7 Best Garden Seeders in 2024 for Your Lawn & Gardens

Still planting seeds by hand? Skip the backbreaking labor, and use a garden seeder instead. From walk-behind to towable seeders, and from human-operated seeders to the battery-powered variety, garden seeders cleanly and efficiently seed your lawn or garden. They’re also a useful tool for spreading fertilizer, plus they can help de-ice a sidewalk or driveway in the wintertime.  

With a garden seeder planter, you’ll get the seeds evenly spaced and deep enough to grow. Features like EdgeGuard help to broadcast the seeds or fertilizer only where you want it. So, if you’ve never tried a garden seeder, or if you’re using a homemade garden seeder, you don’t know what you’ve been missing. Coming up next are seven of the best-rated garden seeders on the market. Try one, and you’ll agree, no serious gardener should go without.

Out Top Picks

Here’s a sprinkling of the best garden seeders on the market:

A Closer Look: Best Garden Seeders

Dig deep, because the best garden seeder reviews are coming up next:

Taking the top spot in our ranking of the best-rated garden seeders is the EarthWay Precision Garden Seeder. Made from aluminum, EarthWay offers about a 218 square foot capacity, perfect for the average suburban garden, lawn, yard, or food lot. This is the closest thing to a no-till garden seeder in our ranking. Note: all garden seeders require some form of tilling, either by hand or with a machine.

Otherwise, the seeder’s steady furrow helps you plant seeds precisely, with straight rows and consistent depth and spacing. Also setting EarthWay apart are the seven seed plates offered with purchase as an optional add-on. Benefits of the EarthWay, according to reviewers, include fast planting time, and it even works well in rocky terrain. 

Others say EarthWay cut planting that normally took a few hours down to about 20 minutes, and the variety of seed plates offered with the planter are a bonus. Some describe the row marker won’t stay upright, especially when the seeder is in storage, but that’s a relatively minor complaint.

For small jobs, you won’t need a garden seeder planter any bigger than the battery-operated Scotts Wizz Spreader. An excellent choice for small and medium yards with about 2,500 square feet of coverage, the Wizz Spreader is made of plastic. It has a 5-foot broadcast radius, and EdgeGuard technology helps seed, fertilizer, or weed control products just where you want it in a single pass, while the HandyLock technology cuts down on hand fatigue.

Those who’ve used the garden seeder planter call it a “wrist-saver” with a sizable hopper. The auto-controls have clear directions, meaning its an easy product to use. One user described applying weed remover to their perennial beds with Wizz Spreader. It worked great for this purpose, according to reports, while also keeping the weed remover off their user’s hands. Otherwise, the Wizz is a great choice for small spaces and can even be used to spread de-icer on a driveway, users say.

For big jobs, you’ll want a garden seeder planter that’s up the challenge. That seeder is the towable Agri-Fab 45-0543. Made from polyurethane and steel, this spiker/seeder/spreader with a universal hitch has 8-galvanized steel spike disks, a premium galvanized metal agitator and a rust-proof hopper. Pull it behind your lawn tractor or riding lawn mower and aerate and seed in a single pass, thanks to the combined design.

According to reports, this product is overkill for small to medium lawns and gardens, but it’s ideal for large lots. Feedback says it’s easy to use, and that it works great and spreads evenly, planting seeds at the desired depth. The ability to aerate while seeding or fertilizing is a definite bonus, according to some, and we especially like the 10-inch tires and on/off control accessible from most standard tractor seats.

For a comfortable walk-behind garden seeder with a large capacity, choose the Scotts Turf Builder. Easily handling up to 5,000 square feet, the Scotts Turf Builder is no assembly required, with precision rate settings and EdgeGuard technology, keeping seeds off landscaping and sidewalks, or anywhere else you don’t want them to land. The settings are adjusted with an easy-to-use dial. Since it’s a broadcast spreader, you can count on consistent seed distribution in a 180-degree swath. There’s also a fold-down handle for convenient storage. 

Those who’ve tried the 76121 say the EdgeGuard works as promised, spreading nicely in 5-foot increments starting left to right. It is important to “rough up” your soil before using the spreader, but that’s common practice when planting. Otherwise, it works well in lawns and yards of all sizes, users comment, and it’s easy to assemble. We were particularly pleased to hear how well it maneuvers around plants, sidewalks, driveways, and flower beds.

If you’re after the best-rated garden seeders for large lots, look no further than the EarthWay Even Spread 2150. Made from steel and plastic and covering about 6,000 square feet, EarthWay’s patented 3-hole drop shut-off system helps spread the seeds evenly with feathering on the edges as your crops blend together. Also notable, the gearbox is enclosed and stays remarkably clog-free. The side-spread deflectors keep the seeds only where you want them. 

Two more features contributing to the 2150 being a great choice for big jobs are the durable steel T-bar, and the 13” pneumatic stud tires. The spreader feels strong and is a joy to push, according to reports. Additionally, the big tires are a definite advantage, users say, in terms of mobility and ease of use. One gardener who used it to spread fertilizer on their large yard said the 2150 saved them time. Another user with a big lot to fertilize described this garden seeder planter broadcasting smoothly and beautifully, calling the Even Spread a much better choice than cheaper, plastic models from other brands. 

For quickly and easily plant many different kinds of seeds simultaneously in a medium to large lot, save time and effort by using a multi-row garden seeder. Available with as many as five and as few as two seed bunkers, the Varamorus metal precision manual seeder is our choice for the best multi-row garden seeder on the market. The handle itself is sold separately, but otherwise, the seeder offers adjustable row distance, and up to 20 nozzles ranging from three to four millimeters each.

The sowing brush limiter is also adjustable according to the amount of seed required. Included with purchase is a flip-out seed ejector, a set of sowing drums, and brushes. Overall, the multi-row seeder works well for in-ground gardens. One reviewer bought it specifically for a garden measuring about 6,000 square feet, and had good results. Generally speaking, though, it is better suited for smaller seeds, like radishes, carrots, beets, and greens.

The closest thing to a homemade garden seeder in our ranking is the low-tech and easy-to-use hand-crank garden seeder planter from Chapin. Chapin’s 8607A has a 1.6-Liter, 0.4-gallon capacity scoop spreader with an easy-crank design and completely enclosed gears. Suitable for seed and fertilizer, but also de-icer in the winter, the Chapin is a great choice for very small gardens, or to put the finishing touches in an area too out-of-the-way for a larger garden seeder. It also offers settings for fine and medium-sized seeds and pellets.

Those who’ve tried the Chapin call it sturdily built from quality, complex plastic parts. It was even up for the task of fertilizing a large lawn, according to reports. Though several refills were required. it’s also very lightweight and easy to carry. This is a definite upgrade from a cardboard box-seeder, users say, and the seeds and fertilizers are brought to the spread wheel smoothly and without any shaking.  

Our Process

For this guide on the best garden seeder, our team spent 5 hours researching the most popular options from over 35 brands and manufacturers big and small. We then read about thirty-five user reviews (both positive and negative) to discover what shoppers thought about each garden seeder. After comparing this data, we narrowed our list down to the top 7 garden seeders on the market. You can count on this research to guide you to a mindful purchasing decision.

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