how old does a test garden need to be to be an effective test?

[Goes4ever]

ok I just made a test garden and wanted to know how long till is gives an effective test?

first I put my detector in all metal mode and cleared every signal in my area, then went over it again with higher sensitivity, amazing how much junk you can pull up in all metal, tiny junk too....lol

then I dug holes and measured the depth, put in coins, reburied them and marked them. Anything I missed or should do?

 

[treasurefiend]

Great question, I was going to put one in my parents yard when ever I remember to bring the coins over.

 

[Goes4ever]

anybody??

I know this, I buried a wheat, a silver dime, and a clad quarter all in separate holes, all 7" deep and my ace can't pick up any of them.........????

 

[NM5K]

Well, what you are seeing seems normal according to the other reports
from other coin gardeners. Some claim it is due to a lack of any leaching
from the coins to the soil..
Now myself, it really doesn't make sense to me..
If you had a coin that is old and has leached some into the soil, sure it
may hit harder than normal.
If you had a fresh coin in the ground, it might not hit quite as hard as the
old one, but seems to me, it should still show up. Metal is metal.
I don't see how disturbing the earth should have any great effect.
So dunno.. It's kind of peculiar to me..
But you are not the first to fresh bury coins and have trouble hitting them.

 

[Southwind]

I have noticed a change in my garden in just 2 years. My coins are stronger than they were when I first buried them. Not by much, but I can tell a difference.

 

[gware12]

Yea I have trouble with the halo effect as well. Is the metal detector picking up the atoms that has shed off the coin as it moves in the soil by freezing and thawing of the earth . I dont know it is hard to understand.

 

[Paul(NWO)]

n/t

 

[Goes4ever]

no Paul I have not, but I might try that

 

[Uncle Willy]

The acids in the soil eat on the coin and minute particles of metal are leached off into the soil forming a metallic halo around the coin

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Due to an effect known as Metallurgical Phenomenon freshly buried coins are often difficult to impossible to detect. It takes about a year for coins in a test garden to blossom out with full halos. This depends on soil acidity, mineralization, amount of moisture, etc. When you dig up the soil and disrupt the matrix this also has an effect on how the signal enters the ground.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

It will get better with each passing year.

Bill

 

[Goes4ever]

thanks for the info..........I guess now I wait

 

[Old Katz]

It would be interesting to see if a higher end detector will pick up those coins!
Goes$ever, when you get your MXT try that one and see if you can pick up those coins.-)
Katz

 

[pedrod]

I am so glad you posted this question. about 4 months ago I buried several things in the easment behind my house. I could not find any of the signals and because it was not my property I pulled it all up. I will go ahead and do this again but on my property so I can leave it in the ground for more time.

thanks for the infor

 

[Goes4ever]

It would be interesting to see if a higher end detector will pick up those coins!
Goes$ever, when you get your MXT try that one and see if you can pick up those coins.-)
Katz

That is my plan!

 

[Square Nail]

Goes4ever, I planted two test targets in my field early on in the spring. I have a nickel at 5", and a dime at 7". With the spring Oregon rain, and some help from running the garden hose out to the area, I was able to start getting responses fairly quickly. I have noticed that the targets ring up better when there is moisture in the soil. As mentioned earlier, if you have not yet watered that area, give that a try. Soak it with the sprinkler, then let the water soak down into the dirt. With the bone dry and hard soil conditions that I have now, there is a noticeable difference (lack) in target reception. These targets gave good response when the soil was moist, and now they are much more difficult for my detectors to hit on. This may provide good information on detector performance in dry soil situations.
I am thinking that I will re-do my test targets once we start getting some rain, as the ground is really dry and hard right now. Ideally, I thought a 2" nail @ 3" situated horizontally, a old style pull tab ring @ 3", a nickel at 5 and 7 inches, dimes at 5 and 7 inches, and maybe a black sand pocket with a split shot at 2 or 3inches would be a good selection. A target scenario that imposes masking, such as a nail in proximity to a nickel or dime could be used to check the detectors target separation or target recovery abilities, if their not too close to each other.

Good luck with your testing,
Square Nail