped each to a plastic knife,this way you just insert the coin any depth and angle you want without having to take out the dirt and put it back in just lift it out the hole stick your coin where you want drop it back in the hole yea cut the knife to reach center n leave a stub to grab.

 

[$MELTER-1]

I

I made one like talking bout 10" with one end capped off then measured on the outside goin down in three different areas 1" to 10" marks with a sharpie on one set inches I put a horizontal slit at each interval big enough to put a quarter into,at the next set I put the slots at a 45 degree then the last I put the slots straight vertical.then I took a quarter,dime,nickel,penny and taped each to a plastic knife,this way you just insert the coin any depth and angle you want without having to take out the dirt and put it back in just lift it out the hole stick your coin where you want drop it back in the hole yea cut the knife to reach center n leave a stub to grab.

I've learned more about what those signals can mean in a short time using this than digging a hella lot of trash then one coin.i believe every coin shooter should make and use one to study what their machines do on just coins IMHO that way if it ain't a tone you recognize from your test results swing on.

 

[Sorthious]

I've learned more about what those signals can mean in a short time using this than digging a hella lot of trash then one coin.i believe every coin shooter should make and use one to study what their machines do on just coins IMHO that way if it ain't a tone you recognize from your test results swing on.

The problem with doing that comes when you have coins sitting adjacent to iron; nails, bolts, chunks,etc. You may get an iffy signal when a coin is surround by trash like that. At that point, it's up to you to decide if you want to dig it or not. Complex metals can give a ferrous and non-ferrous tone; especially the larger iron items. If you have Iron Bias on your machine, you can set the sensitivity to weed out ferrous/complex irons, though you may miss good targets. At least, this is how I understood it. I'm still practicing/learning. I've not done a test garden yet. I think I remember better through practice. When I find a target, no matter what it is, I investigate it and try to make a best guess as to what it is. Then, I dig the target to confirm. I still may do a test garden, but learning in the field helps me remember how things sound and the VDI numbers associated with them.

 

[maxxkatt]

I

I made one like talking bout 10" with one end capped off then measured on the outside goin down in three different areas 1" to 10" marks with a sharpie on one set inches I put a horizontal slit at each interval big enough to put a quarter into,at the next set I put the slots at a 45 degree then the last I put the slots straight vertical.then I took a quarter,dime,nickel,penny and taped each to a plastic knife,this way you just insert the coin any depth and angle you want without having to take out the dirt and put it back in just lift it out the hole stick your coin where you want drop it back in the hole yea cut the knife to reach center n leave a stub to grab.

That is a good idea. Never considered doing it that way.

 

[hoser]

Anywhere I detect is a test garden. You learn as you go along and after 42 years of detecting, I'd rather be out in the field than fooling around in the yard.

I'm the same way to a point. With all the different settings on the machines of today I like being able to try different settings in order to get the most out of my detector. My garden has quite a few targets all set at 8". If I can tune it in to register on those targets I figure it will be a lot easier in the field. However, in regards to your post, I usually only do it on initial setup of a new detector or new coil.

 

[CharlieT84]

Love my test garden. It has most of the targets already mentioned at various depths. It is an eye opener as it shows me what the different settings on my Equinox will do. If you are just reading about what a setting will do then you are just guessing what it will do on your detector. With known metals/targets in the test ground you will know first hand what to expect with a change in recovery speed ; frequency or sensitivity etc. I have used mine weekly for the past 6 years.
I also use it to see what my 6" 11" and 15" coils can do. It is great to see this first hand.
Another positive-- I fool with the settings so much it is advantageous to check the garden five minutes before I head out hunting to be sure I am at a base setting to start at once I get to my site. Then I can tweak as needed once there.
Once I notched out several numbers as I didn't want to dig or even hear pull tabs at one specific spot. At my next hunt I did not realize I still had those notched until about an hour into the hunt. I had possibly been missing some nickels or gold. If I had just went to the test garden before leaving I would have caught it then.
That garden is very very valuable. I know about the halo effect and co-mingled targets, but this is a great tool for what I use it for.

 

[$MELTER-1]

That is a good idea. Never considered doing it that way.

I had no idea that a coin sitting on a 45 degree angle would actually reflect or push the location that it pinpoints a few inches in the direction it's facing instead of pinpointing dead center over it like when it lays horizontal.or a coin on edge vertical gives a double beep one way n a single the opposite.discovered this the first time I experimented with it.

 

[maxxkatt]

I had no idea that a coin sitting on a 45 degree angle would actually reflect or push the location that it pinpoints a few inches in the direction it's facing instead of pinpointing dead center over it like when it lays horizontal.or a coin on edge vertical gives a double beep one way n a single the opposite.discovered this the first time I experimented with it.