Nothing beats bare hands when you need to spread bulk materials like grass seed and fertilizer, but mechanical spreaders are the best and most efficient, says Paul James. Here, he takes us through some of the main types.

For small or medium sized gardens, two varieties of spreaders are available. The first has a cloth bag for the bulk material and is carried with the help of a shoulder gear. The second is a hand-held device that uses a plastic case for the material. With this, you can adjust the quantity of application. Both of these are hand-worked and give even coverage. Since these spreaders have been designed for granular material, they can even be used to disperse any mixture used to melt ice or snow during winter.

If you have a large lawn, though, it would be wise to choose wheeled spreaders as these use a drop or broadcast arrangement. Drop spreaders are named so because they literally drop your grass seeds or fertilizer direct on the ground from a long aperture at the bottom of the vat or hopper. These are especially useful on paved surfaces or flower bed edges, as they don't spill material where not required. Since most drop spreaders have small or medium sized vats, they require repeated restocking. Even then, they afford great coverage if you make sure to overlap each covered area by noticing the wheel impressions. It is also advisable to cover the span of your garden in a north-south fashion and then in an east-west fashion.

Broadcast spreaders cover a wider area, even up to ten feet at one go, and at a steady pace, the coverage is pretty much consistent. The hoppers are usually larger as compared to drop spreaders, so you will have to be careful whilst controlling where your material goes. Some of these come equipped with a movable deflector that allows more precision in coverage.
Adjust the spreading rate before you use your wheeled spreader. It will vary depending on the make and model, as also the material you're using. Fertilizer bags or bags of seed usually come with a chart printed on them, detailing the proper setting, usually between 0-32. Locate the corresponding number on your spreader's adjustment lever to set it as per the recommendation in the chart.

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