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Fertilizer and lime/sulfur applications are a good way to generate extra revenue and offer your customers full lawn care service.

There are essentially two types of spreaders: the drop spreader and the broadcast spreader (also known as a rotary spreader). The drop spreader offers maximum control of material distribution, but it takes much longer to spread. Unless you are looking after golf courses or higher-end lawns, the drop spreader is more than you need.

Broadcast spreaders come in a variety of sizes and qualities, and you will find that you get what you pay for. In the $100 range you will find good-quality spreaders, but don’t expect more than a year or two of service out of them. In the $300 range you get a product that will last a number of years. You can also buy broadcast spreaders that will attach to your rider mower.

Look for these signs of quality in the push models:

Pneumatic tires (as opposed to plastic): The bigger the better for use on the roughest terrain.

Adjustable settings: You want to control how much fertilizer comes out of the spreader. The better models allow finely tuned calibration.

Side baffle: Controlling where your fertilizer goes is the biggest challenge with broadcast spreaders. A side baffle allows you to cruise along a sidewalk and have the material distributed only on the grass side.

Adjustable throwing ports: This option is useful to adjust the spread pattern based on the type of material you are spreading and the size of the area.

Hopper: The hopper holds the material you are spreading. A large hopper has obvious benefits. Plastic breaks down and becomes weaker in the sun, but fiberglass does not. Stainless steel is another good option.

Rain cover: An indispensable option for rainy areas.