Soil temperature in Baltimore, Maryland
Soil temperature
85°F29.3°C
at 6cm — germination depth
Cooling over the next 11 days.
Too warm to seed — the soil is heat-stressed. Wait for it to cool.
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.
| Species | Soil temp | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Perennial ryegrass | 8°C | 5–10 |
| Red / chewings fescue | 8–10°C | 10–14 |
| Tall fescuelikely yours | 10–12°C | 10–14 |
| Browntop bentColonial bentgrass | 10–12°C | 14–21 |
| Smooth-stalked meadow grassKentucky bluegrasslikely yours | 12–13°C | 14–28 |
Soil temperature at 6cm in Baltimore, Maryland is currently 29.3°C, and falling about 26.9°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 Kentucky bluegrass with tall fescue, the usual mix for cool-season lawns at this latitude. That blend needs the soil to hold above 12.5°C before seed germinates reliably. Too warm to seed — the soil is heat-stressed. Wait for it to cool.
7 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The best weekend slot right now is Sunday 10am–8pm, on the basis that no rain since Friday, ground firm.
The next recommended window in Baltimore opens at 8am on Wednesday 2 September, because anything earlier is the hour your neighbours will remember. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 56mm rain over the last week.
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 28.1°C cooling to 0.0°C
Tuesday 1 September: Not worth it. No — heat stress, 32°C.
Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident
No — heat stress, 32°C.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Friday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm56mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.32
- Poor:Temperature
- Heat stress29°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light7 km/h
Limiting factor:temperature
Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–2pm — cool — 24°C
Wednesday 2 September · 8am–2pmConfident
8am–2pm — cool — 24°C
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Friday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm56mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.53
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature23°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:temperature
Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–11am — grass dry — rain earlier today
Thursday 3 September · 8am–11amConfident
8am–11am — grass dry — rain earlier today
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm57mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.40
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature22°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light4 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Friday 4 September: Good. No — 6.7mm of rain falling.
Friday 4 SeptemberConfident
No — 6.7mm of rain falling.
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm32mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.35
- Poor:Temperature
- Cool25°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light10 km/h
Limiting factor:temperature
Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm
Saturday 5 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident
8am–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
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature20°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light12 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–8pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
Sunday 6 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident
10am–8pm — 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 0.95
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature17°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light9 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Monday 7 September: Good. 10am–3pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
Monday 7 September · 10am–3pmReasonably confident
10am–3pm — 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 0.83
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light2 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 Friday, ground firm
Tuesday 8 September · 8am–1pmReasonably confident
8am–1pm — 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 0.69
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature20°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light12 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:temperature
Wednesday 9 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.
Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out
No — ground frozen.
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Friday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.80
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature22°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Thursday 10 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.
Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out
No — ground frozen.
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm17mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.71
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature22°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light11 km/h
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Nearby
Your own postcode
These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.