Mesilla, NM 88004 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Mesilla, NM?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/12, about 196 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/13, about 241 frost-free days later.
Zone 8b (15 to 20°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Mesilla, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 11 weeks of growing season left in Mesilla before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 03/12 isn't a guarantee
03/12 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/23 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/02 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Mesilla compares
At roughly 241 frost-free days, Mesilla places 8,571 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NM, it ranks 15 of 427.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Mesilla can differ from the 88004 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Mesilla's frost date answer different questions.