Soil temperature in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Soil temperature
78°F25.4°C
at 6cm — germination depth
Cooling over the next 11 days.
Seeding conditions are open — soil is 25.4°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.
| 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 Grand Rapids, Michigan is currently 25.4°C, and falling about 24.1°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 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 25.4°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.
7 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The best weekend slot right now is Monday 10am–9pm, on the basis that no rain since Friday, ground firm.
The next recommended window in Grand Rapids opens at midday 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 4mm 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 24.8°C cooling to 0.0°C
Tuesday 1 September: Not worth it. No — cool, 25°C.
Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident
No — cool, 25°C.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Sunday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.69
- Good:Temperature
- Cool24°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light6 km/h
Limiting factor:temperature
Wednesday 2 September: Good. midday–1pm — heat stress — 27°C
Wednesday 2 September · midday–1pmConfident
midday–1pm — heat stress — 27°C
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.57
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:temperature
Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–midday — grass dry — dried off since a shower 4 hours ago
Thursday 3 September · 8am–middayConfident
8am–midday — grass dry — dried off since a shower 4 hours ago
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 4 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm6mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.56
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature22°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Friday 4 September: Good. 2pm–3pm — heat stress — 28°C
Friday 4 September · 2pm–3pmConfident
2pm–3pm — heat stress — 28°C
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 5 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm7mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.77
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light12 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:temperature
Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–9pm — rain earlier today, ground firm
Saturday 5 September · 8am–9pmReasonably confident
8am–9pm — rain earlier today, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm17mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.92
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature17°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light10 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light
Limiting factor:none
Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
Sunday 6 September · 10am–9pmReasonably confident
10am–9pm — 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 0.99
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature14°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light8 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Monday 7 September: Good. 10am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
Monday 7 September · 10am–9pmReasonably confident
10am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Friday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.90
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature18°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Tuesday 8 September: Good. 8am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
Tuesday 8 September · 8am–9pmReasonably confident
8am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Friday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light12 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 firm13mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature18°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light13 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 firm11mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature17°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light21 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Nearby
Your own postcode
These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.