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When to plant in Mescalero, NM

Planting dates worked out from Mescalero's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out
May 15
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
Apr 28
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Oct 22
1 year in 10 by Oct 8
Frost-free days
176
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Mtn Park · 23.1 km away · station 2075 m, town 2016 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Mar 20 – Apr 3 May 15 – May 29 Jul 9
Sweet pepper Mar 6 – Mar 20 May 15 – May 29 Jul 14
Lettuce (leaf) Feb 24 – Mar 3 Mar 31 – Apr 14 May 10
Peas — Mar 17 – Apr 14 May 11
Bush beans — May 8 – May 29 Jun 27
Carrot — Apr 7 – May 19 Jun 6
Beet — Mar 31 – May 12 May 20
Potato — Apr 7 – Apr 28 Jun 16
Kale Feb 17 – Mar 3 Mar 31 – Apr 14 May 13
Broccoli Feb 17 – Mar 3 Mar 31 – Apr 21 May 30
Cucumber Apr 17 – Apr 24 May 15 – May 29 Jul 4
Summer squash and zucchini Apr 17 – Apr 24 May 15 – May 29 Jun 29
Winter squash Apr 17 – Apr 24 May 15 – May 29 Aug 3
Sweet corn — May 8 – May 29 Jul 7
Onion (from sets) — Mar 31 – Apr 21 Jun 29
Garlic — Oct 8 – Nov 5 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Mar 17 – Apr 14 Apr 24
Basil Apr 3 – Apr 17 May 15 – May 29 Jul 11

Plan all 65 crops for Mescalero

Mescalero's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Apr 1Apr 15May 1May 15Jun 1 19201930194019501960197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1916May 2
1917May 21
1918May 31
1919Jun 3
1920Apr 28
1921May 10
1922May 11
1931Apr 28
1933May 12
1935May 5
1937Apr 29
1938May 5
1940Apr 28
1942May 13
1943May 9
1944May 4
1945May 20
1946Apr 2
1947Apr 27
1948Apr 24
1949Apr 11
1950May 6
1951May 2
1952Apr 29
1953May 17
1954May 2
1955May 3
1956Apr 19
1957May 16
1958Apr 14
1960Apr 25
1961Apr 26
1962May 22
1963Apr 28
1964May 8
1966Apr 12
1967May 2
1969May 7
1970May 3
1971Apr 29
1972Apr 26
1973May 15
1974Apr 14
1976May 5
1977May 21
1978May 8
1979Apr 13
1980Apr 26
1981May 18
1982May 14
1983May 18
1984Apr 30
1985May 14
1986May 10
1987Apr 23
1988May 8
1989Apr 28
1990May 2
1991Apr 30
1992Apr 21
1993Apr 15
1994Apr 28
1995May 9
1996Apr 29
1997Apr 27
1998May 15
1999May 2
2000Apr 2
2001May 5
2002May 3
2003Apr 16
2004Apr 12
2005May 3
2006Apr 7
2007Apr 24
2008May 11
2009Apr 18
2010May 3
2012Apr 16
2013May 3
2014May 15
2015May 17
2016May 2
2017May 17
2018Apr 21
2019May 8
2020Apr 15
2021Apr 29
2022Apr 14
2023May 11
2024Apr 28
2025May 6
2026Mar 28

What this means for you: Since 1916, Mescalero's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Mtn Park (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

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