CO1, Colchester
Mowing
When you can next cut it, and the best slot this weekend.
Best weekend slot
Nothing doing
Verdict: Not worth it
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.07).
Wednesday afternoon is your first decent window.
Next mow
Wednesday 2pm–5pm
Verdict: Prime time
grass dry — rain earlier that day
- Worth watching: Ground still soft. 50mm rain over the last week, medium (loam) soil. A mower will mark it, and a ride-on will rut it. More
The next 10 days
Each row is a day, morning on the left. The more solid a block, the more of the forecast runs agree you can mow. Open a day for the hour-by-hour forecast behind it.
Monday 19 October: no hours worth using. No — grass wet, still wet underfoot, rain earlier today.
Monday 19 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict Already gone Already gone Already gone Already gone Already gone Already gone Already gone Already gone Already gone Already gone Already gone Already gone Forget it dark dark dark Rainchance · · · · · · · · · · · · — — — — Rainmm · · · · · · · · · · · · — — — — Grass · · · · · · · · · · · · soaked soaked soaked soaked Ground · · · · · · · · · · · · firm firm firm firm Temp · · · · · · · · · · · · 13° 13° 13° 13° Windkm/h · · · · · · · · · · · · 11 8 5 5 Daylight · · · · · · · · · · · · ✓ — — — Growth: growing slowly (growth potential 0.21). Enough to be worth cutting. Growth decides whether a cut is wanted, not how well it will go, so it is not one of the rows above and does not move the chances.
Monday 19 OctoberConfident
No — grass wet, still wet underfoot, rain earlier today.
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Tuesday 20 October: no hours worth using. No — 0.1mm of rain falling.
Tuesday 20 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict dark dark dark Forget it Forget it 0.1mm of rain falling 0.6mm of rain falling 0.8mm of rain falling 0.4mm of rain falling 1.0mm of rain falling 0.4mm of rain falling 0.7mm of rain falling 0.2mm of rain falling dark dark dark Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — 0.1 0.6 0.8 0.4 1 0.4 0.7 0.2 — — — Grass soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked Ground firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm Temp 13° 13° 12° 12° 13° 13° 13° 12° 12° 12° 12° 12° 13° 13° 13° 13° Windkm/h 14 13 16 15 18 19 17 17 18 18 14 12 12 13 11 10 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — — Growth: growing slowly (growth potential 0.27). Enough to be worth cutting. Growth decides whether a cut is wanted, not how well it will go, so it is not one of the rows above and does not move the chances.
Tuesday 20 OctoberConfident
No — 0.1mm of rain falling.
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Wednesday 21 October: 3 hours worth using. 2pm–5pm — grass dry — rain earlier that day
Wednesday 21 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict dark dark dark Forget it Forget it 0.1mm of rain falling Forget it Forget it Forget it Prime time Prime time Prime time 0.4mm of rain falling dark dark dark Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — 0.1 — — — — — — 0.4 0.8 1 0.2 Grass soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked damp dry dry wet soaked soaked soaked Ground firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm Temp 10° 9° 11° 12° 12° 12° 12° 13° 12° 11° 10° 10° 10° 10° 10° 10° Windkm/h 8 9 14 18 21 23 19 19 24 31 30 30 31 28 30 30 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.13). Enough to be worth cutting. Growth decides whether a cut is wanted, not how well it will go, so it is not one of the rows above and does not move the chances.
Wednesday 21 October · 2pm–5pmConfident
2pm–5pm — grass dry — rain earlier that day
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Thursday 22 October: nothing to cut. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.08). Conditions themselves are fine.
Thursday 22 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 — — — — — — — — — — Grass soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked dry dry dry dry dry dry dry Ground firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm firm Temp 6° 6° 6° 7° 7° 8° 9° 10° 11° 11° 11° 11° 11° 10° 9° 9° Windkm/h 10 9 8 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 15 13 10 9 10 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.08). Not enough to be worth cutting, which is why no hour is recommended today whatever the weather does.
Thursday 22 OctoberConfident
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.08). Conditions themselves are fine.
Nothing to cut. The odds below describe the weather only — growth decides whether a cut is wanted, and it is judged separately.
