Rotary & Drop Fertiliser Spreaders

If you are familiar with other lawn fertiliser and seed spreaders, have a good one and find it easy to use then stick with it. There is no point in ‘fixing wot ain’t broke’!

Rotary Lawn Spreader or Broadcast Spreader (Wheeled)

• Rotary or Broadcast fertiliser spreaders spin and ‘throw’ the feed in an arc
• Fast and reliable
• Should not be used with ‘weed and feed’ products as it is difficult to prevent some going onto plants with deadly results
• Difficult to use in tight areas and slopes
• Cheap versions can be difficult to set up accurately
• Cables can stretch meaning ‘off’ is not necessarily off!
• Ideal if your lawn is easily accessible and a simple shape
• A good spreader should have pneumatic tyres for smooth travel – definitely NOT plastic
• I occasionally use one but only for messy or dusty products
• Some spreaders can be towed behind ride-on or tractor mowers

Drop Fertiliser Spreader

• Drop spreaders literally drop fertiliser from holes in the underside
• Difficult in tight
•  
• Can ‘wobble’ over dips and humps making you miss patches
•  
• If the fertiliser isn’t dry or fine it can clog
• You need to be pretty sharp to ‘shut it off’ at the end of a run
•  areas or if the lawn contours
• It’s the only spreader to use with combined ‘weed and feed’ products
• They’re good for applying grass seed and possibly lawn sand
• You need to be super accurate otherwise you get different coloured stripes
• There is no such thing as a good cheap drop spreader