Spreader - Compost

padronanniversary said:

I am looking for a spreader that will work with compost. I've read alot of reviews here about spreaders, but mainly for fert, seed, etc.

Just curious what people here would recommend ?

Thanks in advance !

p.s. Looking to just pull this with my lawn tractor after aerating, overseeding, and dress it with compost

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Tractor supply, and many others, sell a fine small GT manure spreader! Just what you need for this job!

Magnum RT said:

Tractor supply, and many others, sell a fine small GT manure spreader! Just what you need for this job!

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Agreed! We've sold a few of that type at the dealership a while back but I don't remember the brand or price. The folks with a couple of horses or goats sure seem to like them since they are "ground driven". One lady even pulled hers with a Suzuki mini jeep.

dirtsaver said:

Agreed! We've sold a few of that type at the dealership a while back but I don't remember the brand or price. The folks with a couple of horses or goats sure seem to like them since they are "ground driven". One lady even pulled hers with a Suzuki mini jeep.

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Northern Tool (notherntool.com) has a ground driven spreader in the 800lb capacity for a little more then a grand. That was the cheapest I could find. Millcreek has some bigger ones, but they are alot more $$$ (and better built too)

padronanniversary said:

man, I was looking for something small and not expensive (sub $300). I was just thinking spreading dry compost in the yard. thanks though for everyones input

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If you can find something that will do the job for "sub $300," PLEASE post it here! Or even buy a few and post them here for sale! You could get your's free!

I would pay $300 for an "effective" compost spreader in a New York minute!

(Don't ask me how that differs from a Chicago minute)

padronanniversary said:

So I guess the el cheapo way to do it is take a wheel barrel, and just spread it out. I was hoping there was something that was a tad faster, but not that expensive.

thanks everyone for their input

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Still smarting from my spreader experiment failure I finally did find a way to lay out the rest of my compost. I loaded the 10cu.ft. trailer, cracked the tailgate and clamped it with a small opening. Then I raised it and took off with the tractor. It spread a fairly even layer of top dressing until the load ran out. I did this 5-6 times until the compost pile was exhausted. The Norway maples ate any benefit this was to be for the lawn in that area. Lawn is still 3' between grass blades... but the exposed clay soil is a very nice shade of brown so I'll live with it until something happens with the trees.

How 'bout this one? It will be auctioned June 10th at Weeks Farm Machinery in Moultrie, Georgia. I went by to check out their inventory this morning. They usually auction from 9:00am till...
I will keep an eye out and see how much this one goes for and let you guys know.
Ron

Although I have not worked on the design of it yet, I have been kicking around the idea of something like they advertise for the bed of pickup trucks. It is a heavy tarp or web that is installed in the bed with rollers at each end and a hand crank on the roller at the tailgate. You then crank your load off rather than shoveling.

My thoughts were to drive it off of the wheel of the trailer like the small spreaders. Will see if I can find a link somewhere showing this contraption on a truck.

A lot depends on the size of the particles of your compost. Broadcast and drop spreaders like really small uniform stuff that's fairly dry. I suppose a drop spreader could be modified to handle larger stuff, but it will still need to be fairly dry. I read this yesterday and have been poking around on the web for an answer and all I could come up with were the same manure type spreaders mentioned above.

swreeder said:

I'll go for the $300 version also! Would love to be able to top dress my lawn once a year!

A friend showed me this design http://www.newerspreader.com/details.htm#how

Too pricey, but looks like a nice size and design for general home use.

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I like it! Now to find a good used one for $300!

Anybody game for an overseas trial?