What Grows in Punta de Agua, New Mexico

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Punta de Agua typically lands around Apr 22, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — earlier than the light-frost dates most charts quote. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — lighter frosts keep biting past it, which is why tender transplants here wait until about May 13.

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Punta de Agua typically arrives around Oct 21, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 7, so the watching starts about Sep 21 — about 182 days after the spring freeze cleared.

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Punta de Agua sees about 182 frost-free days — roughly Apr 22 through Oct 21, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 13 to Oct 7, about 147 days.

The federal record around Punta de Agua shows 51 documented sites, mostly Nitrate entries (40), the nearest Nitrate record about 0.5 miles out — a typical footprint for a growing area, and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. It's worth seeing which recorded sites sit closest to where you grow, and testing the soil before new food beds near any of them.

From about Sep 21 the job here turns from planting to protecting — the last start even a 30-day crop can finish. As the season closes around the first 28°F hard freeze near Oct 21 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals), three moves buy time: row cover or an old sheet over tender plants on still, clear nights; water the soil the afternoon before a freeze, so it holds warmth overnight; and harvest tomatoes, peppers and basil before Oct 21. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.