Soil temperature in Traverse City, Michigan
Soil temperature
78°F25.8°C
at 6cm — germination depth
Cooling over the next 11 days.
Seeding conditions are open — soil is 25.8°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 Traverse City, Michigan is currently 25.8°C, and falling about 23.6°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 25.8°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 rain earlier today, ground firm.
The next recommended window in Traverse City opens at 8am on Wednesday 2 September, because that is first light. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 14mm 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 25.0°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 Monday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm14mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.75
- Good:Temperature
- Cool24°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light2 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 firm14mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.80
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature22°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. 10am–9pm — grass dry — rain earlier today
Thursday 3 September · 10am–9pmConfident
10am–9pm — grass dry — rain earlier today
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm13mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature18°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Friday 4 September: Good. 2pm–9pm — temperature — 22°C
Friday 4 September · 2pm–9pmConfident
2pm–9pm — temperature — 22°C
- Marginal:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm14mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.98
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature18°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light5 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:temperature
Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–9pm — rain earlier today, ground firm
Saturday 5 September · 8am–9pmReasonably confident
8am–9pm — rain earlier today, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm17mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature16°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light8 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 firm17mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 1.00
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature15°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light7 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Monday 7 September: Good. 10am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
Monday 7 September · 10am–9pmReasonably confident
10am–9pm — no rain since Friday, ground firm
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryno rain since Friday
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.99
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature17°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light10 km/h
- Sociable hours
- Fine by the neighboursstarts when it stops being antisocial
Limiting factor:none
Tuesday 8 September: Good. 6pm–9pm — grass dry — rain earlier today
Tuesday 8 September · 6pm–9pmReasonably confident
6pm–9pm — grass dry — rain earlier today
- Poor:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm4mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.80
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature14°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light21 km/h
- Sociable hours
- A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off
Limiting factor:grass wetness
Wednesday 9 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.
Wednesday 9 SeptemberLow confidence this far out
No — ground frozen.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass dryrain earlier today
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm6mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.92
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature15°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light16 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Thursday 10 September: Not worth it. No — ground frozen.
Thursday 10 SeptemberLow confidence this far out
No — ground frozen.
- Good:Grass wetness
- Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
- Good:Ground firmness
- Ground firm6mm rain over the last week
- Good:Growth
- Growing wellgrowth potential 0.88
- Good:Temperature
- Temperature16°C
- Good:Wind
- Wind light20 km/h
Limiting factor:none
Nearby
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These are town-centre figures. Yours will differ a little.