John Wheeler: It is still too cold for most grass to turn green

FARGO — The soil remains frozen across North Dakota and northern Minnesota. The temperature hovers within a degree or two of freezing down as far as 18 to 24 inches. Because the temperature in the ground is near freezing, meltwater has been able to penetrate the topsoil on warmer days, but the ground remains too cold for the greening of grass.

Certainly, the weather this past weekend has done nothing but reinforce this.It will take consistently warmer weather before the ground temperatures can warm enough for grass roots to be inspired to start working. For most grass, this requires a topsoil temperature of around 50 degrees.



If the soil at the time is very dry, greening will be further delayed. However, as long as there is some moisture, the greening of lawns will happen, probably sometime in April.]]>.