Manchester, New Hampshire

Best weekend slot

Saturday 3pm–4pm

Verdict: Good

dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Next mow

Tomorrow 4pm–8pm

Verdict: Good

no rain since Tuesday, 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 17.6°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 September: Not worth it. No — grass wet, rain earlier today.

Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident

No — grass wet, rain earlier today.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass wetrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.92
Good:Temperature
Temperature18°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Wednesday 2 September: Good. 4pm–8pm — no rain since Tuesday, ground firm

Wednesday 2 September · 4pm–8pmConfident

4pm–8pm — no rain since Tuesday, ground firm

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Tuesday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.94
Good:Temperature
Temperature17°C
Good:Wind
Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September: Good. 6pm–8pm — temperature — 23°C

Thursday 3 September · 6pm–8pmConfident

6pm–8pm — temperature — 23°C

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature17°C
Good:Wind
Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:temperature

Friday 4 September: Good. 8am–2pm — no rain since Thursday, ground firm

Friday 4 September · 8am–2pmConfident

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

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Thursday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Saturday 5 September: Good. 3pm–4pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Saturday 5 September · 3pm–4pmReasonably confident

3pm–4pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Thursday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
Good:Temperature
Temperature14°C
Good:Wind
Wind light7 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Sunday 6 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

10am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm15mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.76
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light8 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Monday 7 September: Good. 10am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Monday 7 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

10am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.87
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 September: Good. 8am–1pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Tuesday 8 September · 8am–1pmReasonably confident

8am–1pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light4 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.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.80
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 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.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass wetrain 2 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.80
Good:Temperature
Temperature15°C
Good:Wind
Wind light4 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Soil temperature

64°F17.8°C

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 17.8°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 17.8°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

  • Warning: Heat stress

    Thursday 3 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.