Soil temperature in Columbus, Ohio
Soil temperature
85°F29.5°C
at 6cm — germination depth
Cooling over the next 10 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 Columbus, Ohio is currently 29.5°C, and falling about 27.0°C over the next 10 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.
8 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The best weekend slot right now is Monday 10am–2pm, on the basis that no rain since Friday, ground firm.
The next recommended window in Columbus opens at 8am on Wednesday 2 September, because that is first light. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 0mm 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 29.5°C cooling to 0.0°C
Tuesday 1 September: Good. No — heat stress, 29°C.
Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident
No — heat stress, 29°C.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Thursday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.41
- Poor:Temperature
- Heat stress29°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light8 km/h
Limiting factor:temperature
Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–11am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.34
Wednesday 2 September · 8am–11amConfident
8am–11am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.34
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Thursday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.34
- Poor:Temperature
- Cool24°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light4 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light
Limiting factor:growth
Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–11am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.32
Thursday 3 September · 8am–11amConfident
8am–11am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.32
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain in over a week
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.32
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature23°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light4 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light
Limiting factor:growth
Friday 4 September: Good. No — 0.1mm of rain falling.
Friday 4 SeptemberConfident
No — 0.1mm of rain falling.
- Poor:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.57
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature23°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
Limiting factor:temperature
Saturday 5 September: Good. midday–8pm — ground firm — 5mm rain over the last week
Saturday 5 September · midday–8pmReasonably confident
midday–8pm — ground firm — 5mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm5mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.89
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light7 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:ground firmness
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 firm9mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature16°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–2pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
Monday 7 September · 10am–2pmReasonably confident
10am–2pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Friday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.91
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature17°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light4 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Tuesday 8 September: Good. 8am–midday — no rain since Friday, ground firm
Tuesday 8 September · 8am–middayReasonably confident
8am–midday — no rain since Friday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Friday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light2 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light
Limiting factor:none
Wednesday 9 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.
Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out
No — ground frozen.
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature18°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light6 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Thursday 10 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.
Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out
No — ground frozen.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 5 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm11mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.75
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light13 km/h
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Nearby
Your own postcode
These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.