Welcome to Fostering Blooms — the podcast where two gardening-obsessed friends, Shannon Foster-Boline and Caitlyn Blum, dig into the joys (and challenges!) of growing a beautiful life from the ground up.

In this episode, we’re talking about all the real-life tasks we’re doing in May to get our gardens set up for a season of lush blooms and abundant harvests. That means trench-planting tomatoes, laying down limestone screenings, dealing with the first big pest wave (hello, flea beetles 😱), and making time for drip irrigation before the summer heat rolls in.

We also share what we’ve learned about no-dig bed prep (hint: painter’s paper > butcher paper), what we’re doing differently with squash, beans, and cucumbers, and why it’s time to net, stake, and trellis everything now—so future you isn’t wrestling floppy dahlias in 90° heat.

Whether you’re scaling up like Shannon or squeezing plants into every inch like Caitlyn, this episode will give you a dose of motivation, some laughs, and a practical checklist for getting it done this May.

🌱 Topics we cover:

• Trench-planting tomatoes in raised beds

• Why we love cattle panel trellises for climbing crops

• Flea beetle panic mode + organic pest control options

• Landscape fabric vs. screenings vs. mulch: what actually worked

• Beans, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, and dahlia planting timelines

• Irrigation systems: drip line tips, timers, and rain barrel prep

• What to stake and net now (and why it’s better than doing it later)

• Planting annuals, potted roses, hydrangeas, and perennials in late spring

If you’re gardening in Zone 7B (or anywhere that’s heating up fast), this episode will help you stay one step ahead—and remind you that you’re never really “behind.”

Let’s go get dirty. Let’s go grow, baby! 🌼

🎧 Love what you hear? Follow Fostering Blooms on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Leave a rating or review to help other garden lovers find us. And share this episode with a friend who's out there planting tomato trees and fighting beetles, too.

🌸 Follow us on Instagram [@fosteringblooms] for garden inspo, behind-the-scenes chaos, and planty joy.