What is the soil temperature in Dorchester, England?

Soil temperature at 6cm in Dorchester, England is currently 16.2°C. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 16.2°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

Soil temperature in Dorchester, England

Soil temperature

16.2°C61°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 16.2°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

Almost every UK and Irish lawn is a ryegrass and fescue mix, whether it was sown or turfed. We assume that, and use9°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 ryegrasslikely yours	8°C	5–10
Red / chewings fescuelikely yours	8–10°C	10–14
Tall fescue	10–12°C	10–14
Browntop bentColonial bentgrass	10–12°C	14–21
Smooth-stalked meadow grassKentucky bluegrass	12–13°C	14–28

Soil temperature at 6cm in Dorchester, England is currently 16.2°C, and falling about 2.1°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 perennial ryegrass with fescue, which is what most lawns round here are sown with. That blend needs the soil to hold above 9°C before seed germinates reliably. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 16.2°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

8 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The best weekend slot right now is Sunday 10am–5pm, on the basis that no rain since Friday, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Dorchester opens at 2pm on Wednesday 2 September, because the rain clears by then. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 43mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Dorchester

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.

9°C — seeding

Soil at 6cm 17.4°C cooling to 15.2°C

Wednesday 2 September · 2pm–8pmConfident

2pm–8pm — ground firm — 43mm rain over the last week

Marginal:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm43mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.93
Good:Temperature: Temperature17°C
Good:Wind: Wind light14 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Thursday 3 September · 8am–8pmConfident

8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm46mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
Good:Temperature: Temperature18°C
Good:Wind: Wind light19 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Friday 4 September · 5pm–8pmConfident

5pm–8pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm35mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
Good:Temperature: Temperature19°C
Good:Wind: Wind light20 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Saturday 5 September · 8am–8pmConfident

8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm37mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.85
Good:Temperature: Temperature14°C
Good:Wind: Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September · 10am–5pmReasonably confident

10am–5pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm17mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
Good:Temperature: Temperature16°C
Good:Wind: Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Monday 7 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.89
Good:Temperature: Temperature15°C
Good:Wind: Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — 0.5mm of rain falling.

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Sunday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm7mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.73
Good:Temperature: Temperature15°C
Good:Wind: Wind light14 km/h

Limiting factor:none

Wednesday 9 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

8am–8pm — wind light — 20 km/h

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm17mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.57
Good:Temperature: Temperature13°C
Marginal:Wind: Wind light20 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:wind

Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — 0.1mm of rain falling.

Good:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm14mm rain over the last week
Marginal:Growth: Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.28
Good:Temperature: Temperature11°C
Good:Wind: Wind light5 km/h

Limiting factor:growth

Friday 11 September · 8am–8pmLow confidence this far out

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 0.52
Good:Temperature: Temperature11°C
Good:Wind: Wind light12 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Nearby

Your own postcode

These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.