What is the soil temperature in Plymouth, England?

Soil temperature at 6cm in Plymouth, England is currently 16.5°C. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 16.5°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

Soil temperature in Plymouth, England

Soil temperature

16.5°C62°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 16.5°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 Plymouth, England is currently 16.5°C, and falling about 1.8°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 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 16.5°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 10am–5pm, on the basis that rain earlier today, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Plymouth opens at 6pm on Wednesday 2 September, because the rain clears by then. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 42mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Plymouth

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 18.1°C cooling to 16.4°C

Wednesday 2 September · 6pm–8pmConfident

6pm–8pm — dried off since a shower 2 hours ago, ground firm

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 2 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm42mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
Good:Temperature: Temperature18°C
Good:Wind: Wind light17 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September · 2pm–8pmConfident

2pm–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm43mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
Good:Temperature: Temperature18°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 September · 5pm–8pmConfident

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

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 5 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground soft in places41mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.97
Good:Temperature: Temperature19°C
Good:Wind: Wind light19 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Saturday 5 September · 8am–8pmConfident

8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm44mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.87
Good:Temperature: Temperature15°C
Good:Wind: Wind light3 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September · 10am–5pmReasonably confident

10am–5pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm23mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.92
Good:Temperature: Temperature16°C
Good:Wind: Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Monday 7 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm12mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.84
Good:Temperature: Temperature14°C
Good:Wind: Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — 0.1mm of rain falling.

Poor:Grass wetness: Grass slightly dampraining now
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm11mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.84
Good:Temperature: Temperature16°C
Marginal:Wind: Wind light14 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Wednesday 9 September · 2pm–8pmReasonably confident

2pm–8pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm22mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.55
Good:Temperature: Temperature13°C
Good:Wind: Wind light21 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 10 September · 8am–8pmLow confidence this far out

8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm22mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.52
Good:Temperature: Temperature12°C
Good:Wind: Wind light6 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Friday 11 September · 8am–2pmLow confidence this far out

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Wednesday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm21mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.75
Good:Temperature: Temperature15°C
Good:Wind: Wind light16 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

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