What You Need to Know About Rotary Spreaders

Rotary spreaders are a very efficient way to spread fertilizer on your field. Avoid mistakes like the one below by reviewing these rotary spreader basics.

While the spreader settings are also on the fertilizer bag, calibrating your spreader for accuracy is a good idea. Factors affecting spreader settings for calibration, which may not be on the bag, include walking speed, age and condition of the spreader, quality and consistency of the product, the operator, and similar conditions. For instance, a typical walking speed is 3 or 4 miles per hour, but everyone’s walking speed is different, so you need to account for that when calibrating. Also, older spreaders may have different settings due to continuing use and wear.

Before you start fertilizing

Measure the field, determine the amount of fertilizer needed, and calibrate your spreader. Always read the fertilizer label to reference the amount of fertilizer needed.

How to start

When beginning to spread fertilizer on your field, make a perimeter pass around it. Next, find a starting point and break the field down into sections. Outline one section with fertilizer and then spread the rest in a back-and-forth motion. The back-and-forth motion creates a pattern. Continue outlining and laying a pattern on the remaining field sections.

Filling a spreader with the product

Never fill a spreader with fertilizer on turf. Forgetting the spreader is open and on the turf will allow fertilizer to fall through and pile up on the ground. If you dump fertilizer in a pile, at that point, you are killing the turf. It burns it. Always fill the spreader with fertilizer off the turf.

Correct spacing

Applying uneven fertilizer applications on your field will cause “striping” (creating dark and light green stripes that alternate on your turf). Throw the fertilizer from tire to tire mark or, in other words, make sure your spreader wheel is landing on the edge of your previous pass’s pattern to achieve correct spacing.

Turning

Completely shut down the spreader when turning or stopping. Excessive fertilizer falling from the spreader could damage the turf.