Soil temperature in Londonderry, Northern Ireland

Soil temperature

14.4°C58°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 14.4°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.
SpeciesSoil tempDays
Perennial ryegrasslikely yours8°C5–10
Red / chewings fescuelikely yours8–10°C10–14
Tall fescue10–12°C10–14
Browntop bentColonial bentgrass10–12°C14–21
Smooth-stalked meadow grassKentucky bluegrass12–13°C14–28

Soil temperature at 6cm in Londonderry, Northern Ireland is currently 14.4°C, and falling about 2.0°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 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 14.4°C at 6cm and holding above 9°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 Saturday 8am–11am, on the basis that rain earlier today, ground soft in places.

The next recommended window in Londonderry opens at 1pm on Thursday 3 September, because the rain clears by then. Underfoot, the ground reads as soft in places after 32mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Londonderry

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 15.9°C cooling to 13.0°C

Wednesday 2 September: Marginal. No — 0.1mm of rain falling.

Wednesday 2 SeptemberConfident

No — 0.1mm of rain falling.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass wetrain earlier today
Marginal:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places32mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.84
Good:Temperature
Temperature15°C
Good:Wind
Wind light2 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 3 September: Good. 1pm–9pm — ground soft in places — 26mm rain over the last week

Thursday 3 September · 1pm–9pmConfident

1pm–9pm — ground soft in places — 26mm rain over the last week

Good:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places26mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.81
Good:Temperature
Temperature14°C
Good:Wind
Wind light11 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Friday 4 September: Good. 8pm–9pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground soft in places

Friday 4 September · 8pm–9pmConfident

8pm–9pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground soft in places

Good:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 3 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground soft in places27mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.57
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light18 km/h
Sociable hours
Your neighbours will remember itstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–11am — rain earlier today, ground soft in places

Saturday 5 September · 8am–11amConfident

8am–11am — rain earlier today, ground soft in places

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm29mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.51
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

Sunday 6 September: Not worth it. No — 6.4mm of rain falling.

Sunday 6 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — 6.4mm of rain falling.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass wetraining now
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground saturated26mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.70
Good:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light13 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Monday 7 September: Good. No — 0.9mm of rain falling.

Monday 7 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — 0.9mm of rain falling.

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 1 hour ago
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground saturated58mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.53
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light22 km/h

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Tuesday 8 September: Not worth it. No — ground waterlogged.

Tuesday 8 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — ground waterlogged.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground saturated60mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.36
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light13 km/h

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Wednesday 9 September: Good. No — 0.1mm of rain falling.

Wednesday 9 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — 0.1mm of rain falling.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 2 hours ago
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground saturated59mm rain over the last week
Marginal:Growth
Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.33
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light21 km/h

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Thursday 10 September: Good. No — ground soft, 58mm rain over the last week.

Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground soft, 58mm rain over the last week.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Wednesday
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft58mm rain over the last week
Marginal:Growth
Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.29
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light9 km/h

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Friday 11 September: Good. 8am–2pm — ground soft — 58mm rain over the last week

Friday 11 September · 8am–2pmLow confidence this far out

8am–2pm — ground soft — 58mm rain over the last week

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Wednesday
Poor:Ground firmness
Ground soft58mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.46
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light14 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:ground firmness

Nearby

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

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