Limiting factor:growth
Friday 23 October: no hours worth using. No — 0.1mm of rain falling.
Friday 23 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict dark dark dark 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.8mm of rain falling 0.8mm of rain falling 0.8mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling dark dark dark Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 2.6 Grass soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked Ground soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft bog bog bog bog bog Temp 13° 12° 11° 11° 11° 10° 10° 10° 10° 10° 9° 9° 9° 8° 7° 7° Windkm/h 28 28 28 27 27 27 31 36 40 42 42 42 42 42 41 39 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.11). Enough to be worth cutting. Growth decides whether a cut is wanted, not how well it will go, so it is not one of the rows above and does not move the chances.
Friday 23 OctoberReasonably confident
No — 0.1mm of rain falling.
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Saturday 24 October: nothing to cut. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.07).
Saturday 24 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — — — — — — — — 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.3 Grass soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked wet damp damp damp damp wet soaked soaked Ground soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy bog bog bog bog Temp 6° 6° 6° 6° 7° 7° 8° 10° 11° 11° 11° 11° 10° 9° 9° 9° Windkm/h 28 26 24 23 22 22 22 22 21 19 17 15 14 14 14 15 Daylight — — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.07). Not enough to be worth cutting, which is why no hour is recommended today whatever the weather does.
Saturday 24 OctoberReasonably confident
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.07).
Nothing to cut. The odds below describe the weather only — growth decides whether a cut is wanted, and it is judged separately.
Limiting factor:growth
Sunday 25 October: no hours worth using. No — 0.1mm of rain falling.
Sunday 25 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict dark dark 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.4mm of rain falling 0.4mm of rain falling 0.4mm of rain falling 0.4mm of rain falling dark dark dark dark Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 — — Grass soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked wet Ground soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy Temp 13° 14° 15° 16° 16° 17° 18° 18° 17° 16° 15° 14° 13° 12° 12° 11° Windkm/h 17 17 18 19 22 24 26 28 29 30 31 31 32 32 31 31 Daylight — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — — — Growth: growing slowly (growth potential 0.31). Enough to be worth cutting. Growth decides whether a cut is wanted, not how well it will go, so it is not one of the rows above and does not move the chances.
Sunday 25 OctoberReasonably confident
No — 0.1mm of rain falling.
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Monday 26 October: nothing to cut. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.08).
Monday 26 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — — — — 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 — — Grass soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked damp damp damp wet soaked soaked soaked soaked soaked Ground soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soggy soft soft soft soft soft soft soft Temp 5° 5° 6° 7° 8° 9° 10° 11° 11° 12° 12° 12° 12° 12° 12° 11° Windkm/h 10 9 9 10 12 14 16 17 17 16 15 14 13 13 12 12 Daylight — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — — — Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.08). Not enough to be worth cutting, which is why no hour is recommended today whatever the weather does.
Monday 26 OctoberReasonably confident
Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.08).
Nothing to cut. The odds below describe the weather only — growth decides whether a cut is wanted, and it is judged separately.
Limiting factor:growth
Tuesday 27 October: no hours worth using. No — 0.2mm of rain falling.
Tuesday 27 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict dark dark 0.2mm of rain falling 0.2mm of rain falling 0.2mm of rain falling 0.2mm of rain falling 0.2mm of rain falling 0.2mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling 0.1mm of rain falling dark dark dark dark Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 — — Grass dry dry damp wet wet soaked wet damp dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry Ground soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft Temp 14° 14° 15° 15° 16° 16° 17° 17° 16° 16° 15° 14° 13° 12° 12° 12° Windkm/h 23 25 26 28 29 30 31 31 30 28 26 23 21 20 19 18 Daylight — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — — — Growth: growing slowly (growth potential 0.29). Enough to be worth cutting. Growth decides whether a cut is wanted, not how well it will go, so it is not one of the rows above and does not move the chances.
Tuesday 27 OctoberLow confidence this far out
No — 0.2mm of rain falling.
