Now that our winter is over, what lived and what died?

I got my greenhouse up, tropicals are in it, along with some landscape plants that don't go below 30 so I keep in pots.

I didn't cover my tomatoes, I have a food forest, hoped the redbud's branches would shelter them. Top part of tomato plants froze but not the whole plant. And I shoved my habanero pepper (in a heavy 3 gallon pot) under the redbud on the south side, and it made it, green fruit and all.

what's in the greenhouse is staying there, I'll finish insulating it later, may put some spinach seed and a tomato cutting or 2 on the bog tray.

Giant plant on right in this pic is italian oregano, in a pot on the bog tray. It likes a lot of water

Alice ~ your zone is similar to mine. I leave oregano out and it overwinters fine here. I also have assorted lettuces, swiss chard, cilantro, snow peas, onion and garlic in ground and growing.

I do have a bed of beans growing and they don't like the cold. I covered it with frost cloth and they are also fine. I wonder if your spinach would grow outdoors over winter also.

I didn't provide cover for the fruit trees but all appear to be fine. I have two lemons, a satsuma, a kumquat, a pomegranate and an olive. I do need to get more frost cloth to protect them as the containers are larger than I want to move...

My tomatoes are done for the season. I tried keeping some in the greenhouse through winter in years past and found I fought white flies all winter with little fruit production. I hope you are able to do well with yours.

The foliage is toast on my bed of peppers but I don't think it was a hard enough freeze to damage the peppers. I will harvest them this weekend and pull the plants. I will probably replant that bed with potatoes after the first of the year.

Now that our winter is over, what lived and what died?

I chuckled when I read that. I can only wish our winter was over. At least being able to winter garden helps my winter mood.

I'm so ready to take plants back outside. Well that's not quite true. I am so ready for the plants to be outside. I want my space back. But I fear that once outside, then I'll have to bring them back in.

And yet, I'm looking forward to next weekend when North Haven Gardens is going to have a salvage sale. They were totally flattened by one of the tornadoes. They are rebuilding and are sorting some of the survivors.

@Prepper I had to reread your "now that winter is over" comment! I thought I was reading an old post. I'll be doing the "slash and stash" dance today. 'Got all the pieces for the little greenhouse out yesterday. The tropicals that are inground will be "hooped" for winter. I seem to have acquired a few too many new 1/2 price hibiscus too. They'll have to stay in their small pots until spring.

Once my plants come in, they STAY inside until frost danger is gone in Spring. I just won't haul them in and out multiple times. My back is in too bad a shape to do that, even WITH a dolly. I have found suitable out-of-the-way or focal places inside near windows to perch them permanently for winter. I do, however, have 6 small pots of young 6" coral vines and 10" daphne plants I carry in and out for each threat of frost. They need their sunny warmth in the afternoons though. When I have to carry them inside, I set them down in the floor of my guest bedroom walk-in tile shower (that bedroom and bath face my back door) as we almost never use that bathroom (and never use the shower) unless we have company.

I have got to get some lighting in the greenhouse. The opaque roof will be a blessing in summer, but right now there just isn't enough light in there, and the inside of the roof is dark so it just swallows light. My styrofoam boards are light blue, once they are up I can rehang my other T5 flourescent and maybe it will do better.

My greek oregano has been outdoors in the same bed for about 10 or 15 years. Probably close to 15. The italian is not winter hardy, but the flavor is much better than the greek. I'm rooting and potting some for daughter's christmas gifts.

I said now that winter is over, because typically we have a good hard freeze, then we have nice weather. I keep bees. They cluster in cold weather but eat a LOT when there is no forage and the weather is nice. I still need to treat them for mites, then I will put on their winter fondant, and straighten their frames, remove empty ones. I was gonna try and rush that before the freeze, but I realized I'm going to have another week or 2 before I really have to winterize the hives. I put them some thick sugar syrup out tonight, hidden on a bucket lid in the garden, expect they'll find it in the morning and much excitement will occur. Ragweed is pretty well dead, they've been hitting it, but I did still see wild fall asters and goldenrod in bloom as I walked this morning. And the bees hunting it.

When we have a warm winter I have more problems with hives actually starving to death.... so I have to feed, and I have to keep an eye on when

I am not in north Houston but I do have 3 plants that I try to give extra winter sun and air., Bell Pepper plant (new this year), Pink plumeria pudica, and the Tropical hibiscus. They sit closest to the front of the garage door where the winter sun points so the very least, they get light and air when the door is opened. During nice weather trends I can pull them outside. They are on furniture dollies. (Harbor Freight). The back of the garage door is insulated with mylar panels, but only right in front of those plants. I hope to insulate the entire door from the inside one day. The clivia sit up front too but not for sun. They like a bit of protected cold winter rest. The greenhouse plants stay put after theyve entered

Prepper said:

My greek oregano has been outdoors in the same bed for about 10 or 15 years. Probably close to 15. The italian is not winter hardy, but the flavor is much better than the greek. I'm rooting and potting some for daughter's christmas gifts.

I'm sorry... I went back and looked more closely at your photo. I do understand... the oregano you mentioned looks like one I had called Cuban Oregano. Variegated Cuban Oregano (Coleus amboinicus 'Variegatus') It definitely needed winter protection. I was thinking of the plain old oregano which is winter hardy. Interesting to hear you prefer that flavor. I didn't much care for my Cuban oregano and couldn't imagine using it in food.

My greenhouse suffers insufficient winter lighting too. I put some old mirrors on the walls to help reflect sunlight and need to remove some leaves and pine straw from the roof. Maybe this weekend.

Good luck with the bees this winter. How many hives do you have?

Cuban oregano is a possibility. I got a cutting from a customer, and then she lost hers over the winter and got a cutting from me. I like Mexican oregano in the jar better than my greek, the greek has almost no flavor, but the bees like the blooms and it's a ground cover. I keep it confined, it's not too bad about taking over.

I had too much light with my transparent panels, temps over 120 in summer. I have plenty of flourescent lights from aquariums.

4 hives at the moment, 2 mature in large boxes, 2 started from purchased queens this summer in nucleus hives. Bees on my oregano a few years ago. those pics aren't very good. Back in the day I had to reduce image size to save hard drive space I think