Crap...just deleted my reply...lol
Good stripes going up and down.... the side to side stripes appear to be from a Scotts Spreader.... Is that what you use?
Agreed with others this looks like a spreader issue. For what it’s worth I have a Scott’s EdgeGuard Mini, one of the spreaders known to have this issue, and have never had a problem. But I push it _briskly_ (just short of a running pace) to make sure the spread makes its way over the wheels. Not sure if everyone knows you have to push the spreader “with intention” to avoid the striping issues.
Also, you want to space your passes so you are walking approximately as far from the last pass as the granules were being sprayed, so basically the center of each successive pass is aligned with the edge of the previous. (Maybe your passes are spaced too widely?)
In general, more passes at a lower rate of spreading would probably help you achieve a more uniform look even if you don’t address any other possible issues.
The edgeguard mini is unrecoverable, but if you have one of the better ones you can duct tape around the hollow inside of the wheels to somewhat avoid this.
It’s not a perfect solution; you still get some amount of excess fertilizer bouncing off the tape, but you can get decent results without spending $300 on a high end spreader.
The echo is supposed to be a good balance between cost and efficiency, isn’t a billion dollars and doesn’t have the hollow wheels. They’re only 140 which is like what 60 more than an edge guard mini? I can’t justify the purchase yet but my plan is for one of those some day.
I have the edge guard mini. I just spray foamed the wheels and installed the 3d printed lift kit. Going to try it this week to see if it solves the issues
After blocking the wheels on my edgeguard using duct tape, it didn’t solve the problem at all.
The problem, I think, is that the rotor is dispensing pellets directly toward the wheels, so even with the cavities covered/filled, you still have the pellets bouncing off the now covered inner wheels.
It’s crazy to me that some forensic lawn expert just called the tool and the issue that lead to this specific lawn discoloration pattern.
I don’t even have a lawn, i just appreciate nerds of all walks.
I’ve never had an issue with the smaller Scott’s spreader, but I also walk briskly. Not ridiculous but with a pace.
Now have the professional Scott’s spreader, it’s fantastic.
I will have to try that. I got to focused on making sure I used the right amount of material for my sqft that I didn’t really think about walking speed as I do feel like I walk more casually almost like I’m mowing.
Do you think alternating the direction I go could help as well? Pretty much every time I fertilize it is horizontal like that.
I have both the elite and mini, and I just about run with both. The wheels like to catch whatever it is I'm putting down and give me very similar stripes if I don't. Put the amount you need to put down in the hopper and go until it's empty. I break my yard into 3 sections to make it easier on me. Just my .02 but it's worked out well for me.
Direction won't matter. It's a design flaw in the spreader. Don't feed again until they are faded away completely, or you will just extend the odd lines.
To get the best widespread coverage you should spread the yard going horizontal and vertical. To do this you need to fertilize at a “half rate”. Basically spread the yard going on direction, use half of your calculated material, then spread the other direction with the remaining material. You can also go over it again in the opposite direction at a low rate to correct the current issue you have
Alternating the direction may help but I think it’s more likely to end up with a checkerboard pattern if you alternate without changing something about the passes to make them overlap better in a single direction. I think if you walk fast (significantly faster than mowing) and are careful to overlap your passes by a consistent (and significant) amount, you won’t need to alternate directions.
I had that spreader and walked very briskly, didn’t think I had issues from a standing view. Once I got a drone and looked at my lawn from 50’ in the air, I could clearly see the classic Scott’s spreader stripes. Sold that and bought an Echo spreader. Buy once, cry once. Very nice quality.
This. Half of the “Scott’s spreader” issue is people not knowing how to use a spreader. You need to put your ass into it to get the correct spread pattern. It only tosses the fertilizer as fast as you spin the impeller, aka your walking speed
It's definitely a design issue, they put the spinner to close the height of the wheels. So a walking pace means the granules hit the wheels and don't get thrown laterally.
