Folkestone, England

Folkestone, England51.0817, 1.1673

Mowing

When you can next cut it, and the best slot this weekend.

Best weekend slot

Saturday 10am–11am

Verdict: Good to go, 65% chance it holds

ground soft in places — 49mm rain over the last week, medium (loam) soil

Next mow

Saturday 10am–11am

Verdict: Good to go, 65% chance it holds

ground soft in places — 49mm rain over the last week, medium (loam) soil

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.

  1. Monday 19 October: no hours worth using. No — grass wet, wet underfoot, rain earlier that day.
    Monday 19 October, hour by hour
    5am6am7am8am9am10am11ammidday1pm2pm3pm4pm5pm6pm7pm8pm
    Chance———<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%———
    VerdictAlready goneAlready goneAlready goneForget itForget itForget itForget itForget itForget itForget itForget itForget itForget itdarkdarkdark
    Rainchance···0%0%0%1%0%0%0%0%0%0%1%0%0%
    Rainmm···—————————————
    Grass···soakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoaked
    Ground···soggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggy
    Temp···11°10°11°11°12°12°12°13°13°13°13°14°14°
    Windkm/h···14171614151414141415131516
    Daylight···✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓———

    Growth: growing slowly (growth potential 0.23). 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.Chance is the share of 94 forecast runs — the same weather models re-run from slightly different starting conditions — in which you could have mowed that hour. The rows below it are what those runs expect on average, which is why an hour can look reasonable line by line and still fall short: the chance only counts runs where everything came together at once. Hover any cell for what the runs that ruled it out actually hit.

    Monday 19 OctoberConfident

    No — grass wet, wet underfoot, rain earlier that day.

    <5% forget it. Almost every run found the grass too wet.

    Limiting factor:grass wetness

  2. Tuesday 20 October: no hours worth using. No — 0.2mm of rain falling.
    Tuesday 20 October, hour by hour
    5am6am7am8am9am10am11ammidday1pm2pm3pm4pm5pm6pm7pm8pm
    Chance———45%30%30%20%25%15%10%20%10%5%———
    VerdictdarkdarkdarkTouch and goPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itForget itForget itPushing itForget itForget itdarkdarkdark
    Rainchance25%22%27%41%46%47%52%40%46%48%34%38%39%23%18%13%
    Rainmm0.10.10.10.20.30.60.40.30.20.20.20.20.10.10.1—
    Grassdampdampdampdampwetwetsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoaked
    Groundsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoft
    Temp13°13°13°12°11°12°13°13°13°14°15°15°15°14°13°12°
    Windkm/h20222422202423212117191118131520
    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.Chance is the share of 94 forecast runs — the same weather models re-run from slightly different starting conditions — in which you could have mowed that hour. The rows below it are what those runs expect on average, which is why an hour can look reasonable line by line and still fall short: the chance only counts runs where everything came together at once. Hover any cell for what the runs that ruled it out actually hit.

    Tuesday 20 OctoberLow confidence this far out

    No — 0.2mm of rain falling.

    45% touch and go. About half the runs found the grass too wet.

    Limiting factor:grass wetness

  3. Wednesday 21 October: no hours worth using. No — 0.1mm of rain falling.
    Wednesday 21 October, hour by hour
    5am6am7am8am9am10am11ammidday1pm2pm3pm4pm5pm6pm7pm8pm
    Chance———35%30%25%20%30%50%55%55%65%60%———
    VerdictdarkdarkdarkPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itTouch and goTouch and goTouch and goTouch and goTouch and godarkdarkdark
    Rainchance18%25%29%42%43%41%34%24%22%15%19%15%16%14%15%15%
    Rainmm0.20.10.20.30.40.40.20.20.20.10.10.10.10.20.20.2
    Grasssoakedwetwetwetwetsoakedsoakedwetdampdampdampdampdampdampdampdamp
    Groundsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoft
    Temp12°12°12°12°11°12°12°13°13°13°13°13°11°9°8°8°
    Windkm/h21222526313235404136272433485755
    Daylight———✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓———

    Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.16). 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.Chance is the share of 94 forecast runs — the same weather models re-run from slightly different starting conditions — in which you could have mowed that hour. The rows below it are what those runs expect on average, which is why an hour can look reasonable line by line and still fall short: the chance only counts runs where everything came together at once. Hover any cell for what the runs that ruled it out actually hit.

