The Bottom Line
Pros
- 12-inch wheels on these fertilizer spreaders make for easy maneuvering.
- Readily available Scotts fertilizers come with settings for Scotts fertilizer spreaders.
- 22-inch wide hopper on these fertilizer spreaders (18-inch for the AccuGreen 2000 model).
- Hopper is rust-proof.
- Handle on these fertilzer spreaders is cushioned.
Cons
- Hopper arrow (for guidance) should be painted a bright color.
- Trigger, lock lever and rate setting barrel are plastic and of dubious longevity.
Description
- As a drop spreader, AccuGreen's hopper width is important, meaning fewer passes for you.
- The arrows don't guide so well, as they blend in with the hopper (green). I painted mine yellow, to better define them.
- Scotts fertilizers are widely available and are sure to come with instructions for use with their fertilizer spreaders.
- A workaround to counteract broadcast spreaders' inaccuracy: lay tarps down in adjacent planting beds (to catch grass seed).
- To assure even coverage with drop spreaders, use guide strings to determine where each pass must be made.
- The orange "Lock" piece must be nested within the handle to engage the mechanism to discharge the fertilizer....
- If you're wondering why the fertilizer isn't coming out, remember also that you must keep the handle squeezed to discharge.
Guide Review - Fertilizer Spreaders
Fertilizer spreaders come in 2 types: broadcast spreaders and drop spreaders. Although called "fertilizer spreaders," both are used to disperse grass seed and other lawn care products, too.
With broadcast spreaders, the grass seed, e.g., falls through holes in the hopper onto a rotating disc, which flings it in all directions -- meaning fewer passes up and down the lawn, pushing a fertilizer spreader, for you! This fact makes broadcast fertilizer spreaders popular for large lawns. But there's a trade-off: ease of spreading comes at the cost of precision. With broadcast fertilizer spreaders, you may end up getting grass seed in your planting beds, where you don't want it.
I've used 2 types of broadcast fertilizer spreaders: Scotts SpeedyGreen and an old Red Devil. I prefer the Red Devil broadcast fertilizer spreader, because it's more durable (metal) and I find its mechanisms more straightforward: the same lever used for calibrating (determining how much stuff comes out) is also used for opening and closing the holes in the hopper.
Drop spreaders do just as their name suggests, dropping the product straight down, under the hopper. So you have to carefully walk each strip of your lawn, while pushing your drop fertilizer spreader. Your coverage is only as good as your attention to detail (i.e., your willingness to take advantage of drop fertilizer spreaders' potential for precision) -- and the width of your fertilizer spreader's hopper. I tested Scotts AccuGreen 3000, which has a 22-inch hopper.
For a drop fertilizer spreader, Scotts AccuGreen 3000 is an acceptable product. Its main drawback, as far as I can tell, may be in durability. I haven't owned this drop spreader long enough to make a judgment, but its trigger, lock lever and rate setting barrel are all plastic, and I question their longevity.
