Soil temperature in Kelowna, British Columbia

Soil temperature

27.0°C81°F

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.

Soil temperature at 6cm for reliable germination. Sources onthe method page.
SpeciesSoil tempDays
Perennial ryegrass8°C5–10
Red / chewings fescue8–10°C10–14
Tall fescuelikely yours10–12°C10–14
Browntop bentColonial bentgrass10–12°C14–21
Smooth-stalked meadow grassKentucky bluegrasslikely yours12–13°C14–28

Soil temperature at 6cm in Kelowna, British Columbia is currently 27.0°C, and falling about 22.0°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. 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 Saturday 8am–8pm, on the basis that no rain since Thursday, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Kelowna opens at 5pm on Tuesday 1 September, and holds while conditions stay put. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 5mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Kelowna

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 26.1°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 September: Good. 5pm–8pm — cool — 26°C

Tuesday 1 September · 5pm–8pmConfident

5pm–8pm — cool — 26°C

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm5mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Marginal:Temperature
Cool26°C
Good:Wind
Wind light4 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but fine

Limiting factor:temperature

Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–9am — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Wednesday 2 September · 8am–9amConfident

8am–9am — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm5mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
Good:Temperature
Temperature15°C
Good:Wind
Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September: Good. 11am–8pm — dried off since a shower 5 hours ago, ground firm

Thursday 3 September · 11am–8pmConfident

11am–8pm — dried off since a shower 5 hours ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 5 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.78
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light10 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Friday 4 September: Good. 8am–8pm — no rain since Thursday, ground firm

Friday 4 September · 8am–8pmConfident

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

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Thursday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm15mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.63
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light1 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–8pm — no rain since Thursday, ground firm

Saturday 5 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

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

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Thursday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm15mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.75
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light1 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–8pm — grass dry — no rain since Thursday

Sunday 6 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

10am–8pm — grass dry — no rain since Thursday

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Thursday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.67
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light2 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Monday 7 September: Good. 8am–4pm — no rain since Thursday, ground firm

Monday 7 September · 8am–4pmReasonably confident

8am–4pm — no rain since Thursday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Thursday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.89
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light2 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 September: Good. 8am–2pm — no rain since Thursday, ground firm

Tuesday 8 September · 8am–2pmReasonably confident

8am–2pm — no rain since Thursday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Thursday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light3 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

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 Thursday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light2 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 Thursday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
Marginal:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light3 km/h

Limiting factor:none

Nearby

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