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Scotts Spreader Settings: Every Model on One Chart

Scotts deliberately doesn't publish a master settings chart — each product's setting lives on its own bag and label PDF. That works fine for Scotts products and fails completely the moment you pour anything else into a Scotts spreader. This page fixes both: the model lineup and dial differences explained, current settings gathered in one place, and a setting finder for non-Scotts products.

Quick orientation — the Scotts dial:

All current walk-behind models (EdgeGuard DLX/Mini, Elite, Turf Builder drop) use a numeric dial from roughly 2 to 15 in quarter/half steps; the handheld Wizz runs 1 to 9. The same number means different things on different models — an EdgeGuard setting is not an Elite setting.

Jump to: Setting finder · Model guide · Settings chart · Turf Builder schedule · Where Scotts publishes settings · FAQ

Different spreader brand? Cross-brand converter · Lesco bag in a Scotts spreader? Lesco settings · Spreading Milorganite? Milorganite settings

Calculator

Scotts Setting Finder & Bag Coverage Calculator

Find a starting setting for any product by rate, or work out your rate and how many bags your lawn needs.

The Scotts spreader lineup — and why the model matters

Scotts currently sells three walk-behind broadcast models, one drop model, and one handheld — plus millions of discontinued units still in garages. The gate geometry differs between them, which is why one product can carry different settings per model on the same bag. Each model below has its own dedicated page with the full settings chart, a model-specific planning tool, and how that model's mechanism actually works.

EdgeGuard DLX & EdgeGuard Mini

The best-selling models, sharing one dial scale — the Mini simply carries a smaller hopper (~5,000 sq ft vs ~15,000 for the DLX). Full EdgeGuard settings chart, DLX vs Mini planner & tool →

Elite

The large-lawn model: dual-rotor throw (~6 ft pattern), ~20,000 sq ft hopper. Elite settings are published separately from EdgeGuard — don't reuse them across models. Full Elite settings chart, coverage & time planner →

Turf Builder Classic Drop

No throw, no overspray, total precision at the cost of speed — settings run higher than broadcast equivalents for the same product. Full Drop settings chart & pass planner →

Wizz (handheld)

Battery-powered handheld on its own 1–9 scale, best for small lawns, spot repair, and ice melt. Full Wizz settings chart & refill planner →

Discontinued: Speedy Green 1000 / 2000 / 3000

Replaced by EdgeGuard years ago, with no current official chart — but plenty are still running. Full Speedy Green cross-reference & setting estimator →

Scotts spreader settings chart (common products)

Settings below are gathered from Scotts product labels and, for non-Scotts products, the manufacturers' own published Scotts values. Scotts-product settings are printed on every bag — this chart is most useful for the non-Scotts rows and for planning before you buy.

Product Rate (lbs/1,000) EdgeGuard DLX/Mini Elite Drop Wizz
Turf Builder Lawn Food 2.9 4 4 5.5 4
Turf Builder Weed & Feed 2.9 4 4 5.5 4
GrubEx1 2.9 4.5 4.5 6 4.5
Halts Crabgrass Preventer 3.0 4.5 4.5 6 4.5
Milorganite Classic 32 lb (non-Scotts) 12.8 11.5 11.5 8.5 6.5–7
Lesco-labeled fertilizers (non-Scotts) varies Convert the bag's Lesco gauge number — see Lesco settings

Starting points only — verify against the setting printed on your bag (Scotts products) and calibrate. Rates shown are label rates; where a bag's coverage implies a different rate, follow the bag.

Turf Builder across the season: Scotts' 4-Step program

"Turf Builder" isn't one product — it's a family, and Scotts times each one for a different part of the growing season under an official 4-Step program. The settings chart above covers the dial number for whichever Turf Builder product you're holding; this section covers which one to be holding and when.