    Wednesday 21 OctoberLow confidence this far out

    No — 0.1mm of rain falling.

    65% touch and go. About 1 run in 3 found the grass too wet.

    Limiting factor:grass wetness

  4. Thursday 22 October: no hours worth using. No — grass slightly damp, wet underfoot, rain earlier that day.
    Thursday 22 October, hour by hour
    5am6am7am8am9am10am11ammidday1pm2pm3pm4pm5pm6pm7pm8pm
    Chance———25%25%25%25%35%60%55%55%55%60%———
    VerdictdarkdarkdarkPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itTouch and goTouch and goTouch and goTouch and goTouch and godarkdarkdark
    Rainchance28%28%34%18%21%12%12%14%14%21%26%35%40%37%39%61%
    Rainmm0.30.20.40.10.1—0.1—0.10.10.10.20.30.30.30.5
    Grasswetsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedwetwetdampdampdampdampdampdampdampwet
    Groundsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoftsoft
    Temp9°9°9°9°9°9°10°11°11°12°13°13°13°13°13°13°
    Windkm/h7121519222526252422201818171923
    Daylight———✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓———

    Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.16). 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.Chance is the share of 94 forecast runs — the same weather models re-run from slightly different starting conditions — in which you could have mowed that hour. The rows below it are what those runs expect on average, which is why an hour can look reasonable line by line and still fall short: the chance only counts runs where everything came together at once. Hover any cell for what the runs that ruled it out actually hit.

    Thursday 22 OctoberLow confidence this far out

    No — grass slightly damp, wet underfoot, rain earlier that day.

    60% touch and go. About half the runs found the grass too wet.

    Limiting factor:grass wetness

  5. Friday 23 October: no hours worth using. No — 0.4mm of rain falling.
    Friday 23 October, hour by hour
    5am6am7am8am9am10am11ammidday1pm2pm3pm4pm5pm6pm7pm8pm
    Chance———<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%———
    Verdictdarkdarkdarkground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggeddarkdarkdark
    Rainchance55%57%67%40%33%34%37%35%22%18%27%25%14%22%14%15%
    Rainmm0.90.71.20.50.50.50.30.50.20.20.20.20.20.20.30.4
    Grasssoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedwetwetwetwetdampdampdamp
    Groundbogbogbogbogbogbogbogbogbogbogbogbogbogbogbogbog
    Temp13°13°13°13°13°13°13°13°13°12°12°11°10°9°9°9°
    Windkm/h53555554535253565756545251504948
    Daylight———✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓———

    Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.19). 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.Chance is the share of 94 forecast runs — the same weather models re-run from slightly different starting conditions — in which you could have mowed that hour. The rows below it are what those runs expect on average, which is why an hour can look reasonable line by line and still fall short: the chance only counts runs where everything came together at once. Hover any cell for what the runs that ruled it out actually hit.

    Friday 23 OctoberReasonably confident

    No — 0.4mm of rain falling.

    <5% forget it. Almost every run found the grass too wet.

    Limiting factor:grass wetness

  6. Saturday 24 October: 5 hours worth using. 10am–11am — ground soft in places — 49mm rain over the last week, medium (loam) soil
    Saturday 24 October, hour by hour
    5am6am7am8am9am10am11ammidday1pm2pm3pm4pm5pm6pm7pm8pm
    Chance———50%60%65%65%70%75%75%70%65%55%———
    VerdictdarkdarkdarkTouch and goTouch and goGood to goTouch and goGood to goGood to goGood to goGood to goTouch and goTouch and godarkdarkdark
    Rainchance3%6%17%9%7%3%12%12%4%8%12%20%22%24%12%22%
    Rainmm—0.10.20.10.1—0.10.2—0.20.20.50.41.00.40.7
    Grassdampdampdampdampdampdrydrydrydrydrydrydampdampdampwetwet
    Groundsoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoftsoggysoggysoggy
    Temp8°7°7°8°8°9°10°11°11°12°12°12°12°12°12°12°
    Windkm/h39393939393836353433312927262526
    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.Chance is the share of 94 forecast runs — the same weather models re-run from slightly different starting conditions — in which you could have mowed that hour. The rows below it are what those runs expect on average, which is why an hour can look reasonable line by line and still fall short: the chance only counts runs where everything came together at once. Hover any cell for what the runs that ruled it out actually hit.

