Soil temperature in Montpelier, Vermont
Soil temperature
66°F18.7°C
at 6cm — germination depth
Cooling over the next 11 days.
Seeding conditions are open — soil is 18.7°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.
| 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 Montpelier, Vermont is currently 18.7°C, and falling about 17.3°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 18.7°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 Sunday 10am–8pm, on the basis that grass dry — rain earlier today.
The next recommended window in Montpelier opens at 8am on Wednesday 2 September, because anything earlier is the hour your neighbours will remember. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 1mm 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 18.3°C cooling to 0.0°C
Tuesday 1 September: Not worth it. No — nothing quite good enough today.
Tuesday 1 SeptemberConfident
No — nothing quite good enough today.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.88
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature19°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light7 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Wednesday 2 September: Good. 8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm
Wednesday 2 September · 8am–8pmConfident
8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature17°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Thursday 3 September: Good. midday–2pm — rain earlier today, ground firm
Thursday 3 September · midday–2pmConfident
midday–2pm — rain earlier today, ground firm
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm1mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature18°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light6 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:none
Friday 4 September: Good. 4pm–5pm — cool — 24°C
Friday 4 September · 4pm–5pmConfident
4pm–5pm — cool — 24°C
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.96
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature14°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light2 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed
Limiting factor:temperature
Saturday 5 September: Good. 6pm–8pm — grass slightly damp — rain 2 hours ago
Saturday 5 September · 6pm–8pmReasonably confident
6pm–8pm — grass slightly damp — rain 2 hours ago
- Poor:Grass wetness
- Grass slightly damprain 2 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm5mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.66
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature15°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light6 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts once the rain has passed
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Sunday 6 September: Good. 10am–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today
Sunday 6 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident
10am–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm7mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.56
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature11°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Monday 7 September: Good. 11am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm
Monday 7 September · 11am–8pmReasonably confident
11am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Saturday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm7mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.78
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature11°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light1 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:none
Tuesday 8 September: Good. 8am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm
Tuesday 8 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident
8am–8pm — no rain since Saturday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Saturday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm7mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.76
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature15°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light2 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Wednesday 9 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.
Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out
No — ground frozen.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Saturday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm7mm rain over the last week
- Marginal:Growth
- Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.32
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature10°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light1 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.
- Poor:Grass wetness
- Grass wetraining now
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground soft in places7mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.56
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature14°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light4 km/h
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Nearby
Your own postcode
These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.