Earthway 2750 Hand-Operated Bag Spreader/Seeder

This spreader will cover more ground, faster, with less hassle, for less money than anything I've tried. I've been using spreaders for 40 years. I've used several of the kinds that roll on the ground and broadcast. They're slow because they're low to the ground and the seed (or fertilizer) hits the ground before it can go very far. Also, you can't vary the spin rate independently of your walking rate (as I explain later). I've used rolling drop spreaders, and while they are very precise, they are even slower than rolling broadcasters because they cover such a narrow path. I do use them for seed to cover areas close to beds so that I can avoid growing grass in the beds. Until I got this spreader, the fastest things I'd used were the old hand-carried, wood-and-metal-and-canvas broadcast spreaders. They had two problems. When you filled them you had to have help because the canvas top would bend, and the whole thing would flop over and spill. If you used fertilizer in them they would last one season before they corroded so badly, they were useless. They were cheap, and they were very fast, and a lot of pros used them for seed and even fertilizer. I used them because they were fast, but lately I haven't seen them in the stores, probably because people kept beating up the retailers over the corrosion problem. Then, from Amazon, I got a very expensive, hand-carried broadcast spreader call the Solo. Terrible choice. It didn't fall over, and it didn't corrode, but it was slow as molasses in the winter and didn't spread evenly. It was also very hard to use without catching your finger in the mechanism. It didn't hold a lot either. I hated it. My neighbor had a huge, heavy, pro-grade handheld broadcaster that worked pretty well, didn't fall over, and didn't corrode. I used it once. I lift weights, but this thing was terribly unwieldly. I actually tried several times to find one at the Farmer's Supply where he said he got it, and I never could. Now I'm glad I didn't. I've used the little one-handed scoop-shaped spreaders you find a Home Depot et al. They are fine for sprinkling seed on spots, but they're too small for full yards. You'd do better spreading by hand out of a bag. And then along comes the Earthway 2750. It does everything the old hand-carried, wood-and-metal-and-canvas broadcast spreaders would do, only better in terms of smooth cranking and speed variability. It won't corrode (although I do worry about one little screw). It doesn't flop over for two reasons: (1) it has vertical plastic pieces you install in the front and back of the bag to hold it up; (2) it has a wide, very stable base to keep the whole thing from tipping over. The zipper on top is a nice touch to ensure that it doesn't spill when you're hoisting it onto your shoulder. It costs a lot less than the Solo and will cover a yard more evenly in about 20 percent of the time. Now, let me manage expectations. If you've never used a hand-held broadcast spreader before, don't fill it all the way up the first time. You especially don't want to fill it all the way up with heavy fertilizer. Once it's loaded, start out gingerly. Prop it against your stomach to get it out in front of you. You vary the width of the path that you sow by how fast you turn the crank (which slings the seed out). The amount that you put down per square yard depends on three things: (1) how far back you pull the left-hand lever; (2) how fast you walk; and (3) how fast you crank (because that varies the width). It is not like learning to ride a bicycle, but it does take getting used to. Once you get the hang of it (punny) you'll find it gives you wonderful control -- far more than any rolling spreader. Okay, I read the review from the person who said she got the fertilizer all over her. I just walked in from using it, and I don't have a particle of fertilizer on me, but I certainly understand how it can happen. Before you fill it up the first time, hold it in position and walk while turning the crank. Pull back the left (valve or throttle) lever and look down to see what the valve in the bottom is doing. Get comfortable doing that much first. Next, fill it about 1/4 full. Start walking and cranking BEFORE you open the valve. Open it slowly. If you do this, I predict you'll be totally successful the first time out and not waste a bit of seed or fertilizer. I also read the review from the guy who broke his spreader. I was concerned by that. The only way I can see that happening would be if you tried to strong-arm the crank. Just spin it up gently before you open the valve. If you try to spin it up fast when it's clogged with fertilizer, you could stress the mechanism. If you are using pelletized fertilizer, you're going to need to break up any clumps. Follow these suggestions, and I'll be very surprised if you break it. ***Update*** I've now been using this spreader for over a year, and I'm still sold on it. It still works like new. Good luck! Tim

