What is the soil temperature in Ithaca, New York?

Soil temperature at 6cm in Ithaca, New York is currently 22.4°C. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 22.4°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

Soil temperature in Ithaca, New York

Soil temperature

72°F22.4°C

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 22.4°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.

Soil temperature at 6cm for reliable germination. Sources onthe method page.
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 Ithaca, New York is currently 22.4°C, and falling about 21.0°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 22.4°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

7 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The other 3 are held back by wet grass or soft ground. The best weekend slot right now is Sunday 10am–8pm, on the basis that rain earlier today, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Ithaca opens at 8am on Wednesday 2 September, because anything earlier is the hour your neighbours will remember. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 2mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Ithaca

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 21.8°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident

No — ground firm, 2mm rain over the last week.

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.86
Good:Temperature: Temperature22°C
Good:Wind: Wind light1 km/h

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Wednesday 2 September · 8am–11amConfident

8am–11am — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
Marginal:Temperature: Temperature20°C
Good:Wind: Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September · 1pm–8pmConfident

1pm–8pm — ground soft in places — 3mm rain over the last week

Marginal:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Marginal:Ground firmness: Ground soft in places3mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
Marginal:Temperature: Temperature21°C
Good:Wind: Wind light3 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Friday 4 September · 8am–8pmConfident

8am–8pm — ground soft in places — 35mm rain over the last week

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Thursday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground soft in places35mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
Good:Temperature: Temperature20°C
Good:Wind: Wind light3 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Saturday 5 September · 6pm–8pmReasonably confident

6pm–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 0.76
Good:Temperature: Temperature13°C
Good:Wind: Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

10am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm36mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.71
Good:Temperature: Temperature10°C
Good:Wind: Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Monday 7 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

10am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm36mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.87
Good:Temperature: Temperature12°C
Good:Wind: Wind light7 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

8am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm34mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature: Temperature18°C
Good:Wind: Wind light4 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm34mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.79
Good:Temperature: Temperature11°C
Good:Wind: Wind light1 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground soft in places33mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
Good:Temperature: Temperature20°C
Good:Wind: Wind light10 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Nearby

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