Red Deer, Alberta

Best weekend slot

Sunday 10am–4pm

Verdict: Good

rain earlier today, ground firm

Next mow

Today 7pm–9pm

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 21.1°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 September: Good. 7pm–9pm — no rain since Sunday, ground firm

Tuesday 1 September · 7pm–9pmConfident

7pm–9pm — no rain since Sunday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Sunday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
Good:Temperature
Temperature20°C
Good:Wind
Wind light12 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but fine

Limiting factor:none

Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–9pm — no rain since Sunday, ground firm

Wednesday 2 September · 8am–9pmConfident

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

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Sunday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light2 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

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

Thursday 3 September · 3pm–4pmConfident

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

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 1 hour ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.81
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light2 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Friday 4 September: Good. 11am–9pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Friday 4 September · 11am–9pmConfident

11am–9pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm10mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.48
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light10 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Saturday 5 September: Good. 7pm–9pm — ground soft in places — 11mm rain over the last week

Saturday 5 September · 7pm–9pmReasonably confident

7pm–9pm — ground soft in places — 11mm rain over the last week

Good:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 2 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm11mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.36
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light15 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–4pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Sunday 6 September · 10am–4pmReasonably confident

10am–4pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm12mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.57
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light15 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Monday 7 September: Not worth it. No — 0.1mm of rain falling.

Monday 7 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — 0.1mm of rain falling.

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm11mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.65
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Tuesday 8 September: Good. 7pm–9pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Tuesday 8 September · 7pm–9pmReasonably confident

7pm–9pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.66
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light14 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Wednesday 9 September: Good. 10am–9pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Wednesday 9 September · 10am–9pmLow confidence this far out

10am–9pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm27mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.66
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 10 September: Good. 8am–9pm — no rain since Tuesday, ground firm

Thursday 10 September · 8am–9pmLow confidence this far out

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

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Tuesday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm27mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light7 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light

Limiting factor:none

Soil temperature

21.5°C71°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 21.5°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 21.5°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

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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.