Published: May 20, 2026 Last Updated: May 20, 2026
Have you ever thought about the soil temperature and how important it is? If you’re like most average people, you only think about the soil temperature when you’re hopping across on hot sand on the beach. Many gardeners don’t think about soil temperatures because it is not a big deal unless you’re in a heat wave. In this article I’ll discuss why soil temperatures matter, how you can harness it in your gardenhome garden A designated area around a residential property where individuals cultivate plants, fruits, vegetables, or ornamental plants for personal use. It comprises a farming system that combines physical, social, and economic functions on the area of land around a family home, providing a sustainable source of food and other benefits for the household, extended family, and friends. for your benefit, and how to adapt to growing concerns about climate change.
What is soil temperature?
Soil temperature is the hotness or coldness of your soil measured in Celsius or Fahrenheit. It is important to understand that soil temperature varies with depth. The surface temperature of the soil differs from the temperature 1 foot below it.
Why soil temperature matters?
You see, most people don’t think about the soil temperature on the surface of it because there is no need to. The earth regulates itself. Ever walk barefoot on an asphalt driveway in summer or on a concrete sidewalk in summer? You feel the heat on the soles of your feet. That is the surface temperature. That surface temperatures matter a lot to plants because that heat affects earthworms, water evaporation, nutrient uptake, rate of growth, and even root health. That means that monitoring your soil temperatures is important for the home gardener who wants more yields with less work.
Consider Heatwaves
What happens in a heatwave when the air temperature is rising to 40°C or higher. The air becomes almost unbearable for humans. In fact, in Japan they invested a new word called Kokushobi which means ‘cruelly hot day’. So on Kokushobi days, it is bad for people and many times worst for plants when they do not have enough water. When you are experiencing such a hot day, what do you or your neighbours do to your lawns? They get out the sprinklers and water the lawn because they don’t want to grass to burn and die out. When you have a backyard garden, you will need to water a bit too if you’re doing gardening the conventional way. But I’ll show you a better way later on.
Consider Fall or Early Spring Soil
If you live in a country that experiences winter like we do in Canada, you know the season change brings with it colder air temperatures and with that colder soil temperatures. It can be very challenging to get your crops growing in cold soil. When the soil is not warm enough, the growth of the plant grinds to a halt or extremely slow pace.
Factors Contributing To Soil Temperature
Here are the major factors that contribute to soil temperature:
- Soil type: The type of soil will determine the ability of the soil to hold heat or release heat. You can have sandy soil, loamy soil, rocky soil, clay soil, and any mixture or combination of these. Darker soils absorb more sunlight and traps heat while lighter soils reflect more sunlight and heats slower.
- Season: The season you are in will definitely impact the temperature of your soil.
- Sunlight exposure: This can impact whether your soil will have enough sunlight to heat up or if it will be shaded and stay cooler.
- Moisture Content: The amount of water your soil contains impact the ability of the soil to regulate its temperature. Air, for example, fluctuates quickly in temperature changes while water takes a while to heat up then it takes a while to cool down. Wetter soil heats slowly but also cools down slowly.
- Wind Speed: The wind blowing over the land can affect your soil temperature. The wind can carry away warm air and bring in cooler air. It can facilitate rapid evaporation, which can dehydrate your soil.
- Soil Depth: The temperature of the soil changes depending on how deep you go down into the earth. Surface level soil operates at a different temperature than soil 2 feet below it. And soil 2 feet deeper will also operate at a different temperature.
- Human intervention: Humans can do various things to intervene in the soil situation in order to give the soil a higher propensity for optimum temperatures.
Now that I have given you all the factors that can impact your soil’s temperature, what do you think you should do if your soil temperature is getting too hot or too cold? You should help to regulate the surface temperature so that you plant roots are not cooked in the heat nor frozen in the cold.
Tips For Human Interventions
- Use Straw Mulch: Use straw mulch when the temperature starts to go above 27°C. The straw will act as a covering or shading for the soil around your plant’s roots. The sun will beat down on the straw mulch and heat it and the air but will not scorch the earth underneath. This can help your soil stay cooler.
- Use More Water: If you know the weatherman is predicting a kokushobi day tomorrow, then water your garden tonight to ensure that it is properly full of moisture to endure the heat of the day.
- Use Shade Cloth: If you typically have many hot days and using a lot of water is not an option for you, then putting up shade cloth over your garden or flowers can greatly reduce the effects of the direct sunlight beating down on your plants.
- Use a Stone Mix: If your problem is your soil is too cold, then how about using a mixture of river rock pebbles around the surface of the soil to get heated up in the day and hold the heat during the evening. They will heat up slower and release their heat slower too. This can have your surface of your soil feeling toasty if you plants like it.
- Use a Greenhouse: If your problem is the season, then building a greenhouse is one wat to extend your growing season longer. Inside the greenhouse, you’ll trap heat in early spring to start growing sooner, and youll trap heat in later fall to keep growing later.
Now that you’ve learned so much about soil temperatres, factors, and interventions, you can begin to grow with more confidence. Continue to learn and grow.
