Soil temperature in Athlone, Leinster

Soil temperature

14.5°C58°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 14.5°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

Soil temperature at 6cm in Athlone, Leinster is currently 14.5°C, and falling about 1.8°C over the next 11 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 14.5°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

9 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The other one is held back by wet grass or soft ground. The best weekend slot right now is Saturday 8am–9pm, on the basis that ground soft in places — 50mm rain over the last week.

The next recommended window in Athlone opens at 5pm on Wednesday 2 September, because that is when the dew has burnt off — earlier than that and you are cutting wet grass. Underfoot, the ground reads as soft after 26mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Athlone

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 16.7°C cooling to 13.5°C

Wednesday 2 September: Good. 5pm–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Wednesday 2 September · 5pm–8pmConfident

5pm–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft26mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.88
Good:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light10 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–10am — ground soft — 42mm rain over the last week

Thursday 3 September · 8am–10amConfident

8am–10am — ground soft — 42mm rain over the last week

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft42mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
Good:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light11 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Friday 4 September: Good. midday–9pm — ground soft — 50mm rain over the last week

Friday 4 September · midday–9pmConfident

midday–9pm — ground soft — 50mm rain over the last week

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft50mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.63
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light17 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–9pm — ground soft in places — 50mm rain over the last week

Saturday 5 September · 8am–9pmConfident

8am–9pm — ground soft in places — 50mm rain over the last week

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places50mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.51
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light8 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–11am — ground soft — 39mm rain over the last week

Sunday 6 September · 10am–11amReasonably confident

10am–11am — ground soft — 39mm rain over the last week

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 3 hours ago
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft39mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.84
Good:Temperature
Temperature18°C
Good:Wind
Wind light24 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Monday 7 September: Good. 8am–11am — ground soft — 34mm rain over the last week

Monday 7 September · 8am–11amReasonably confident

8am–11am — ground soft — 34mm rain over the last week

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places34mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.55
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light19 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Tuesday 8 September: Not worth it. No — ground waterlogged.

Tuesday 8 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — ground waterlogged.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground saturated37mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.40
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light10 km/h

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Wednesday 9 September: Good. No — ground waterlogged.

Wednesday 9 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — ground waterlogged.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft53mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.40
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light21 km/h

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Thursday 10 September: Good. 9am–8pm — grass dry — no rain since Wednesday

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

9am–8pm — grass dry — no rain since Wednesday

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Wednesday
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft37mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.36
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light4 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Friday 11 September: Good. 8am–2pm — ground soft — 28mm rain over the last week

Friday 11 September · 8am–2pmLow confidence this far out

8am–2pm — ground soft — 28mm rain over the last week

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft28mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.49
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light15 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

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