Have owned numerous towable fertilizer spreaders and a cheaper, flimsy, handheld model. Used one like this years back to apply seed around a lake and liked it. This thing works great with 10-10-10 fertilizer that has no clumps in it. Applied 40 lbs. with my towable model a few weeks back. Then, put down another 40 lbs. today with this model on the spots I missed. This thing worked much better than I expected it to applying fertlizer. Was able to control it (where fertilizer went) much better than with the aggravating towable models. It is the easiest to use as far as I'm concerned. Walked at an easy pace and it is not hard to crank for a good broadcast. All spreaders are somewhat challenging and can be aggravating but this one just became my favorite. Now for the REAL challenge: keeping the fertilizer from making it rust. Will wash it well and soak it with silicone spray. Then, keep an eye on it in storage. Rust is what will eventually kill it. After washing it clean, don't see that many exposed metal parts. Fertilizer has a way of finding its way throughout a spreader to rust them from the inside out. This spreader works well. April 2013: Used it again to apply some coated time release fertilizer. It worked more smoothly than with 10-10-10. The silicone spray worked. Saw no rust anywhere on it. It appears to have nylon gears which will not rust. That's good as far as I'm concerned using it for fertilizer. With cranking it fast, can get a broad broadcast or slow down and have more ccontrol. Worth the price- I like it. It's much easier to use and control than my towable broadcast spreader. July 2014: Used it to apply some fire ant control granules (granular insecticide like sawdust). Was able to attain a very light broadcast by controlling the flow as I walked with it. In areas with heavy fire ant populations, opened the valve a little more. It worked well. May 2015: Bought 40 pounds of weed and feed to apply. Found this spreader stored about 1/3 full with fire ant granules from last Summer. So, got a jump on the fire ants this year where I definitely want them gone. Then, applied the weed and feed. Have not taken good care of this spreader yet it is still working well. The handle now has some rust on it but that does not affect its function. Need to clean it up some with water and some silicone spray. It's holding up well against the rust promoting fertilizer compounds I have used in it. The internal gears still work smoothly- like new. Could have used my towable spreader but this one is my favorite for a 3/4 acre lawn. With this one, get more of whatever I'm using on my body and shower immediately after using it but have much better control of what I'm applying.

Fills easily, empties back to bag excellently and spreads VERY well. Actively adjustable opening produces wide 200°+ spread area and can be rocked open and close to clear small clumps of material. Using the zipper open only a small way you can easily pour out small amounts or funnel material back into bag/bucket for re-storage. Everything is accessible with a foxtail or bottle brush to clear off dust or materials, can be tumbled to re-locate clumps inside. Makes very pleasant wrrgrrgrrg noise and material drop noise on the impeller, easy to hear your flow so you can concentrate on trees, overhangs and attacking pterodactyl. Simple unscrew removal for hand crank. Adjustable flow-rate latch point doesn't stop you from using a higher or lower rate manually, just place back on the latch point! Downzers? Two nearly pointless plastic inserts to hold bag up make it impossible to fold back up for storage. No right or left limiter stops or port width limiters, that two inch slot can REALLY dump a load fast if jammed open. No in-bin agitator to break up minor clumps, you have to chew at them with the gate or tumble the bag to clear them. Overall: Buy it instead of those silly handgun-grip wrist breakers. I packed it full of milorganite 6-3-0 to the point that the zipper wouldn't close and it worked just fine. If you've got less than a thousand feet and are only gonna spread a couple times a year - with the caveat of having two legs and one shoulder - this is better than a tiny push spreader.

