Application Tips Mow your lawn before fertilizing. Close the spreader hopper before adding the product. Fill the hopper on a drive or walkway to avoid over-application, particularly important for herbicides and synthetic fertilizers which can burn your lawn.
Sweep up any product that falls on hard surfaces to avoid it washing into waterways. If you accidentally dump Milorganite on your lawn, gather what you can then use a stiff broom is spread what remains. Walk at a steady pace. The slower you walk the more product will be distributed, and less is distributed when you walk faster.
Drop spreaders: overlap wheel marks to ensure even coverage and avoid unfertilized stripes. First, apply a header strip—two overlapping passes—of fertilizer around the perimeter of your lawn for easier turns.
Start along the longest edge of your lawn. Close the spreader off when making turns to avoid uneven application. After a turn, start walking before opening the spreader.
Do this by reducing your spreader setting by half. Avoid spreading the product on windy days so the product stays where you want it. Clean your spreader after each use. Six or less easy steps to calibrating your spreader We have spreader settings for a number of popular spreaders on our website.
If, for example, the spreader is calibrated 1 to 20, set it at This is about one-fifth bag, or 8 lbs. Spreader designs are fairly simple, but it's important to match the tool to your lawn. Regardless of your project, some basic considerations apply. Before selecting a spreader, let the following help guide your choice:.
Spreaders run from small, hand-held tools to heavy-duty, lawn-tractor models. But they come down to two main types: broadcast, also known as rotary, and drop spreaders.
Home walk-behind spreaders usually have two wheels — and bigger wheels improve maneuverability. Both broadcast and drop spreaders have bucket-like hoppers with adjustable holes that control the volume of seed that goes through.
However, the two types differ in how they distribute seed and what lawn types suit them best. The size of the fan depends on hole size and your speed. Distribution thins as it gets farther from the spreader, so passes back and forth across the lawn must overlap to uniform seed across the full arc. Passes across the lawn should be 9 feet apart. Points to consider with broadcast spreaders include:. To get the best results, your spreader's hole size must be set so seed comes through at correct rate.
The settings may be numbers or letters; the higher the setting, the bigger the hole. Walk-behind spreader settings are based on a walking speed of around 3. When you purchase a Pennington grass seed product, the label includes seeding rates and recommended settings for popular spreader models. If your model isn't listed, see your owner's manual for comparisons.
Always start with your Pennington product's recommendations. You can even use the fertilizer spreader in the off-season to spread salt on icy walkways and paths. Two basic types of spreaders exist for dry applications——rotary spreaders, also known as broadcast spreaders and drop spreaders. There are also spreaders designed for liquid chemicals. A rotary spreader uses a rotating base plate to disperse seeds or granules that slowly pour from a hopper.
They are called broadcast spreaders because they throw the product several feet to the front and sides of the spreader itself. Rotary spreaders cover an area three times their width, or broader, on every pass. These are the fastest tools you can use to spread dry materials, but their spreading abilities are less accurate than those of drop spreaders. Rotary spreaders are available in several sizes, so you can buy one that works for a tiny garden, large estate lawn, and anything in the middle.
When precision is critical, choose a drop spreader. These devices drop a swath of product through a wide, narrow opening directly beneath the spreader. They provide calibrated coverage, but the precision boosts the chance you will miss or double cover an area.
If you have a precise area you want to cover, this tool is ideal. You can easily control where a drop spreader distributes the product because it only drops between its wheels. The downside is that you spend more time covering a lawn if you use a drop spreader instead of a rotary spreader. These devices automatically mix the correct proportion of concentrated chemicals with the flowing stream of water that travels through the spreader and out the nozzle.
Liquid spreaders are especially useful as secondary tools for emergency treatments such as bug infestation. They allow you to apply the coverage quickly, though less accurate than the other two types of spreaders.
Remember, too, that liquid lawn chemicals deliver fast results, but most liquids dissipate more quickly than granules, so regular use is costly. Before you choose a particular spreader, consider various features and your yard or area you want to use it on. How much land will the spreader cover? Do you want to push the spreader by hand, or do you want to pull it behind a lawn tractor or other vehicle?
Do you need one that is fully assembled? Consider the following highly-rated spreaders to make the proper choice for you. The most popular spreaders are broadcast because they offer a balance between speed and precision. Manufacturers make these spreaders in a wide range of sizes, from small, hand-held models to extra-large spreaders that you can pull behind vehicles. Drop spreaders are the best choice when you must navigate obstacles and narrow spaces. They work exceptionally well on small to medium, intensively landscaped yards.
Ideally, you can simply fill the spreader and deposit the treatment on the entire area. Holding capacity and lawn size go hand in hand. A handheld spreader is well-suited for small lawns up to 1, square feet. These devices are attached to a drawbar trailer or to 3-point hitch units.
Drill type spreaders can be mounted onto many types of planting equipment. The applicator is attached to a soil opener device that positions the fertilizer in the soil at a particular location next to the seed; providing nutrients, but avoiding seed damage at the vulnerable germination stage.
Next: Good Application Practices. Check out our new Fertilizer Conversion Calculator!
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