Not to kill the Labor Day buzz, but have you given any thought to putting the lawn to bed yet? No? Neither has anyone else! How about we help you get the jump on it this year with some tips on getting your lawn ready and preparing to shut your irrigation system down for the winter.

Though the Boulder area can have lots of nice warm weather through October, we can also get surprise cold snaps that won't hurt the lawn but can be lethal to your sprinklers! Early October last year was an unfortunate example that caught nearly everyone off guard! "Perfect" timing for turning off sprinklers is best left to luck and sooth-sayers. "Smart" timing comes from years of experience. Follow these easy rules of thumb for optimizing lawn health and sprinkler preservation.

Preparing your lawn for winter

• If your lawn has not yet been aerated this year, plan on doing it about three weeks before you turn off your sprinklers. Aeration allows both air and moisture to go to the roots, building a healthy foundation for your plants to over-winter.
  
• Schedule a natural winter fertilization. Winter fertilizers are lower in nitrogen and higher in phosphorous and potassium to encourage strong roots over blade growth. You want to winterize about 3 weeks before the ground freezes, sometime in early to mid October.
• Once your sprinklers have been put to bed, give your lawn one last mowing at a height of three inches. If we have a warm, wet fall, you may have to mow a little later as well.
• Lawns will naturally brown after a few crisp frosts (and can green up again during Indian Summer). This is a good time to look for disparities in color, such as persistent green patches in fall. This can indicate simply a patch of hardier seed variety, or may occur in protected areas, but it could also indicate a low-lying area of the lawn that is retaining more water and needs leveling. Your landscaper can temporarily remove the sod and install drainage and additional soil.

Winterizing your irrigation system.