    Saturday 24 October · best slot10am–11amLow confidence this far out

    10am–11am — ground soft in places — 49mm rain over the last week, medium (loam) soil

    65% good to go. About 1 run in 3 found the ground too soft.

    Also mowable today: midday–4pm (55%) — the chance each one holds right through

    Limiting factor:ground firmness

  7. Sunday 25 October: no hours worth using. No — 0.2mm of rain falling.
    Sunday 25 October, hour by hour
    5am6am7am8am9am10am11ammidday1pm2pm3pm4pm5pm6pm7pm8pm
    Chance——<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%25%25%30%40%————
    Verdictdarkdarkground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itdarkdarkdarkdark
    Rainchance20%20%18%6%6%14%12%4%10%12%14%8%12%16%10%14%
    Rainmm0.30.20.20.20.20.20.20.10.10.10.1—0.10.20.10.1
    Grasssoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedwetwetwetwetwetwetwetwet
    Groundbogbogbogbogbogbogbogbogsoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggy
    Temp15°16°16°16°16°14°13°11°9°9°9°8°8°8°7°7°
    Windkm/h25242426283030302827262523222019
    Daylight——✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓————

    Growth: barely growing (growth potential 0.17). 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.Chance is the share of 94 forecast runs — the same weather models re-run from slightly different starting conditions — in which you could have mowed that hour. The rows below it are what those runs expect on average, which is why an hour can look reasonable line by line and still fall short: the chance only counts runs where everything came together at once. Hover any cell for what the runs that ruled it out actually hit.

    Sunday 25 OctoberReasonably confident

    No — 0.2mm of rain falling.

    40% pushing it. About 2 runs in 3 found the grass too wet.

    Limiting factor:grass wetness

  8. Monday 26 October: no hours worth using. No — 0.1mm of rain falling.
    Monday 26 October, hour by hour
    5am6am7am8am9am10am11ammidday1pm2pm3pm4pm5pm6pm7pm8pm
    Chance——25%20%20%25%25%25%25%25%25%25%————
    VerdictdarkdarkPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itdarkdarkdarkdark
    Rainchance12%12%18%14%12%10%18%16%18%8%16%16%12%14%10%20%
    Rainmm0.10.20.30.20.10.20.20.30.20.10.30.20.20.20.20.2
    Grasswetwetwetsoakedsoakedsoakedwetwetsoakedwetwetwetwetsoakedsoakedsoaked
    Groundsoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggy
    Temp5°6°6°7°8°9°10°11°12°13°13°14°14°14°14°14°
    Windkm/h87810151923252525232120191817
    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.Chance is the share of 94 forecast runs — the same weather models re-run from slightly different starting conditions — in which you could have mowed that hour. The rows below it are what those runs expect on average, which is why an hour can look reasonable line by line and still fall short: the chance only counts runs where everything came together at once. Hover any cell for what the runs that ruled it out actually hit.

    Monday 26 OctoberLow confidence this far out

    No — 0.1mm of rain falling.

    25% pushing it. About 2 runs in 3 found the grass too wet.

    Limiting factor:grass wetness

  9. Tuesday 27 October: no hours worth using. No — 0.8mm of rain falling.
    Tuesday 27 October, hour by hour
    5am6am7am8am9am10am11ammidday1pm2pm3pm4pm5pm6pm7pm8pm
    Chance——10%5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%<5%————
    VerdictdarkdarkForget itForget itground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggedground waterloggeddarkdarkdarkdark
    Rainchance16%14%22%22%20%22%16%25%4%22%22%25%12%10%10%10%
    Rainmm0.20.10.40.20.30.20.30.3—0.20.40.40.10.10.10.3
    Grasssoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoakedsoaked
    Groundsoggysoggysoggysoggybogbogbogbogbogbogbogbogbogsoggysoggysoggy
    Temp14°15°15°15°15°16°16°16°15°15°14°14°13°13°12°12°
    Windkm/h30323435353535343331282523212019
    Daylight——✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓————

    Growth: growing slowly (growth potential 0.33). 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.Chance is the share of 94 forecast runs — the same weather models re-run from slightly different starting conditions — in which you could have mowed that hour. The rows below it are what those runs expect on average, which is why an hour can look reasonable line by line and still fall short: the chance only counts runs where everything came together at once. Hover any cell for what the runs that ruled it out actually hit.

