Soil temperature in Marquette, Michigan

Soil temperature

73°F22.6°C

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 22.6°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.
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 Marquette, Michigan is currently 22.6°C, and falling about 20.8°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 22.6°C at 6cm and holding above 12.5°C.

7 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The best weekend slot right now is Saturday 8am–9pm, on the basis that no rain since Friday, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Marquette opens at 8am on Wednesday 2 September, because that is first light. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 1mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Marquette

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 21.5°C cooling to 0.0°C

Tuesday 1 September: Not worth it. No — cool, 24°C.

Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident

No — cool, 24°C.

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Monday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.79
Good:Temperature
Temperature23°C
Good:Wind
Wind light4 km/h

Limiting factor:temperature

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

Wednesday 2 September · 8am–9pmConfident

8am–9pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Monday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature
Temperature19°C
Good:Wind
Wind light8 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–9pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm

Thursday 3 September · 8am–9pmConfident

8am–9pm — no rain since Monday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Monday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
Good:Temperature
Temperature15°C
Good:Wind
Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light

Limiting factor:none

Friday 4 September: Good. 8am–9pm — dried off since a shower 4 hours ago, ground firm

Friday 4 September · 8am–9pmConfident

8am–9pm — dried off since a shower 4 hours ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 4 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.90
Good:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light

Limiting factor:none

Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Saturday 5 September · 8am–9pmReasonably confident

8am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.92
Good:Temperature
Temperature16°C
Good:Wind
Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Sunday 6 September · 10am–9pmReasonably confident

10am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature
Temperature17°C
Good:Wind
Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Monday 7 September: Good. 3pm–9pm — dried off since a shower 2 hours ago, ground firm

Monday 7 September · 3pm–9pmReasonably confident

3pm–9pm — dried off since a shower 2 hours ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
Good:Temperature
Temperature18°C
Good:Wind
Wind light14 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 September: Good. 8am–9pm — growing steadily — growth potential 0.35

Tuesday 8 September · 8am–9pmReasonably confident

8am–9pm — growing steadily — growth potential 0.35

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.35
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light19 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts at first light

Limiting factor:growth

Wednesday 9 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.

Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain 3 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.64
Good:Temperature
Temperature14°C
Good:Wind
Wind light21 km/h

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 10 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.

Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out

No — ground frozen.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass wetraining now
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm21mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.55
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light21 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

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