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How to use a broadcast spreader

Updated: 21.10.2026

A broadcast spreader throws more granules in the middle of the fan than at the edges, and it dumps a pile if you turn with the gate open. How to use a broadcast spreader, on a UK lawn, means hitting the bag’s grams per square metre with overlap, filling off the grass, and shutting the flow before you pivot. Model names below are examples from the [broadcast spreader comparison](/hub/garden-tools/broadcast-spreader), not a ranking. If you buy through our amazon.co.uk links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The method follows Rolawn, Westland, and the Health and Safety Executive where the bag is a pesticide.

A broadcast spreader throws more granules in the middle of the fan than at the edges, and it dumps a pile if you turn with the gate open.

Our top picks

Scotts Scotts EdgeGuard Mini

Best overall

Scotts Scotts EdgeGuard Mini
9.2/10about £167.14
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Gardena Gardena Spreader XL

Rank 2

Gardena Gardena Spreader XL
9.0/10about £105.49
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Einhell Einhell GE-US 18 Li bare

Best value

Einhell Einhell GE-US 18 Li bare
8.8/10about £37.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Set the rate before you touch the lawn
  2. 2.Walk the fan, not a stripe
  3. 3.Edges, paving and water
  4. 4.When the bag is a pesticide

Set the rate before you touch the lawn

Start from the packet, not from a dial number in a review. Rolawn describes a weighed test on a marked paved area. You lay out a known rectangle, run the spreader, sweep up what fell, weigh it, and divide by the area. If the grams are high, close the gate a step and test again. You do that before the lawn sees a granule. If you cannot get near the bag rate on paving, stop.

Walk the fan, not a stripe

Rolawn quotes the RHS method: half the packet rate, and a 2 metre throw with runs 1 metre apart. The Gardena XL states 1.5–6 metres depending on pace, and the Einhell states up to 5 metres. Halve the width you see on the paving test. Fill the hopper on paving, with the gate closed. If you turn with the gate open, you double the rate on the bend.
Scotts Scotts EdgeGuard Mini

Testsieger

Scotts Scotts EdgeGuard Mini
9.2/10about £167.14
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Edges, paving and water

At a flower bed, a path or a pond, shorten the throw before you get there. The Gardena cover plate is described as about 1.5–3 metres to one side. Scotts EdgeGuard blocks the right side of the pattern. The difference between this and a drop spreader is set out in broadcast spreader vs drop spreader. Brush granules off paving, as Westland says. Sustainable Use Regulations 2012, regulation 10, require you to keep a pesticide on the area you meant to treat. GOV.UK says you need Environment Agency agreement before herbicide within one metre of a bank top. Empty a cordless fan and wipe it. An Einhell review found water inside after a wash.

When the bag is a pesticide

The Health and Safety Executive classes many lawn weed killers as pesticides. The product must be authorised for home use, and the label binds you: dose, where it may go, and when people and pets may return. If the bag is silent, do not invent a same-day return. If you are treating a school, a shared pitch, or herbicide beside a river, get advice before you fill the hopper. On a narrow bed, use a shut gate or do not use a fan. Store the bag closed, away from the hopper.

Common questions

How do I stop yellow stripes?
Treat stripes as too much product in one band, which is what the Royal Horticultural Society describes for scorched patches. Set half the bag rate and overlap the light edges, using Rolawn’s example of a 2 metre throw and passes 1 metre apart, scaled to the width you measured. Shut the gate on turns so the bend is not a double dose.
How much should each pass overlap?
Overlap by about half the width of the fan you actually throw, because the middle is heavier than the edges. Rolawn’s RHS example is a 2 metre spread with the next pass 1 metre from the last centre, at half the packet rate. If your paving test shows a 4 metre fan, the next centre is about 2 metres away, still at half rate.
Where do I fill the hopper?
On paving, a path or a sheet, with the gate closed. A spill of fertiliser on the lawn scorches a patch you cannot walk away. Fill before you step onto the grass, and check the slide is shut while you pour. If you use a cordless fan, support it so the hopper mouth is not pointing at your feet when you open it later.
What if the bag has no setting for my model?
Ignore borrowed dial numbers and weigh a test. Mark a paved rectangle, run one pass at a steady pace, sweep up the granules and divide the weight by the area. Adjust the gate until you are near the bag’s grams per square metre, then halve the rate if you will overlap by half the width. Gardena diagrams and a missing LengSuaa guide do not replace that test.
Do I shut the flow when I turn?
Yes. Close the gate at the end of the pass, turn, and open it only once you are walking again. An open slide on a stationary turn dumps a pile, and a turn with the gate open doubles the overlap on the bend. Love The Garden’s order is start walking, then open. The same close-and-turn applies to a push trolley and to a handheld fan.
Can I hose a cordless spreader?
No. Empty the hopper and wipe the housing. An Einhell review says a wash let water inside the body. The Roadtime, LengSuaa and YEX-BUR are cordless fans as well, so the same limit applies. A push spreader with no motor is a different clean, and only if the maker’s notes allow water.
What if the product is a weed killer?
Follow the label. The Health and Safety Executive treats many lawn weed killers as pesticides: they must be authorised, the dose is the one printed, and too much can kill the grass. Keep the product on the lawn you meant to treat, brush it off paving, and do not rely on an edge guard as permission to spray a border.

Related pages

Broadcast spreader buying guide

Cordless fertiliser spreader

Broadcast spreader

Best broadcast spreader UK, and who should skip it

Broadcast spreader vs drop spreader for UK gardens

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures saved for this set on 19 October 2026.

  1. RHS spring and summer lawn care (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. RHS dead patches (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Rolawn, using a lawn spreader (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. HSE garden pesticides (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Sustainable Use Regulations 2012 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK owning a watercourse (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Gardena UK Spreader XL (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Einhell UK GE-US 18 Li-Solo (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  9. Grass Seed Online, grass seed spreaders (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  10. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 19 October 2026)