El Paso Farmers Markets Offer Peak-Season Tomatoes, Chiles, Corn This July

El Paso residents turned out in larger numbers last weekend at the downtown market on San Jacinto Plaza, where vendors reported selling out of early July tomatoes by noon on Saturday.

Summer harvest timing lines up with rising demand for fresh produce among local wellness groups that track seasonal eating patterns. July temperatures push residents toward lighter meals built around regional vegetables rather than imported goods that travel longer distances and cost more at grocery chains along Mesa Street.

Key Markets Open This Month

The Saturday market at San Jacinto Plaza runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and draws growers from the Upper Valley. A second option operates every Sunday at the corner of North Mesa Street and Executive Center Boulevard in the Kern Place neighborhood, where the El Paso Farmers Market Association sets up stalls from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Both sites accept cash and SNAP benefits through the Double Up Food Bucks program run by the Borderlands Food Bank.

Market managers track sales through the Texas Department of Agriculture's direct marketing reports, which showed a 22 percent rise in local produce transactions in El Paso County between 2024 and 2025. Average prices at these stalls sit at $1.75 per pound for tomatoes and $2 per dozen for ears of corn, figures posted on the association's weekly price sheets.

July Produce to Prioritize

Shoppers should look for green chiles from Hatch Valley growers, watermelons weighing 15 to 20 pounds, and yellow crookneck squash still attached to the vine. These items reach full ripeness in the region's 100-plus degree days and require minimal storage time once purchased.

Buyers who arrive early at either market can also pick up bundles of fresh cilantro and mint for under three dollars. The next market dates fall on July 18 and July 19, with the same vendors expected to return until the fall chile harvest begins in late August.