What is the soil temperature in Portsmouth, England?

Soil temperature at 6cm in Portsmouth, England is currently 17.2°C. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 17.2°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

Soil temperature in Portsmouth, England

Soil temperature

17.2°C63°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 11 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 17.2°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 Portsmouth, England is currently 17.2°C, and falling about 1.9°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 17.2°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

9 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The best weekend slot right now is Saturday 8am–8pm, on the basis that rain earlier today, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Portsmouth opens at 11am on Wednesday 2 September, because the rain clears by then. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 20mm rain over the last week.

See the full mowing forecast for Portsmouth

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 18.6°C cooling to 16.9°C

Wednesday 2 September · 11am–8pmConfident

11am–8pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass drydried off since a shower 1 hour ago
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm20mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
Good:Temperature: Temperature17°C
Good:Wind: Wind light11 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Thursday 3 September · 8am–8pmConfident

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm20mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
Good:Temperature: Temperature19°C
Good:Wind: Wind light19 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Friday 4 September · 11am–2pmConfident

11am–2pm — 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 firm18mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
Good:Temperature: Temperature19°C
Good:Wind: Wind light21 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Saturday 5 September · 8am–8pmConfident

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm19mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
Good:Temperature: Temperature15°C
Good:Wind: Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September · 10am–8pmReasonably confident

10am–8pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm10mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
Good:Temperature: Temperature19°C
Good:Wind: Wind light12 km/h
Sociable hours: Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Monday 7 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm9mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.95
Good:Temperature: Temperature15°C
Good:Wind: Wind light12 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 SeptemberReasonably confident

No — 0.2mm of rain falling.

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Friday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm2mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.83
Good:Temperature: Temperature16°C
Good:Wind: Wind light14 km/h

Limiting factor:none

Wednesday 9 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

8am–8pm — wind light — 20 km/h

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm8mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.69
Good:Temperature: Temperature14°C
Marginal:Wind: Wind light20 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:wind

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

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Wednesday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm8mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.42
Good:Temperature: Temperature10°C
Good:Wind: Wind light7 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

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

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

Good:Grass wetness: Grass dryno rain since Wednesday
Good:Ground firmness: Ground firm8mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth: Growing wellgrowth potential 0.64
Good:Temperature: Temperature11°C
Good:Wind: Wind light13 km/h
Sociable hours: A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

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