What is the soil temperature in Manchester, England?

Soil temperature at 6cm in Manchester, England is currently 14.5°C. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 14.5°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

Soil temperature in Manchester, England

Soil temperature

14.5°C58°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 14.5°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 Manchester, England is currently 14.5°C, and falling about 2.2°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 14.5°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

9 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The other one is held back by wet grass or soft ground. The best weekend slot right now is Sunday midday–8pm, on the basis that ground soft in places — 66mm rain over the last week.

The next recommended window in Manchester opens at 10am on Thursday 3 September, because that is when the dew has burnt off — earlier than that and you are cutting wet grass. Underfoot, the ground reads as soft after 54mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Manchester

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 16.4°C cooling to 14.5°C

Wednesday 2 SeptemberConfident

No — 0.8mm of rain falling.

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass wetraining now
Poor:Ground firmness: Ground soft54mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.82
Good:Temperature: Temperature15°C
Good:Wind: Wind light7 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 3 September · 10am–8pmConfident

10am–8pm — grass dry — dried off since a shower 5 hours ago

Good:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 5 hours ago
Poor:Ground firmness: Ground soft71mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
Good:Temperature: Temperature17°C
Good:Wind: Wind light17 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Friday 4 SeptemberConfident

No — 0.4mm of rain falling.

Marginal:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 4 hours ago
Poor:Ground firmness: Ground saturated56mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.87
Good:Temperature: Temperature16°C
Good:Wind: Wind light15 km/h