The logistics of spreading composted material on lawns or gardens is a problem faced by all "green" homeowners. The small units used for disseminating fertilizer or grass seed often fail when pressed into service to spread compost. That's because composted material typically contains large chunks that clog up the revolving blade at the bottom of the spreader.
Part of the challenge can be eliminated by consistently working the compost pile and breaking up the larger chunks before the spreading process begins. Some gardeners rig up a homemade sifter that will winnow out the looser, finer material and retain the rest, which can then be returned to the pile or broken up more thoroughly. Even so, composted material will never flow through a standard spreader with the ease of grass seed or finely ground fertilizer.
One solution to this, of course, is to simply spread the material by hand. This is impractical on a large lawn or garden plot, however, and many homeowners are squeamish about handling manure-based compost. As composting has become more and more of an accepted practice, then, a number of manufacturers have scrambled to produce a compost spreader that would actually work.
Among the simplest of these is the Green Culture Compost Spreader®, basically a large drum attached to a handle. Billed as "low-impact," it uses an interior grid pattern to chop up the composted material as it revolves in the drum, then releases it through the bottom. The compost is added through a side door, and the unit can be pulled along behind a small tractor.
Texas-based Bullspreader® has developed a compost spreader specifically for manure, laying it down to a depth from 1/4 inch to three inches (.63 to 7.62 centimeters). The company's Website comes with recorded cattle noises, but says little about how the product works, other than that it uses a "patented" device. Bullspreader® makes both motorized and hand-rolled models.
One of the more sophisticated of the compost spreader models is the Eco-Lawn Applicator®, produced by Compostwerks. The motorized unit has been placed on a three-wheeled base, and is designed to be walked behind like a rototiller. The width and intensity of the application can be controlled as the machine chugs along.
Whatever the make, however, a compost spreader still has its limitations. Most require that the material it disseminates not top a certain percentage of moisture. Again, this requires some preparation with the compost itself.
