Home > Lawn & Garden > Home Gardening > Equipment > Spreaders > Spreader Setting Recommendations [Image: spreader test stand] When you buy a bag of fertilizer or granular pesticide to spread on your lawn, it will usually have a label on the back of the bag with settings for several common fertilizer spreaders. Do you know where those settings come from, how they were developed or how reliable they are? Rotary Spreaders With Pattern Cut-Off [Image: left port closed] Rotary spreaders offer the advantages of wide, fast coverage and forgiving patterns, but they are not well suited to working along turf edges. Some spreaders offer a pattern cut-off mechanism to address this problem. Distribution Patterns from Rotary Spreaders [Image: spreader pattern] Some rotary spreaders can deliver a reasonably uniform distribution pattern with some products, but not with others, and some homeowner rotary spreaders don’t deliver a good pattern with any product. Avoid Right-angle Patterns with Rotary Spreaders [Image: Normal Spreader Operating Mode] Some spreader experts and some spreader and granular material operating instructions advise you to go over your lawn twice when spreading fertilizer or granular products, with the two trips over the lawn made at right angles to each other. Don’t do it!  more articles... Calibrating Your Lawn Spreader [Image: calibration of homeowner rotary spreader] To obtain the best results from your granular fertilizers and pesticides, you have to apply them at the correct rate. One easy step you can take to help assure that your spreader delivers the correct rate of material is to calibrate your spreader. Applying Controlled-release Fertilizer [Image: controlled-release fertilizer] Most turf fertilizers contain controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer. There are two types of controlled-release fertilizer and one type can be damaged by your spreader. For More Information on Lawn Spreaders The more you learn about lawn spreaders, the more you realize how complicated they really are. The LSU AgCenter has published a bulletin that summarizes 24 years of research on spreaders. Hand-cranked Spreaders [Image: hand-carried, hand-cranked spreader] In some situations, a hand-cranked spreader is more practical than a wheeled model. When spreading granules in nurseries, beds of flowers and ornamentals, and other restricted areas, a wheeled spreader can be difficult or impossible to use. Hand- or strap-carried, hand-cranked spreaders are a viable option in such cases. A Simple Hand Spreader for Gardens [Image: hand garden spreader] A simple hand spreader is often the best tool for applying granular fertilizer or pesticides. Rate Variation in “Identical” Spreaders [Image: Four Scott "Standard" spreaders] The spreader settings typically found on bags of fertilizer and granular pesticides are usually based on tests performed on one sample of each spreader model listed. This procedure assumes that all spreaders of that model are identical and will thus require the same spreader settings. Unfortunately, that is not often the case – at least with homeowner spreaders. Selecting a Walk-behind Professional Rotary Spreader [Image: pattern slide] Most professional applicators use rotary spreaders. Rotary spreaders are not only faster than drop spreaders, but are more forgiving of small errors in swath width. Pendulum-action Spreaders [Image: pendulum spreader] Rotary broadcast spreaders offer many advantages for turf professionals. There are also some disadvantages including pattern skewing and the need to develop pattern settings for each product to center the pattern. Pendulum-action spreaders overcome those problems. Fertilizer Spreaders - Metal or Plastic [Image: drop spreader with steel hopper] Some high-quality plastic spreaders have precision equivalent to the better homeowner metal spreaders. There is a tremendous difference in performance among brands and models. Sensitivity of Spreaders to Operating Speed People tend to walk at different speeds. When you are pushing a spreader, this difference in walking speed can cause problems. Click for more information...