Limiting factor:ground firmness
Wednesday 28 October: 5 hours worth using. 8am–1pm — ground soft in places — 40mm rain over the last week, medium (loam) soil
Wednesday 28 October, hour by hour 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am midday 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Chance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Verdict dark dark Forget it Prime time Prime time Prime time Prime time Prime time 0.2mm of rain falling 0.2mm of rain falling 0.2mm of rain falling 0.2mm of rain falling dark dark dark dark Rainchance — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Rainmm — — — — — — — — 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 Grass dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry dry damp wet soaked Ground soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft soft Temp 10° 10° 11° 11° 13° 14° 15° 15° 15° 15° 14° 14° 13° 13° 13° 12° Windkm/h 13 13 14 15 17 19 20 21 21 21 21 20 20 20 20 21 Daylight — — ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ — — — — Growth: growing slowly (growth potential 0.21). Enough to be worth cutting. Growth decides whether a cut is wanted, not how well it will go, so it is not one of the rows above and does not move the chances.
Wednesday 28 October · 8am–1pmLow confidence this far out
8am–1pm — ground soft in places — 40mm rain over the last week, medium (loam) soil
Limiting factor:ground firmness
good to go touch and go dark, frost or snow already goneFainter means fewer forecast runs agree.
Growth
How fast it is growing, and when it will need cutting again.
21%Growing slowly
Of the fastest this grass could grow. The turf-industry measure, from today's temperature and day length.
Growing slowly — roughly 0.7mm a day. It will not put on enough to need cutting within the next 10 days.
Held back by both temperature and short days — 10.4 hours of daylight at 12°C.
- Over the next 10 days
- about 6mm of leaf
- Next cut due
- not within the next ten days
This only knows temperature and day length. Feeding, watering, shade and cutting height all move it, so treat it as a rough guide.
Worked out from the PACE Turf growth potential model and day length —how and why.
Seeding
Soil temperature at germination depth, and when the window opens.
Soil temperature in CO1, Colchester
13.1°C56°F
at 6cm — germination depth
Seeding conditions are open — soil is 13.1°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.
Holding steady over the next 10 days.
Cross-checks against an independent estimate from air temperature (11.5°C), which agrees to within 0.0°C.
Almost every UK and Irish lawn is a ryegrass and fescue mix, whether it was sown or turfed. We assume that, and use 9°C as the seeding threshold.
Thresholds for every species
The differences are small. Ryegrass is the quickest off the mark; bluegrass is the slowest and wants the warmest soil. Everything else sits between.
| Species | Soil needed | Days to sprout |
|---|---|---|
| Perennial ryegrasslikely yours | 8°C | 5–10 |
| Red / chewings fescuelikely yours | 8–10°C | 10–14 |
| Tall fescue | 10–12°C | 10–14 |
| Browntop bentColonial bentgrass | 10–12°C | 14–21 |
| Smooth-stalked meadow grassKentucky bluegrass | 12–13°C | 14–28 |
Feeding
Why timing decides whether a feed does anything at all.
Coming in the app
Grass takes up nitrogen when it is growing. Feed a lawn that has stopped and most of it washes past the roots — which is why timing beats product choice.
Right now this lawn is not growing fast enough to make much use of a feed.
The app will work out the actual feeding windows for your lawn — along with weed control, scarifying and moss treatment — and tell you when they open without you having to check.
CO1, Colchester in detail
Soil temperature in CO1, Colchester is currently 13.1°C at 6cm, and barely moving. That depth matters because it is where grass seed sits and where roots start working, and it lags air temperature by days — which is why a warm afternoon here tells you very little on its own.
Lawns in this area are typically perennial ryegrass with fescue, which is what most lawns round here are sown with. That blend needs the soil to hold above 9°C before seed germinates reliably. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 13.1°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.
2 of the next 10 days look workable. The other 8 are held back by wet grass or soft ground. As for the weekend: nothing doing. Nothing to cut — the grass is barely growing (growth potential 0.07).
The next recommended window in CO1 opens at 2pm on Wednesday 21 October, because that is when the dew has burnt off — earlier than that and you are cutting wet grass. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 13mm rain over the last week, medium (loam) soil.
Save this lawn and we will email you when the windows open.
We already send you the forecast email? Use the same address.
Single-model forecast here — no ensemble covers this location, so there are no odds to show. Forecast from Open-Meteo, refreshed through the day. Soil temperature is modelled, not measured — how that works and where the thresholds come from.