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Hey all,

I just got a Lesco 80# spreader. Not knowing too much about it, I called their customer service number and spoke with a representative. Lesco said “go 10’ from wheel track to wheel track”. Is that accurate? Why or why not?

I’m the type of person who needs to visualize what I’m doing before actually doing it, such as picturing or plotting how many passes in my yard. It can also be difficult for me to see or remember exactly where granules landed on the previous pass.

So for the most even coverage, how far should my next pass be from the previous track?

I'd test with some Milorganite and measure with a tape measure. If you aren't comfortable on grass, do a short run on the street and measure the dispersion with your tape. You could measure and lay down string (or yellow tape) on your yard as a guide until you get comfortable with the distances.

@edslawn, maybe you could clarify for me once I try that. Let’s say it spreads 8ft wide. To ensure proper coverage with a little bit of overlap, how far away should the next pass be, 6ft? This is what I’m really not understanding.

Also, I’ve read that if you have the hopper open just enough to fit prills, then go around the yard in every direction until you run out. Do you have to worry much about stripes since you aren’t having a lot of fertilizer come out at once?

TigersFan wrote: ↑

May 2nd, 2022, 10:21 am

@edslawn, maybe you could clarify for me once I try that. Let’s say it spreads 8ft wide. To ensure proper coverage with a little bit of overlap, how far away should the next pass be, 6ft? This is what I’m really not understanding.

Also, I’ve read that if you have the hopper open just enough to fit prills, then go around the yard in every direction until you run out. Do you have to worry much about stripes since you aren’t having a lot of fertilizer come out at once?

I'm sorry, I just saw this post... My experience is that you may be overthinking this and some overlap is fine, so I'd focus on 8 ft spread means 6.5-7.5" paths. It is never perfect and with modern broadcast spreaders, it really doesn't have to be. My understanding is that the old drop spreaders tended to demand a lot more precision. In the last 5 years of following this level of process (ATY) and applying a lot of meterial, I've never experienced any sort of striping.

Anyone else want to chime in?

Exactly. There's a distribution pattern where the edges just don't get that much on a broadcast spreader. In my case, I set the spreader low and walk a tighter pattern. As long as I hit the target pound per thousand rate, I know I'm correct in the distribution (with an organic, even that doesn't matter, of course).

I'm sorry, I just saw this post... My experience is that you may be overthinking this and some overlap is fine, so I'd focus on 8 ft spread means 6.5-7.5" paths. It is never perfect and with modern broadcast spreaders, it really doesn't have to be. My understanding is that the old drop spreaders tended to demand a lot more precision. In the last 5 years of following this level of process (ATY) and applying a lot of meterial, I've never experienced any sort of striping.

Anyone else want to chime in?

I’d like to chime in. I get striping all the time now. Never used to. Not sure why. I don’t walk as fast. Maybe that’s a problem for me?

gryd wrote: ↑

July 11th, 2022, 10:12 pm

I’d like to chime in. I get striping all the time now. Never used to. Not sure why. I don’t walk as fast. Maybe that’s a problem for me?

What's the spreader? Maybe it just needs to be cleaned to get an even drop from the shoot. Also, my spreader has an "edge guard" that allows you to run close to the beds but not throw fert into that area. It is a small lever on the bottom near the impeller not moves a shield to one side of the impeller. This would definitely create stripes. Is it possible that you accidentally turned this on?