Yard Butler SP-33 Sod Plugger

Reviews of Yard Butler SP-33 Sod Plugger

1.) Great plugger for fixing lawn problems
Reviewed by: Nearly Native Texan Austin, TX
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I live in a neighborhood where most of the lawns are great. June bugs and grubs took mine out of that category. But this tool is great to let me take plugs of good St. Augustine grass and plug them where the turf is weaker. I've done plugs manually before, and this makes the whole process so much simpler.

2.) Cheapest way to start a new yard
Reviewed by: T. Connell Ga
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If you are trying to establish a new lawn this is the way to go. I used it to transplaant some grass into my new yard and it worked without a flaw. Easy to use and very well made.

3.) Sod Plugger
Reviewed by: Rowena Hardrict
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The plugger was easy to use. I received the product in a timely manner. The seller responded to my email promptly.

4.) Sod Plugger
Reviewed by: S. Vierling
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For a simple device, it works much better than I expected. I've wanted one of these for 25 years.

5.) Sod plugger review
Reviewed by: J. W. Stevens Spotsylvania, Va.
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So far I have been pleased with the performance of my plugger. I have used it on a couple of different occasions and it has worked great. Easy to use and very efficient.

6.) Sod Plugger works great
Reviewed by: Coldbrew New York
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I bought this sod plugger to plug bare spots in my St Augustine lawn. The plugger is very well constructed and works very well. It cuts through the densest sod (though you have to stomp on it pretty hard sometimes) and makes uniform shaped square plugs 3" x 3". Anyone wanting to repair their lawn with plugs should consider this tool.

7.) It Does the Job!
Reviewed by: Meg Porterville, CA
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It's such a simple devise, but it does exactly what it's advertised to do. We plugged some bare spots in our yard and the process was easy and quick and professional looking.

8.) This tool just works!
Reviewed by: Eric J. Miller Alexandria, LA USA
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As soon as I got this tool I knew that I was going to have to sharpen it for it to cut plugs out of my St. Augustine grass. Perhaps my only small nit is that it doesn't come sharpened already, or else the coating that is on it is too thick and dulls the edges. Anyway, a few minutes with the file and it very quickly cuts through even thick grass to cut out perfect plugs. This is a great tool and will save me much effort with less effective sod transplanting methods.

9.) Okay, but there's better out there.
Reviewed by: C. Weir nc
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We used this plugger to plug our front lawn with Zenith Zoysia about 3 years ago. It does work (and our lawn looks awesome now) but it is a bear to use. We've got serious red clay in this area so it took some real muscle to punch the plugs and then we frequently had to beat the plugs out with a hammer. Now we're getting ready to plug our back yard and have found a great new plugger. Instead of a square hole, this one is round so that it sinks into the ground easily and then the plugs don't get stuck - in fact they stack up inside the shaft so that you just dump them out after you get about 12 (so it goes a lot faster). Plus, the site we bought our plugger on also sells little compressed disks of organic peat stuff that swell to fill the holes where you're pulling the plugs from - way easier than filling each hole with loose soil and better for the lawn than filling the holes with clay plugs. It's easy to find - just google "lawn plugger" and look for the Pro-plugger. Happy plugging! :) Model 200 Lawn, Yard, Grass, Sod Plugger

10.) Doesn't cut deep enough
Reviewed by: jason_j_a Orlando, FL United States
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I have a really thick St. Augustine (Floratam) lawn that was grown entirely from plugs. I've had mixed results with this tool, but more times than not the plug I cut doesn't come out of the ground. The problem seems to be that it doesn't cut a deep enough hole to sever the roots so when I cut (stepping on the bar) and then pull up, the plug often stays put. I try wiggling and cutting more and at various angles but in the end I often have to reach under and yank the plug out by hand. On a few occasions where I took the plug from a less thick part of my yard it worked as expected; however I prefer to take my plugs from the thickest and healthiest part of my yard.

I suspect this would work well on other varieties of grass better than Floratam. The tool is well made and seems sturdy enough to last a long time. I just wish the cutting blades were longer to make deeper cuts in thick grass.

11.) bought to patch, not plug.
Reviewed by: jhb NE
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I bought this tool to patch areas of my lawn, not for plugs. As such, I wanted plugs that fit together, so the round models were not on my list. I try to use organic lawn care techniques and I wanted to patch areas where crabgrass was a problem or where the dog had killed the grass. I was looking at the Hexagon Turf Repair Tool but it is extremely expensive. I decided to spend a fraction of that amount on this instead, and after using this plugger, I am glad a did.

My soil is firm and tends to have small rocks in it. I live in NE and have tall fescues and Kentucky blue grasses in my lawn. Getting this 3"x3" tool into the ground can be a real chore. I plan to sharpen it as another reviewer suggested, and I think it would benefit from a foot support higher up to get leverage for setting the plugger. I am thinking even a slide hammer on the handle would be a big plus and a nice option. Even areas where my soil is not so compact requires some effort to set the tool.

Once I get the plug out of the ground, I have hard time clearing it from the tool because the plunger in the handle is not long enough to push the plug clear of the cutter. If the plate could push the plug clear (another 1/4" to 1/2" or so) then it would be that much easier to use. This cost it 1 star.

That said, I believe these problems are more related to my lawn and soil then the tool, and would recommend it. However, if I were not looking to piece together patches with multiple plugs, I would opt for a tool with a smaller, rounded cutter like Model 325 Plugger - Dandelion, Wild Onion, Deep Tap-root Tool. This tool would be easier to set in the ground. I may even go for both!

12.) OK, but needs design change
Reviewed by: T1400 Toledo, OH
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I really wanted this product to work. My lawn is set in mostly clay soil in Ohio. Lawn has been established for 9 years, but due to summer months with less rain the bad grasses take over. My father had plugged his lawn in Kentucky with zoysia - a heat tolerant grass that spreads nicely in the 60's. This worked nice but turns brown too early and greens up late.

The Yard Butler Sod Plugger is designed to make a nice size square plug. These plugs would be great for removing the undesirable grasses and planting new grass or sod in their place. The only problem is after a rain in late April and the ground was moderately moist, this tool could not cut thru the lawn and produce a plug. This might work well for sandy or black soil types but not for clay based soils. I imagine in the 2 to 3 week period right after winter the soil would be moist and soft enough use to use this tool.

The tool is relatively sturdy, but could use a design change to work in certain soils. If a step on bar was raised higher - so as to allow more force it might work. I had limited success with a tulip bulb planter, but the edges were not sharp enough to properly penetrate the soil.

13.) disappointed in this tool
Reviewed by: grandma
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Very hard to cut a plug even in damp ground,even harder to eject the plug. I decided a sharp shooter shovel is better for me.

14.) Junk
Reviewed by: Darrell Saint Pete, Florida
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Waste of money for saint augustine grass. Won't cut the grass.

Features of Yard Butler SP-33 Sod Plugger

Sod Plugger/Planter, Transplants St Augustine, Zoysia, Bermuda, Dichondra, & Bent Grasses, Comfortable Hand Grips & Beveled Edges Cut A 3" Square Plug Simply By Stepping On The Pedal.

1.) Great for planting plugs of Zoysia, Bermuda, Centipede, St. Augustine and other turf grasses;
2.) Easy ejector handle eliminates bending over;
3.) Digs holes and transplants from existing grass areas -- easily extracts a soil core that is the same size as the plug;
4.) Plugs fit tightly into prepared holes, ensuring better growth and survival;
5.) Digs holes and transplants new grass plugs same size as most commercially available plugs;

Package Height x Length x Width: 33 in. x 33 in. x 9.2 in.
Package Weight: 4 lbs.