Fertilizers come in different forms, which is why having different methods of applying these nutrient-givers is also quite natural.
Lawn owners can apply liquid fertilizers with a handheld hose-end sprayer. Dry fertilizers, on the other hand can be applied using the following 2 methods:
- Drop Fertilizer Spreader
- Broadcast Fertilizer Spreader
Both of which can be purchased at a home improvement store in the lawn and garden section.
Filling Fertilizer Spreaders
Sprayers and spreaders should always be filled over a sidewalk or driveway.
This way, should you spill concentrated fertilizer on the lawn, you can just hose it away, scrape or vacuum it up.
Then, you have to flood the area with water so you can avoid fertilizer burn.
Dealing with Hose-End Sprayers:
As a lawn owner, you should know that this fertilizer sprayer has a plastic or glass body suspended beneath a nozzle that attaches to a hose.
Water that flows through the sprayer mixes with the concentrated liquid and sends it up through the nozzle.
In using a hose-end sprayer, you just have to measure the fertilizer into the sprayer container and fill it with water to its appropriate level.
Spray all of the fertilizer into your lawn to provide equal coverage to all sections.
The water and the fertilizer both mix together at a fixed rate.
All you have to do is read the directions for both the sprayer and the fertilizer to determine how much fertilizer you should measure into one container.
Using Drop Spreaders:
Drop spreaders simply drop fertilizer from a bin (walk behind fertilizer spreader).
Applying fertilizer through this type of spreader is more precise than a broadcast spreader, but because they can only apply fertilizer to a narrow area, the tendency is that whoever’s applying the fertilizer has to make more passes.
Drop spreaders are most efficient when used on small to medium-sized lawns.
In using these, remember to overlap your passes enough to ensure that no strips are left underfed. However, you should also be careful to not double up on any sections. Missing sections tend to leave streaks in your lawn; while double doses can lead to fertilizer burn.
Broadcast Spreaders:
The last type of fertilizer spreaders that we’ll be talking about is the broadcast spreader—which can either be a handheld or push spreader.
These are the easiest applicators to use for dry fertilizers because they just throw the fertilizer granules or pellets over a wide area through a whirling wheel.
The handheld model operates through a side-arm crank, and is best used when you have a small lawn. It’s a bit awkward to use, and it’s less accurate, but it’s the easiest option you have.
