Soil temperature in Des Moines, Iowa
Soil temperature
84°F28.9°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 Des Moines, Iowa is currently 28.9°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 Monday 2pm–8pm, on the basis that cool — 25°C.
The next recommended window in Des Moines opens at 8am on Wednesday 2 September, because anything earlier is the hour your neighbours will remember. 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 27.4°C cooling to 0.0°C
Tuesday 1 September: Not worth it. No — heat stress, 29°C.
Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident
No — heat stress, 29°C.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain in the record
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.39
- Poor:Temperature
- Cool26°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light9 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 in the record
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.34
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature22°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light4 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:growth
Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–11am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.29
Thursday 3 September · 8am–11amConfident
8am–11am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.29
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain in the record
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.29
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature23°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light9 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:growth
Friday 4 September: Good. No — 0.3mm of rain falling.
Friday 4 SeptemberConfident
No — 0.3mm of rain falling.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
- Poor:Growth
- Barely growinggrowth potential 0.14
- Poor:Temperature
- Heat stress27°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light18 km/h
Limiting factor:growth
Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–10am — barely growing — growth potential 0.14
Saturday 5 September · 8am–10amReasonably confident
8am–10am — barely growing — growth potential 0.14
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
- Poor:Growth
- Barely growinggrowth potential 0.14
- Poor:Temperature
- Cool23°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light13 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:growth
Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–11am — heat stress — 27°C
Sunday 6 September · 10am–11amReasonably confident
10am–11am — heat stress — 27°C
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm3mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.37
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light11 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed
Limiting factor:temperature
Monday 7 September: Good. 2pm–8pm — cool — 25°C
Monday 7 September · 2pm–8pmReasonably confident
2pm–8pm — cool — 25°C
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.64
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature22°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light11 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:temperature
Tuesday 8 September: Good. 5pm–8pm — heat stress — 26°C
Tuesday 8 September · 5pm–8pmReasonably confident
5pm–8pm — heat stress — 26°C
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm5mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light11 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts once the rain has passed
Limiting factor:temperature
Wednesday 9 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.
Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out
No — ground frozen.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.58
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light4 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 dryno rain since Tuesday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature12°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light12 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Nearby
Your own postcode
These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.