When we harvest our lawn plugs for transplanting, we pull the donor plugs in a tight grouping (approx 3″ apart) which makes the holes easy to fill.
- Fill a wheel barrow up with some commercial soil or soil compost mix.
- Dump the soil over the holes.
- Then move the back side of the rake back and forth over the soil until the holes are filled.
- Mowing an area short before plugging will help the dirt go in easier.
The following method uses a home made sifter to help filter out debris from the soil you reuse:
Step 1: Pull plugs from the area you will be transplanting grass plugs to.
Step 2: Pour the soil plugs mixed with compost or potting mix onto a screen soil sifter set on top of a wheelbarrow. With gloved hands, make a rubbing motion, pushing the plugs and compost through the screen, leaving behind the rocks and debris. We built a screening frame using recycled 2×4’s and some hardware cloth from a local home improvement center. It’s just large enough to fit over the top of our wheelbarrow (below). Check out this link to make your own soil sifter: Soil Sifter, an easy garden tool to make
Step 3: Dispose of the rocks and debris from the screen. The screened soil is ready to use.
Filling single holes:
- If you have just a few holes to fill in, you can use a cup to pour the dirt in.
- You can also use the ProPlugger as a long funnel so you don’t have to bend over while doing it.
