What is the soil temperature in Barrie, Ontario?

Soil temperature at 6cm in Barrie, Ontario is currently 21.9°C. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 21.9°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

Soil temperature in Barrie, Ontario

Soil temperature

21.9°C71°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 21.9°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.
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 Barrie, Ontario is currently 21.9°C, and falling about 20.6°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. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 21.9°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

7 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The other 3 are held back by wet grass or soft ground. The best weekend slot right now is Sunday 10am–8pm, on the basis that ground soft in places — 71mm rain over the last week.

The next recommended window in Barrie opens at 3pm 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 firm after 24mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Barrie

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 21.3°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident

No — grass wet, dew forming, no rain since Monday.

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass wetdew forming, no rain since Monday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm24mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
Good:Temperature: Temperature22°C
Good:Wind: Wind light6 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Wednesday 2 September · 3pm–5pmConfident

3pm–5pm — ground soft — 24mm rain over the last week

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Poor:Ground firmness: Ground soft24mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.94
Good:Temperature: Temperature20°C
Good:Wind: Wind light16 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off