El Paso, TX · zone 8a · ~259 frost-free days
When to plant in El Paso: frost dates and zone 8a.
In El Paso, the typical last spring frost lands around Mar 5 and the first fall frost around Nov 19, giving you about 259 frost-free days. Cool-season crops go out before the last frost; warm-season crops wait until after it.
The 2026 windows
Sow dates for El Paso, keyed to your frost.
| Crop | Start indoors | Spring sow / set out | Fall sow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicing | Jan 29 to Mar 31 | Mar 12 to May 12 | — |
| Lettuce, leaf | — | Jan 26 to Mar 12 | Sep 5 to Nov 4 |
| Carrot | — | Jan 26 to Feb 28 | Aug 24 to Sep 19 |
| Bush Bean | — | Mar 5 to Apr 25 | Aug 5 to Sep 7 |
| Cucumber, slicing | — | Mar 12 to Jun 11 | Jul 19 to Aug 19 |
| Pepper, bell | Feb 7 to Mar 31 | Mar 21 to May 12 | — |
| Kale | Dec 15 to Jan 12 | Jan 26 to Feb 23 | Aug 19 to Oct 4 |
| Spinach | — | Jan 12 to Feb 23 | Sep 5 to Oct 24 |
El Paso sits in Zone 8a, but two gardens in the same city can be a week or two apart. The planner works from your ZIP code's frost dates, not the zone, so the dates land right for your block, not the metro average.
Build your El Paso garden plan.
Tell the free planner what you want to eat and who you're feeding. It returns plant counts, spacing, and frost-safe sow dates for ZIP 79901 in about 60 seconds.
El Paso planting questions
What planting zone is El Paso, TX?+
El Paso is in USDA hardiness zone 8a. Growing zone, gardening zone, and planting zone all mean the same thing: the USDA number, 8a here. It tells you what survives winter, not when to plant. Frost dates set your planting time, and the free planner uses your exact ZIP code's frost dates, which can differ by weeks across one metro.
When is the last frost date in El Paso?+
The typical last spring frost in El Paso, TX is around Mar 5. That is an average from local history, not a guarantee, so tender crops like tomatoes and peppers are safer with a week of buffer after it.
When is the first frost date in El Paso?+
The typical first fall frost in El Paso, TX arrives around Nov 19, closing a growing season of roughly 259 frost-free days. Count backward from it to find the last date a fall crop can still finish.
What can I plant now in El Paso?+
It depends on the date. Cool-season crops like lettuce, kale, and spinach go out weeks before the last frost; warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers wait until after Mar 5. The table above shows each crop's window; the free planner turns your ZIP into an exact, dated calendar.