Step Product Timing Purpose
1 Halts Crabgrass Preventer Early spring, before soil hits ~55°F for 5 days straight Pre-emergent — stops crabgrass before it germinates
2 Weed & Feed Spring, weeds actively growing, 60–90°F Kills existing broadleaf weeds (dandelion, clover) + feeds
3 SummerGuard Lawn Food with Insect Control Summer, June–August Feeds + controls surface insects (ants, chinch bugs, ticks, fleas, sod webworm)
4 WinterGuard Fall Lawn Food Fall, September–November — often two applications 6–8 weeks apart High-potassium feed for root development before winter

Outside the 4-step cycle, Turf Builder Starter Food for New Grass is the establishment-phase product — for new lawns and overseeded areas, not part of the seasonal rotation above. And Step 3's insect control is worth knowing by name if you've read our Bifen IT page: SummerGuard's insecticide component is the same active ingredient, bifenthrin.

This 4-step sequence is built for cool-season lawns (the Halts → Weed & Feed → SummerGuard → WinterGuard order above). Warm-season Southern lawns (St. Augustine, bermuda, zoysia, centipede, bahia) run a different product lineup and a 4-times-a-year schedule instead — check Scotts' regional guidance for your grass type. For the spreader setting on any of these products once you know which one you need, use the model-specific pages linked throughout this page.

Where Scotts actually publishes each setting

Three official places, in order of usefulness:

  1. The bag. Every Scotts product prints its settings per spreader model on the back panel. If you have the bag, you don't need a chart.
  2. The label PDF. Lost the bag or buying online? Each product page on scotts.com has a downloadable label under "Specs & Details" with the full settings block — the definitive source when bag printings change between product years.
  3. The Spreader Settings tool. ScottsMiracle-Gro's site has a lookup where you pick your Scotts product and spreader model. It only covers Scotts products in Scotts spreaders — for anything else, you're back to rate math, which is what the finder above does.

The gap in all three: non-Scotts products. Scotts has no reason to publish settings for Milorganite or a Lesco bag, and those manufacturers list at most one or two Scotts models. That gap — your spreader, their product — is what the finder, the cross-brand converter, and the calibration method exist to close.

If your Scotts spreader is past saving

Gate corroded open, wheels cracked, impeller wobbling — it happens, usually mid-season. A replacement broadcast spreader↗ costs less than the fertilizer a badly striping unit wastes in a season. For small lawns, a handheld spreader↗ does the same job with less storage.

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FAQ

Where does Scotts publish the spreader setting for each product?

On the product bag and each product's label PDF (scotts.com product page → Specs & Details → Download Label) — there is no master chart. Scotts also offers a Spreader Settings lookup tool on the ScottsMiracle-Gro site for Scotts products in Scotts spreaders.

What setting should I use for a product that doesn't list Scotts?

Work from the rate: bag weight ÷ labeled coverage × 1,000 gives lbs per 1,000 sq ft, then the setting finder gives a starting dial for your model. Verify with a calibration test strip before the whole lawn.

Can I use a Scotts spreader for grass seed and ice melt?

Yes — Scotts broadcast spreaders are rated for fertilizer, seed, and ice melt. Seed and ice melt flow very differently from fertilizer, so use the seed bag's printed setting rather than reusing a fertilizer number, and calibrate for over-seeding rates.

What's the difference between all the Turf Builder products?

They're timed for different parts of the season under Scotts' 4-Step program: Halts (early spring, pre-emergent crabgrass control), Weed & Feed (spring, kills existing broadleaf weeds), SummerGuard (summer, feeds plus controls surface insects), and WinterGuard (fall, builds roots before winter). Starter Food for New Grass sits outside that cycle, for new lawns and overseeding. See the schedule above for exact timing.

Related settings & tools

Important note

Settings on this page derive from Scotts product labels and manufacturer-published values, which Scotts and every other manufacturer describe as approximate starting points. The setting printed on your bag supersedes anything here, and walking speed, spreader wear, and granule size all shift the delivered rate — calibrate before treating the whole lawn.