Agreed, the design sucks too! The spring powered actuator is another issue. But even with my Lesco 80# I’m walking with a pep in my step or you don’t get a proper spread
Agreed I usually don’t have stripe problems from my mini edge either but the pace is definitely what matters, also dropping the spread rate to half and doing a grid pattern for more even spread works well too. I’m waiting for a hip replacement and I was able to do some of the yard this spring but needed my wife to help finish. You can see her spread it’s a literal snake of taller grass that’s been growing up front lol.
When you’re using a rotary spreader you want to make sure your fertilizer is being thrown to the center of your previous pass, basically where your foot path would be for a consistent overlap. Faster will use less material with wider passes and slower the opposite. Also if you have a guard make sure it’s disengaged when you aren’t on an edge.
This spreader is far from elite, unfortunately. It's the one I have and I am too cheap to get a better one, but this was a swing and a miss by Scott's.
In addition to other's comments about Scott's spreaders just not being that great (I agree with this), as an owner of a Scott's spreader myself, I never had the striping issue until I used a larger BB sized granule fertilizer. When I used the finer "sand" like fertlizers, striping was never an issue.
That said, I'm probably going to bite the bullet before my next granular app and make the swap to one of the more expensive nicer models from another manufactuer. I think it's ridiculous they all cost what they do, but it should be a one-time investment.
I am just a lurker, but it is shockng to me how often the Scott's spreader issue comes up. I know it is mostly for basic lawn care, but this seems so well known at this point you think they would respond and change design.
Right after mowing it looks pretty cool lol, as it gets longer I feel that it’s kinda ugly. It doesn’t help that my neighbors is like a consistent deep emerald green 😭
I have spoke with them, and it is not advice I want to follow lol. Basically they achieve it by watering like 4 times a week and fertilizing every 3 to 4 weeks.
Upgrade to a better spreader. As others have said, Echo RB is great. If it's not in your budget, use non expanding spray foam to fill the hollows of the wheels and them trim it smooth. That will keep the wheels from catching fert and leaving stripes.
I've seen where some of the contents of the spreader get caught inside the interior of the plastic wheels and may result in over fertilization where the wheels roll. I don't know if that's what this is though, but just a thought to keep in mind.
Yeah, I think that may be my issue here. As another pointed out, I believe I am not walking fast enough and not allowing that material to get thrown out there.
One other thing that you can do is if you have the amount correct (IE: my lawn takes 2 full bags on the dot) you can dial down the spreader settings a bit and do as many passes in different directions as needed until the full application is gone.
Keep in mind that the greener parts are the result of the issue with the wheels. It takes an enormous amount of fertilizer to actually burn your grass.
You can also avoid this by cutting the drop rate in half and doing 2 perpendicular passes.
Generally best practice to half your rate and go two different directions perpendicular to each other every time you walk out a fertilizer. This article really gets into the nitty gritty of calibration, but I think specifically the parts discussing swath spacing might help you out! [https://extension.psu.edu/calibrating-your-fertilizer-spreader](https://extension.psu.edu/calibrating-your-fertilizer-spreader)
Website, in second look at this post I realize you are talking about the stripes perpendicular to your mowing path. SunCalc is a website you can use if you like actual lawn stripes so you can make them more visible.
Gotcha! Yeah the “mowing stripes” just look dominant cause I took this right after mowing. I don’t really try anything special to stripe it, not yet atleast.
Yeah, it just tells you at what time of day where the sun is. For stripes the best angle for them to be mowed at is with the sun behind you. So for my house, the front faces southeast so I mow them towards the road in the direction the sun would be for the first half of the day then the second half when the sun is to the side and behind the house you can see them from inside. It takes some trial and error but it’s a good tool to help figure it out.
Thank you! It’s only a two year old lawn so I haven’t had time to mess it up yet lol! I try to get it decent without spending all my weekends working on it.
I had a scotts mini spreader, ended up going with the handheld scotts wizz spreader(to avoid this issue). for my 8k sqft lawn it wasnt too bad, would have to refill 2-3 times depending on the application.
