Soil temperature in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Soil temperature
81°F27.2°C
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.
| 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 Minneapolis, Minnesota is currently 27.2°C, and falling about 25.5°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.
6 of the next 10 days look workable. The other 4 are held back by wet grass or soft ground. The best weekend slot right now is Saturday 8am–11am, on the basis that growing slowly — growth potential 0.22.
The next recommended window in Minneapolis opens at 8am 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 29mm rain over the last week.
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 25.7°C cooling to 0.0°C
Tuesday 1 September: Not worth it. No — cool, 25°C.
Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident
No — cool, 25°C.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Saturday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm29mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.76
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light7 km/h
Limiting factor:temperature
Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–3pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm
Wednesday 2 September · 8am–3pmConfident
8am–3pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Saturday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm29mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.84
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature18°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
Thursday 3 September: Good. 8am–midday — no rain since Saturday, ground firm
Thursday 3 September · 8am–middayConfident
8am–midday — no rain since Saturday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Saturday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm29mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.47
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light8 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Friday 4 September: Good. 8am–11am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.28
Friday 4 September · 8am–11amConfident
8am–11am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.28
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm29mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.28
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature23°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light1 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:growth
Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–11am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.22
Saturday 5 September · 8am–11amReasonably confident
8am–11am — growing slowly — growth potential 0.22
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm30mm rain over the last week
- Poor:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.22
- Poor:Temperature
- Temperature23°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light6 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:growth
Sunday 6 September: Good. No — 0.2mm of rain falling.
Sunday 6 SeptemberReasonably confident
No — 0.2mm of rain falling.
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 4 hours ago
- Poor:Ground firmness
- Ground soft2mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.51
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light9 km/h
Limiting factor:ground firmness
Monday 7 September: Good. 5pm–8pm — ground soft — 57mm rain over the last week
Monday 7 September · 5pm–8pmReasonably confident
5pm–8pm — ground soft — 57mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
- Poor:Ground firmness
- Ground soft57mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.61
- Marginal:Temperature
- Temperature22°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light3 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts once the rain has passed
Limiting factor:ground firmness
Tuesday 8 September: Not worth it. No — 0.8mm of rain falling.
Tuesday 8 SeptemberReasonably confident
No — 0.8mm of rain falling.
- Poor:Grass wetness
- Grass wetraining now
- Poor:Ground firmness
- Ground soft60mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.94
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature16°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light16 km/h
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Wednesday 9 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.
Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out
No — ground frozen.
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 5 hours ago
- Poor:Ground firmness
- Ground soft67mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature21°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light15 km/h
Limiting factor:grass wetness
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 Wednesday
- Marginal:Ground firmness
- Ground soft in places69mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.72
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature14°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light17 km/h
Limiting factor:ground firmness
Nearby
Your own postcode
These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.