The Grass Doctor

Quality Lawn Feed Spreader - with gears?

Can anyone recommend a good quality, durable lawn feed spreader with gears to regulate flow as the spreader is wheeled over the lawn? I have used two different spreaders so far, both of which have had drawbacks… I bought a light green coloured spreader from Wilkinsons (their own packaging) last year that had flow settings / gears. Flow stopped when the spreader stopped - good. This worked OK, but when I got it out in the Spring, the axle had gone rusty and seized… this must have been due to moisture in the air in my shed, as it hadn’t been wet as such. I then bought a Scotts Evergreen spreader, all plastic construction – good - but no gearing. The problem with this is that the fertilizer continues to drop out when the spreader is stationary (I didn’t realise this at first, and have scorched a couple of patches on my lawn), and excess fertilizer is also released if the spreader jerks for any reason. It’s therefore awkward / risky to use. I tried walking round in a spiral, to avoid stopping at edges, but being wary not to go over the same grass twice, I’ve ended up with yellowy streaks where I didn’t cover at all (I am using Scotts Evergreen Complete, which makes the grass greener). Ideally, I am hoping there may be a spreader available with gears that is of all plastic construction so it won’t rust. Any suggestions based on good experience would be useful. I must have gears.

Public Comments

1. I have a Scotts EverGreen drop spreader (as per the link below). It is different fro the one that they were offering free with feed last year (or the year before that which is inferior as per your experience) It is not geared, it has a cable tensioner that regulates the amount of feed that is allowed through. Feed only drops when the cable is pulled and the wheels turn, so you do not get a pile forming when you stop. Also their catalogue tells you what setting to use for a particular feed rate. The body is plastic, the metal part being the handle which has a butterfly grip that allows it to fold in half for easy storage. Has an 18inch spread. When applying it can look like there is nothing going down as the feed gets lost in the grass. Reassure yourself by running over concrete and you will see the feed. Also there are two arrows on the hopper indicating the drop zone, so when you go down and up, you need to make sure the arrow lines up with the wheel mark from the previous direction, otherwise you will get stripes.
2. Go to your local John Deere dealer and ask them to order you a Lesco Spreader with an elastic cover. This spreader,although a little pricey will last you for the next 10-15 yrs and has everything you want.