Kalamazoo, Michigan

Best weekend slot

Saturday 8am–4pm

Verdict: Good

rain earlier today, ground firm

Next mow

Tomorrow 8am–11am

Verdict: Good

no rain since Sunday, 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 24.7°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 Sunday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.76
Good:Temperature
Cool23°C
Good:Wind
Wind light10 km/h

Limiting factor:temperature

Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–11am — no rain since Sunday, ground firm

Wednesday 2 September · 8am–11amConfident

8am–11am — no rain since Sunday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Sunday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.47
Poor:Temperature
Temperature21°C
Good:Wind
Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–11am — no rain since Sunday, ground firm

Thursday 3 September · 8am–11amConfident

8am–11am — no rain since Sunday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Sunday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.44
Poor:Temperature
Temperature23°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light

Limiting factor:none

Friday 4 September: Good. 8pm–9pm — cool — 26°C

Friday 4 September · 8pm–9pmConfident

8pm–9pm — cool — 26°C

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 5 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.75
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature21°C
Good:Wind
Wind light8 km/h
Sociable hours
Your neighbours will remember itstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:temperature

Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–4pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Saturday 5 September · 8am–4pmReasonably confident

8am–4pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.87
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature18°C
Good:Wind
Wind light11 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Sunday 6 September · 10am–9pmReasonably confident

10am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature14°C
Good:Wind
Wind light10 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Monday 7 September: Good. 10am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Monday 7 September · 10am–9pmReasonably confident

10am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
Good:Temperature
Temperature17°C
Good:Wind
Wind light8 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

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

Tuesday 8 September · 8am–2pmReasonably confident

8am–2pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.90
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature18°C
Good:Wind
Wind light8 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light

Limiting factor:none

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

Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature
Temperature19°C
Good:Wind
Wind light16 km/h

Limiting factor:none

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

Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature
Temperature18°C
Good:Wind
Wind light20 km/h

Limiting factor:none

Soil temperature

78°F25.3°C

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 25.3°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 25.3°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.

One email when the app is ready, and nothing else. Unsubscribe in one click. See the privacy notice.

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