UPDATE 5-27-18: I seeded 7.5 acres of forage beans using this hand-crank seeder yesterday and today because our tow-spreader was busted. This worked so well, I doubt we replace the tow spreader. Bean distribution was awesome. Other than walking my butt off in the fields that have been chisel plowed, disced, and power tilled, it worked great. Up until now I have not found a need to install the plastic stiffeners for the seed bag...but I will do so now as it would have been much easier to load the seeder bag. OLD REVIEW FOLLOWS: I over-seeded 4 acres of declining alfalfa today with Whitetail Institute coated clover seed. It took maybe 25 minutes to over-seed 4 acres and I put 9 pounds of the clover seed into the spreader at a time (18 pound bag). The suggested setting on the bottom of the spreader was 2.5 for clover which is a tiny, tiny seed. Coated clover is like 3 or 4 times bigger and I seeded with a setting of 1.5 and 2.0 and I also put duct tape over the slot opening to only allow an inch for the seed to flow out. With this modification, a setting of 1.5 was too low and I had to go over the area more than once. On a setting of 2.0, it was just about right to maybe a little fast. I have attached a picture of this modification. I walked up to one of our lakes and used the spreader to check the seed distribution and it was everything I could have hoped for. The only quirk I noticed is when walking up a steeper slope and maintaining seeding speed, my thigh would bump the broadcaster stopping it for just a fraction of a second.

This thing works great. It is not hard to fill either. Common sense tells you that you cannot pour the seed/fertilizer into the spreader. Use a measuring cup. I used a 4 cup measuring cup and it filled just fine. Got my half acre lawn treated with weed n feed in about 45 minutes. The spreader is built very well as far as I can see also.

Simple, light-weight, cost-effective, and easy to use. This spreader gets the jobs done out in the woods. One of my favorite features compared to other spreaders is the fabric-see-through hopper. It makes it so easy to fold up and throw in a side pocket on the ATV. Hopper easily holds 20+ pounds of seed—more than enough to seed down a couple of acres without needing to refill (depending on what you're planting).

Man went to the moon once but it was a looooooong time ago. Where to begin? The primary problem is the same with every spreader I've ever owned--clogging. When you start it is a torrent, three steps later there might be four or five granules being ejected which eventually peters out to nothing. The product boasts some sort of device that is supposed to ensure even feeding. That little plastic bar looks like grandma's dentures gumming some oatmeal while she's asleep on a bad day. Maybe she's dead? You need time lapse photography to see that it is actually moving. Secondly the slope of the plastic at the bottom of the bag is too shallow. If held even slightly off level, feeding stops. To keep spreading, you are forced to constantly shake the GD thing which brings me to problem number Three: The clip on the shoulder harness is simply a slot, not a snap. So while you're shaking the bejabbers out of the spreader to get something flowing, the "clip" (bad word since it doesn't apply in the least) on the strap pops off. All of these shortcomings force a stop/start approach resulting in some areas of the lawn being burnt out with a circle of fertilizer and some areas getting nothing at all. Now for the added insult that got me in front of my computer. At one point I sat the unit down on my driveway while I went to the garage. I had left the slot open by accident (yes this is stupid on my part). When I returned, a third of the bag had run through and spilled onto the drive way. The problem here was that left unattended it couldn't seem to stop gushing fertilizer. When I pick it up and run around my yard with it, it works when it feels like it. Joke's on me. Alas, as the years mount, I begin to fear that I will never own a spreader that lives up to it's name and actually, simply and evenly SPREADS something. The best I can offer is this: This spreader fails just as much as any other spreader I've owned.

I have a very small yard, so this works ok. If I had a bigger yard I would be returning it FOR SURE. The system is designed with a spring loaded lever to set the amount of seed/fertilizer that comes out. It is suppose to pull back, and rest beind a screw. To close the opening, you are suppose to just slightly lift the lever and it will spring back. I however, can not get the lever to rest on the screw, it just pops off and closes, so I have to hold it open manually, which is a nifty little trick while walking and turning the jack in the box style crank. I can manage it for the 2500 sqft of grass I have, but no way if it were more. The rest of the device is fine and seems to be ok quality. Mostly plastic, not that is necessarily bad. Shoulder strap is not comfortable either, but you aren't wearing it long so it isn't to big of a deal.

Works great! Thanks

Works great

Great handheld seeder except when the bag is filled with seed and strap is around your neck… it’s very heavy pulling on your neck