Soil temperature in Detroit, Michigan
Soil temperature
84°F29.0°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 Detroit, Michigan is currently 29.0°C, and falling about 26.6°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. 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 Detroit opens at 8pm on Tuesday 1 September, and holds while conditions stay put. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 15mm 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 29.0°C cooling to 0.0°C
Tuesday 1 September: Good. 8pm–9pm — heat stress — 28°C
Tuesday 1 September · 8pm–9pmConfident
8pm–9pm — heat stress — 28°C
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Monday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm15mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.55
- Poor:Temperature
- Heat stress28°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light17 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Your neighbours will remember it
Limiting factor:temperature
Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–midday — growing steadily — growth potential 0.37
Wednesday 2 September · 8am–middayConfident
8am–midday — growing steadily — growth potential 0.37
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Monday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm15mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.37
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature23°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light13 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:growth
Thursday 3 September: Good. No — 0.3mm of rain falling.
Thursday 3 SeptemberConfident
No — 0.3mm of rain falling.
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 2 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground soft in places15mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.47
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature23°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
Limiting factor:temperature
Friday 4 September: Good. 8am–9am — ground soft in places — 20mm rain over the last week
Friday 4 September · 8am–9amConfident
8am–9am — ground soft in places — 20mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground soft in places20mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.77
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature22°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light7 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light
Limiting factor:ground firmness
Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground soft in places
Saturday 5 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident
8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground soft in places
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground soft in places24mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature18°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light7 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light
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 firm24mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light6 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 0.92
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature18°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light6 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Tuesday 8 September: Good. 8am–8pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
Tuesday 8 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident
8am–8pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Friday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm8mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.80
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light8 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.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Friday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm8mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light11 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 dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.88
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light20 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Nearby
Your own postcode
These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.