Duluth, Minnesota

Best weekend slot

Saturday 8am–8pm

Verdict: Good

no rain since Friday, ground firm

Next mow

Tomorrow 8am–8pm

Verdict: Good

no rain since Monday, ground firm

How you feel about mowing

Sensible middle ground.

Petrol or battery. The baseline.

The next 10 days

Column height is how mowable the day is; the lighter band is the best stretch within it. The line is soil temperature at 6cm. It crosses the seeding threshold inside this forecast.

12.5°C — seeding

Soil at 6cm 20.5°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 September: Not worth it. No — cool, 24°C.

Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident

No — cool, 24°C.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Monday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm7mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.89
Good:Temperature
Temperature22°C
Good:Wind
Wind light13 km/h

Limiting factor:temperature

Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–8pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm

Wednesday 2 September · 8am–8pmConfident

8am–8pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Monday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm7mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.90
Good:Temperature
Temperature18°C
Good:Wind
Wind light8 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–5pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm

Thursday 3 September · 8am–5pmConfident

8am–5pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Monday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm7mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
Good:Temperature
Temperature17°C
Good:Wind
Wind light16 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Friday 4 September: Good. 5pm–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Friday 4 September · 5pm–8pmConfident

5pm–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm8mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.89
Good:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light15 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–8pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Saturday 5 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

8am–8pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm19mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light10 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September: Good. 3pm–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Sunday 6 September · 3pm–8pmReasonably confident

3pm–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm18mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
Good:Temperature
Temperature17°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Monday 7 September: Good. 2pm–8pm — dried off since a shower 2 hours ago, ground firm

Monday 7 September · 2pm–8pmReasonably confident

2pm–8pm — dried off since a shower 2 hours ago, ground firm

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 2 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm23mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
Good:Temperature
Temperature19°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 September: Good. 8am–5pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Tuesday 8 September · 8am–5pmReasonably confident

8am–5pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm19mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.46
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light24 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Wednesday 9 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.

Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 2 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm19mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.79
Good:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light4 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 10 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.

Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm27mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.48
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light14 km/h

Limiting factor:none

Soil temperature

71°F21.7°C

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 21.7°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

Most cool-season lawns in the northern US and Canada are bluegrass, tall fescue, or a mix of the two. We assume that, and use12.5°C as the seeding threshold.

I know what grass I have

The differences are small. Ryegrass is the quickest off the mark; bluegrass is the slowest and wants the warmest soil. Everything else sits between.

Soil temperature at 6cm for reliable germination. Sources onthe method page.
SpeciesSoil tempDays
Perennial ryegrass8°C5–10
Red / chewings fescue8–10°C10–14
Tall fescuelikely yours10–12°C10–14
Browntop bentColonial bentgrass10–12°C14–21
Smooth-stalked meadow grassKentucky bluegrasslikely yours12–13°C14–28

What this means right now

  • Good: Seeding window open

    Seeding conditions are open — soil is 21.7°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

  • Warning: Heat stress

    Wednesday 2 September gets hot enough to stress the sward. Mow early or late, and raise the height.

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Forecast from Open-Meteo, refreshed hourly. Soil temperature is modelled, not measured — how that works and where the thresholds come from.