When to plant tomatoes in Las Cruces: 17 March – 4 August

In Las Cruces, tomato: sow for seedlings from 3 January to 13 June; plant into a greenhouse from 24 February to 4 August; plant out into open ground from 17 March to 4 August.

Tomato in Las Cruces: soil, season and weather

In Las Cruces the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 28 February, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 15 °C — the minimum on the tomato card — only around 17 March, 17 days later.

Last spring frost	28 February
Top 7 cm of soil at 15 °C	17 March, 17 days after the last frost
Into an unheated greenhouse	24 February – 4 August; February outside: 3.4 °C at night, 18.3 °C by day; card 16–27 °C
First autumn frost	24 November, 252 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	70
First harvest, if planted in this window	26 May – 13 October
Days left for picking	182
Daylight	10:26 on 24 January, 12:01 on 17 March
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, April, has 1 rainy day

Tomato in Las Cruces: care after planting

Planted on 17 March: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Feeding, by the card’s schedule from that day:

17 March — feed: balanced (NPK)
14 April — feed: nitrogen

Pests and diseases of tomato to watch for:

Dates count from the first planting day of the window above; a later planting moves them by as many days.

Weather in Las Cruces during the tomato season

Days average above the tomato card's 16–27 °C in May–September (31.4–36.2 °C). Nights average below 16 °C in March–May and October, November (6.4–15.5 °C).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
March	22.3	7.1	12	2	11:57
April	27	11.3	4	1	12:57
May	31.4	15.5	4	1	13:48
June	36.1	21	24	3	14:15
July	36.2	22.5	26	5	14:05
August	34.8	21.7	40	5	13:22
September	32	18.4	19	4	12:24
October	26.8	12.9	26	3	11:25
November	20.1	6.4	14	2	10:31

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Tomato in nearby cities

Around Las Cruces, Tucson is 31 days earlier and Santa Fe (United States) 41 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
El Paso	67 km	7 March – 15 August	10 days earlier
Ciudad Juárez	77 km	7 March – 15 August	10 days earlier
Albuquerque	308 km	12 April – 20 July	26 days later
Santa Fe (United States)	384 km	27 April – 6 July	41 days later
Tucson	390 km	14 February – 28 August	31 days earlier
Chihuahua	415 km	15 February – 18 August	30 days earlier

Where to buy tomato plants and seeds near Las Cruces

Buy plants ready to set out from 17 March to 4 August (from 24 February to 4 August for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 3 January to 13 June. Within 15 km of Las Cruces OpenStreetMap lists 2 garden centres and 1 market (collected 28 October 2026).

Peddler's Pavillion — market
West Picacho Avenue 2400 · 3 km · peddlerspavilion.net
Walmart Garden Center — garden centre
2 km
Walmart Garden Center — garden centre
7 km

Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

Questions