By: Jack Greenwood

Fertilizing is an important step towards a green and healthy lawn. Here are four simple ways to do it.

By Hand

If you have a very small lawn, this is the most cost saving method. However, it is actually quite difficult to apply dry fertilizer evenly with your hands. However, this method will still works if you have no other choice.

Make sure you wear gloves when applying the fertilizers. Walk backwards across the lawn as you throw the fertilizers onto the lawn in a sweeping fashion.

Use Handheld hose-end applicator

This method is suitable for liquid based or water-soluble fertilizer. You need to purchase water-soluble fertilizer or fertilizer that is already in liquid form. Follow the instructions on the package label before applying the fertilizer.

It is difficult to apply water-soluble fertilizer evenly by hand. Furthermore, this method is not time-efficient if you have a relatively large lawn. However, this method is quite cheap and still works fine if your lawn is small.

Use a drop spreader

A drop spreader is a wheeled tool with an open-air container that allows a steady stream of fertilizer to drop to the ground as it is rolled. It is familiar sight in many home as it is cheap and relatively easy to use. It can fertilize your lawn quite evenly. However, a drop spreader can be difficult to maneuver in tight spots or in an area with lots of shrubs and trees. It is also not very time-efficient if you have a very large lawn.

Use a broadcast spreader

A broadcast spreader can throw fertilizer over a wider area and are particularly useful in large lawn. This type of spreader comes in two version - handheld or wheeled. Naturally, handheld version is meant for smaller areas while the wheeled version is popular for large lawn.

Broadcast spreader can be a little tricky to use in the beginning, as you need to maintain a steady walking speed during the fertilizing process. This is to ensure an even distribution of the fertilizers. Some broadcast spreaders come with side deflectors, which allow you get close to side-walks, beds or driveways without spreading material on these adjacent concrete areas.

Before using broadcast spreader, you have to find out how wide a band the spreader covered. Usually the instruction manual of the spread will have this information. In case this information is not available, you can simply add some fertilizers into the spread and run it over a short stretch of the lawn to find out.

Regardless of which method you choose, you should have a plan for fertilizing your lawn so that you will not forget. In the case of spreader, you may need to spend some time familiarizing and practicing yourself with it. Putting in a little extra effort today will ensure your lawn stay green and healthy for a long time.