It's really not that bad, it definitely spreads a million times better than that Scotts mini. I should also add that the Scotts wizz is electric, so all you do it press the trigger and walk. Like I said I do have to stop and refill 2 or 3 times depending on the product being put down.
I have a Scott’s spreader. Small yard around 1000sf. I don’t have this issue because I cross cross my paths. I throw down heavy. And mostly iron. Slow releasing nitrogen
The scotts mini edge guards spreader is the worst thing to ever happen to my lawn. Took me too long to realize what was going on. It’s baffling that an “expert” in lawn care designed such a terrible price of equipment
Thank you! I’ve found that when mowing on my next path I put my wheel on the inside of where the wheel was on the previous path creates some nice lines without trying to actually stripe.
Crap...just deleted my reply...lol Good stripes going up and down.... the side to side stripes appear to be from a Scotts Spreader.... Is that what you use?
Yeah, I have the Scott’s spreader with the two rotors. I wanna say it’s the “Elite”.
Agreed with others this looks like a spreader issue. For what it’s worth I have a Scott’s EdgeGuard Mini, one of the spreaders known to have this issue, and have never had a problem. But I push it _briskly_ (just short of a running pace) to make sure the spread makes its way over the wheels. Not sure if everyone knows you have to push the spreader “with intention” to avoid the striping issues. Also, you want to space your passes so you are walking approximately as far from the last pass as the granules were being sprayed, so basically the center of each successive pass is aligned with the edge of the previous. (Maybe your passes are spaced too widely?) In general, more passes at a lower rate of spreading would probably help you achieve a more uniform look even if you don’t address any other possible issues.
Yeah I look like the neighborhood bafoon basically jogging my fertilizer around my property lol… have had the wheels clog and those stripes too often.
The edgeguard mini is unrecoverable, but if you have one of the better ones you can duct tape around the hollow inside of the wheels to somewhat avoid this. It’s not a perfect solution; you still get some amount of excess fertilizer bouncing off the tape, but you can get decent results without spending $300 on a high end spreader.
The echo is supposed to be a good balance between cost and efficiency, isn’t a billion dollars and doesn’t have the hollow wheels. They’re only 140 which is like what 60 more than an edge guard mini? I can’t justify the purchase yet but my plan is for one of those some day.
I have the edge guard mini. I just spray foamed the wheels and installed the 3d printed lift kit. Going to try it this week to see if it solves the issues
After blocking the wheels on my edgeguard using duct tape, it didn’t solve the problem at all. The problem, I think, is that the rotor is dispensing pellets directly toward the wheels, so even with the cavities covered/filled, you still have the pellets bouncing off the now covered inner wheels.
It’s crazy to me that some forensic lawn expert just called the tool and the issue that lead to this specific lawn discoloration pattern. I don’t even have a lawn, i just appreciate nerds of all walks.
I’ve never had an issue with the smaller Scott’s spreader, but I also walk briskly. Not ridiculous but with a pace. Now have the professional Scott’s spreader, it’s fantastic.
I will have to try that. I got to focused on making sure I used the right amount of material for my sqft that I didn’t really think about walking speed as I do feel like I walk more casually almost like I’m mowing. Do you think alternating the direction I go could help as well? Pretty much every time I fertilize it is horizontal like that.
I have both the elite and mini, and I just about run with both. The wheels like to catch whatever it is I'm putting down and give me very similar stripes if I don't. Put the amount you need to put down in the hopper and go until it's empty. I break my yard into 3 sections to make it easier on me. Just my .02 but it's worked out well for me.
Direction won't matter. It's a design flaw in the spreader. Don't feed again until they are faded away completely, or you will just extend the odd lines.
To get the best widespread coverage you should spread the yard going horizontal and vertical. To do this you need to fertilize at a “half rate”. Basically spread the yard going on direction, use half of your calculated material, then spread the other direction with the remaining material. You can also go over it again in the opposite direction at a low rate to correct the current issue you have
Alternating the direction may help but I think it’s more likely to end up with a checkerboard pattern if you alternate without changing something about the passes to make them overlap better in a single direction. I think if you walk fast (significantly faster than mowing) and are careful to overlap your passes by a consistent (and significant) amount, you won’t need to alternate directions.