    Tuesday 27 OctoberLow confidence this far out

    No — 0.8mm of rain falling.

    10% forget it. Almost every run found the grass too wet.

    Limiting factor:grass wetness

  10. Wednesday 28 October: no hours worth using. No — 0.1mm of rain falling.
    Wednesday 28 October, hour by hour
    5am6am7am8am9am10am11ammidday1pm2pm3pm4pm5pm6pm7pm8pm
    Chance——30%30%35%35%50%55%60%60%60%60%————
    VerdictdarkdarkPushing itPushing itPushing itPushing itTouch and goTouch and goTouch and goTouch and goTouch and goTouch and godarkdarkdarkdark
    Rainchance10%6%2%4%0%4%2%0%4%0%4%8%0%0%6%6%
    Rainmm0.1—————————————0.1—
    Grasswetwetwetwetwetwetdampdampdampdampdampdampdampdampdampdamp
    Groundsoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggysoggy
    Temp12°12°12°13°13°13°14°14°14°14°14°13°13°13°13°13°
    Windkm/h17181819202122222323232323232526
    Daylight——✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓————

    Growth: growing slowly (growth potential 0.26). 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.Chance is the share of 94 forecast runs — the same weather models re-run from slightly different starting conditions — in which you could have mowed that hour. The rows below it are what those runs expect on average, which is why an hour can look reasonable line by line and still fall short: the chance only counts runs where everything came together at once. Hover any cell for what the runs that ruled it out actually hit.

    Wednesday 28 OctoberLow confidence this far out

    No — 0.1mm of rain falling.

    60% touch and go. About 1 run in 3 found the grass too wet.

    Limiting factor:grass wetness

good to go touch and go dark, frost or snow already goneFainter means fewer forecast runs agree.

How you feel about mowing

Sensible middle ground.

Petrol or battery. The baseline.

Growth

How fast it is growing, and when it will need cutting again.

23%Growing slowly

Of the fastest this grass could grow. The turf-industry measure, from today's temperature and day length.

Growing slowly — roughly 0.8mm a day. It will not put on enough to need cutting within the next 10 days.

Held back by both temperature and short days — 10.5 hours of daylight at 12°C.

Over the next 10 days
about 7mm 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 Folkestone, England

8.2°C47°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 8.2°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

Warming over the next 10 days.

Cross-checks against an independent estimate from air temperature (11.8°C), which agrees to within 1.4°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.

Soil temperature at 6cm for reliable germination. Sources onthe method page.
SpeciesSoil neededDays to sprout
Perennial ryegrasslikely yours8°C5–10
Red / chewings fescuelikely yours8–10°C10–14
Tall fescue10–12°C10–14
Browntop bentColonial bentgrass10–12°C14–21
Smooth-stalked meadow grassKentucky bluegrass12–13°C14–28

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.

Why timing beats product choice

Folkestone, England in detail

Soil temperature in Folkestone, England is currently 8.2°C at 6cm, and rising about 2.0°C over the next 10 days. 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 8.2°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

3 of the next 10 days look workable. The other 7 are held back by wet grass or soft ground. The best weekend slot right now is Saturday 10am–11am, on the basis that ground soft in places — 49mm rain over the last week, medium (loam) soil.

The next recommended window in Folkestone opens at 10am on Saturday 24 October, because anything earlier is the hour your neighbours will remember. Underfoot, the ground reads as soft after 29mm rain over the last week, medium (loam) soil.

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Chances counted across 94 forecast runs from MOGREPS-UK, 2km and ICON-EU-EPS, 7km and ECMWF IFS ensemble, 25km. Forecast from Open-Meteo, refreshed through the day. Soil temperature is modelled, not measured — how that works and where the thresholds come from.