Lisburn, Northern Ireland

Best weekend slot

Saturday 8am–9pm

Verdict: Good

no rain since Friday, ground firm

Next mow

Tomorrow 11am–midday

Verdict: Good

grass slightly damp — rain earlier today

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.

9°C — seeding

Soil at 6cm 16.1°C cooling to 13.1°C

Wednesday 2 September: Marginal. No — 0.4mm of rain falling.

Wednesday 2 SeptemberConfident

No — 0.4mm of rain falling.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass wetraining now
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm33mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
Good:Temperature
Temperature14°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 3 September: Good. 2pm–3pm — grass slightly damp — rain 1 hour ago

Thursday 3 September · 2pm–3pmConfident

2pm–3pm — grass slightly damp — rain 1 hour ago

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass slightly dampraining now
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm33mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.76
Good:Temperature
Temperature15°C
Good:Wind
Wind light15 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Friday 4 September: Good. midday–9pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Friday 4 September · midday–9pmConfident

midday–9pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm33mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.65
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light18 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Saturday 5 September · 8am–9pmConfident

8am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm27mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.55
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September: Not worth it. No — 2.1mm of rain falling.

Sunday 6 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — 2.1mm of rain falling.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass wetraining now
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft21mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.78
Good:Temperature
Temperature17°C
Good:Wind
Wind light16 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Monday 7 September: Good. 3pm–9pm — ground soft in places — 40mm rain over the last week

Monday 7 September · 3pm–9pmReasonably confident

3pm–9pm — ground soft in places — 40mm rain over the last week

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places40mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.55
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light17 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Tuesday 8 September: Good. 8am–11am — ground soft — 42mm rain over the last week

Tuesday 8 September · 8am–11amReasonably confident

8am–11am — ground soft — 42mm rain over the last week

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft42mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.37
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light16 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Wednesday 9 September: Good. midday–8pm — ground soft — 43mm rain over the last week

Wednesday 9 September · midday–8pmReasonably confident

midday–8pm — ground soft — 43mm rain over the last week

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft43mm rain over the last week
Marginal:Growth
Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.27
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light21 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighbours

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Thursday 10 September: Good. 8am–8pm — growing slowly — growth potential 0.23

Thursday 10 September · 8am–8pmLow confidence this far out

8am–8pm — growing slowly — growth potential 0.23

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Wednesday
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places42mm rain over the last week
Marginal:Growth
Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.23
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:growth

Friday 11 September: Good. 8am–8pm — ground soft in places — 37mm rain over the last week

Friday 11 September · 8am–8pmLow confidence this far out

8am–8pm — ground soft in places — 37mm rain over the last week

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Wednesday
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places37mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.41
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Soil temperature

14.0°C57°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 14.0°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

Almost every UK and Irish lawn is a ryegrass and fescue mix, whether it was sown or turfed. We assume that, and use9°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 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

What this means right now

  • Good: Seeding window open

    Seeding conditions are open — soil is 14.0°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

  • Worth watching: Ground still soft

    42mm rain over the last week. A mower will mark it, and a ride-on will rut it.

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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.