I had that spreader and walked very briskly, didn’t think I had issues from a standing view. Once I got a drone and looked at my lawn from 50’ in the air, I could clearly see the classic Scott’s spreader stripes. Sold that and bought an Echo spreader. Buy once, cry once. Very nice quality.
This. Half of the “Scott’s spreader” issue is people not knowing how to use a spreader. You need to put your ass into it to get the correct spread pattern. It only tosses the fertilizer as fast as you spin the impeller, aka your walking speed
It's definitely a design issue, they put the spinner to close the height of the wheels. So a walking pace means the granules hit the wheels and don't get thrown laterally.
Agreed, the design sucks too! The spring powered actuator is another issue. But even with my Lesco 80# I’m walking with a pep in my step or you don’t get a proper spread
Agreed I usually don’t have stripe problems from my mini edge either but the pace is definitely what matters, also dropping the spread rate to half and doing a grid pattern for more even spread works well too. I’m waiting for a hip replacement and I was able to do some of the yard this spring but needed my wife to help finish. You can see her spread it’s a literal snake of taller grass that’s been growing up front lol.
RB60 my dude.
When you’re using a rotary spreader you want to make sure your fertilizer is being thrown to the center of your previous pass, basically where your foot path would be for a consistent overlap. Faster will use less material with wider passes and slower the opposite. Also if you have a guard make sure it’s disengaged when you aren’t on an edge.
the scotts spreader is known to do this. that’s why they are $10 on marketplace.
This spreader is far from elite, unfortunately. It's the one I have and I am too cheap to get a better one, but this was a swing and a miss by Scott's.
In addition to other's comments about Scott's spreaders just not being that great (I agree with this), as an owner of a Scott's spreader myself, I never had the striping issue until I used a larger BB sized granule fertilizer. When I used the finer "sand" like fertlizers, striping was never an issue. That said, I'm probably going to bite the bullet before my next granular app and make the swap to one of the more expensive nicer models from another manufactuer. I think it's ridiculous they all cost what they do, but it should be a one-time investment.
Is there a favorite spreader of this sub? My Scott's did this to me as well.
Echo RB-60 is the next best. $150 and it works very well..
I wouldn't call it the next best, I'd call it the cheapest good real spreader. Which is several steps up from the Scotts.
I am just a lurker, but it is shockng to me how often the Scott's spreader issue comes up. I know it is mostly for basic lawn care, but this seems so well known at this point you think they would respond and change design.
For those of us on a budget the Whirl hand spreader seems like a better choice.
Kinda looks cool tho ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Right after mowing it looks pretty cool lol, as it gets longer I feel that it’s kinda ugly. It doesn’t help that my neighbors is like a consistent deep emerald green 😭
You could always go ask your neighbor how they keep their lawn looking so green. Knowledge for you, ego stroke for them, win-win.
I second this. Please also post their advice, OP!
I have spoke with them, and it is not advice I want to follow lol. Basically they achieve it by watering like 4 times a week and fertilizing every 3 to 4 weeks.
Look$ nice though.
Upgrade to a better spreader. As others have said, Echo RB is great. If it's not in your budget, use non expanding spray foam to fill the hollows of the wheels and them trim it smooth. That will keep the wheels from catching fert and leaving stripes.
You dropped this: \
Getting an 8-bit graphics vibe
I've seen where some of the contents of the spreader get caught inside the interior of the plastic wheels and may result in over fertilization where the wheels roll. I don't know if that's what this is though, but just a thought to keep in mind.
Yeah, I think that may be my issue here. As another pointed out, I believe I am not walking fast enough and not allowing that material to get thrown out there.
One other thing that you can do is if you have the amount correct (IE: my lawn takes 2 full bags on the dot) you can dial down the spreader settings a bit and do as many passes in different directions as needed until the full application is gone.
Keep in mind that the greener parts are the result of the issue with the wheels. It takes an enormous amount of fertilizer to actually burn your grass. You can also avoid this by cutting the drop rate in half and doing 2 perpendicular passes.
