What is the soil temperature in Manchester, New Hampshire?

Soil temperature at 6cm in Manchester, New Hampshire is currently 17.8°C. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 17.8°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

Soil temperature in Manchester, New Hampshire

Soil temperature

64°F17.8°C

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 17.8°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 Manchester, New Hampshire is currently 17.8°C, and falling about 17.8°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 17.8°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 Saturday 3pm–4pm, on the basis that dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Manchester opens at 4pm 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 0mm 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. It crosses the seeding threshold inside this forecast.

12.5°C — seeding

Soil at 6cm 17.6°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident

No — grass wet, rain earlier today.

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass wetrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm0mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.92
Good:Temperature: Temperature18°C
Good:Wind: Wind light5 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Wednesday 2 September · 4pm–8pmConfident

4pm–8pm — no rain since Tuesday, ground firm

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Tuesday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.94
Good:Temperature: Temperature17°C
Good:Wind: Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September · 6pm–8pmConfident

6pm–8pm — temperature — 23°C

Marginal:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
Marginal:Temperature: Temperature17°C
Good:Wind: Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:temperature

Friday 4 September · 8am–2pmConfident

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Thursday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
Marginal:Temperature: Temperature16°C
Good:Wind: Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Saturday 5 September · 3pm–4pmReasonably confident

3pm–4pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Thursday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
Good:Temperature: Temperature14°C
Good:Wind: Wind light7 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts 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 firm15mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.76
Good:Temperature: Temperature12°C
Good:Wind: Wind light8 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 firm16mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.87
Good:Temperature: Temperature12°C
Good:Wind: Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 September · 8am–1pmReasonably confident

8am–1pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Saturday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
Marginal:Temperature: Temperature16°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 dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.80
Good:Temperature: Temperature13°C
Good:Wind: Wind light5 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass wetrain 2 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.80
Good:Temperature: Temperature15°C
Good:Wind: Wind light4 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Nearby

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