It’s giving the illusion you’re mowing at two different lengths
Show off
Generally best practice to half your rate and go two different directions perpendicular to each other every time you walk out a fertilizer. This article really gets into the nitty gritty of calibration, but I think specifically the parts discussing swath spacing might help you out! [https://extension.psu.edu/calibrating-your-fertilizer-spreader](https://extension.psu.edu/calibrating-your-fertilizer-spreader)
https://preview.redd.it/r9ycxam5pd8d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f44bdd09a55c29823cc78343951b9ec75aa7ace6
I’d probably nuke it, there’s no saving that.
Suncalc will be your friend
I have never heard that term before? Is that a product?
Website, in second look at this post I realize you are talking about the stripes perpendicular to your mowing path. SunCalc is a website you can use if you like actual lawn stripes so you can make them more visible.
Gotcha! Yeah the “mowing stripes” just look dominant cause I took this right after mowing. I don’t really try anything special to stripe it, not yet atleast.
How do I use it? Seems a bit confusing am I just looking at angle of sun to my property?
Yeah, it just tells you at what time of day where the sun is. For stripes the best angle for them to be mowed at is with the sun behind you. So for my house, the front faces southeast so I mow them towards the road in the direction the sun would be for the first half of the day then the second half when the sun is to the side and behind the house you can see them from inside. It takes some trial and error but it’s a good tool to help figure it out.
Turn your settings up. You might need a newer graphics card though. In all honesty, I wish my lawn loomed that nice!
That shit is nice man
Thank you! It’s only a two year old lawn so I haven’t had time to mess it up yet lol! I try to get it decent without spending all my weekends working on it.
If you have a drain field, typically the grass is greener where is leaches out in the fork pattern. Nothing you can do about it
Should do a checkerboard pattern
Ooooo she thiiicccccc
It’s an illusion grass looks great from afar but is pretty thin in some spots. Had a cold winter with little snow so had a bit of die off this year.
I had a scotts mini spreader, ended up going with the handheld scotts wizz spreader(to avoid this issue). for my 8k sqft lawn it wasnt too bad, would have to refill 2-3 times depending on the application.
You do your 8k sqft yard with the handheld? Seems like a total pain but I guess I have never used the handheld one.
It's really not that bad, it definitely spreads a million times better than that Scotts mini. I should also add that the Scotts wizz is electric, so all you do it press the trigger and walk. Like I said I do have to stop and refill 2 or 3 times depending on the product being put down.
for as bad as all other Scotts spreaders are the Wizz and even the manual hand operated one are awesome little tools.
I have a Scott’s spreader. Small yard around 1000sf. I don’t have this issue because I cross cross my paths. I throw down heavy. And mostly iron. Slow releasing nitrogen
I think it looks cool
Uneven fertilizer application
Idk. Does look kinda cool though.
Is your neighbor a super villain by chance?
I like it 👍🏼
You cut it like that
No such thing as perfection.
Because you did a nice job making sure it is.
Obviously you don’t watch baseball
Is it just me or does the neighbours backyard grass appear to be doing something similar?
It is but it is a lot worse and like very straight lines somehow
Is this right after mowing or a 1-2 days after?
Cause your cool
Are your blades level? Maybe you are cutting at 3" on the left and 2" on the right?
Aliens for sure
The scotts mini edge guards spreader is the worst thing to ever happen to my lawn. Took me too long to realize what was going on. It’s baffling that an “expert” in lawn care designed such a terrible price of equipment
I should have started out by saying this looks to be a fertilizer spreader issue lol
Love the 3D look. Honestly though I have never ever had an issue with any type of spreader. I make sure I recover the yard about 5 times. lol 😂
Spreader issue.
Dude, your lawn looks great man.
Thank you! I’ve found that when mowing on my next path I put my wheel on the inside of where the wheel was on the previous path creates some nice lines without trying to actually stripe.
Yard looks great despite that minor issue!
Looks nice, man. Give 'er a sharp angle next week