"Lurgies", Darren?! How did J. K. Rowling miss that one? :)
Seriously, I would consider paraphernalia to make compost tea, and organic alfalfa- or clover-based rabbit food pellets as the two best investments to help your plants resist all sorts of critters. Those will also attract earthworms, which release a bacterium which helps the plants to resist diseases.

Rabbit food pellets? Goodness who would have thought it?
Makes a lot of sense!

Treat yourself to a new pair of boots. A new pair of bypass pruners is a gardener's best friend.

May've spelled it wrongly Tug...
Brilliant suggestions though! Thanks. I've got a small wormery with a liquid collector on the bottom maybe come Spring I could water it lightly over a few days to make a tea.
Rabbit food is definitely getting scattered liberally on the veg patch this weekend too!

I think your spelling is right Darren, plural of lurgy, a word often used in my house when someone's feeling ill and I don't want to catch it. Originally from the Goons I believe. I found this to explain it.

lurgy - Wiktionary
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lurgy

lurgy (plural lurgies) (Britain, slang) A fictitious, highly infectious disease; often used in the phrase "the dreaded lurgi", sometimes as a reference to flu-like symptoms.

Oh, well done Thorneyside, - I had no clue of the origin of lurgy, never really thought about it, and yes, it's something we've said in my family for as long as I can remember, always coupled with 'dreaded', as in, I've got the dreaded lurgy, usually meaning whatever infection is currently going around, like a bad cold or flu... It certainly sounds like something the goons might have said... and now I think about it, I don't recall my grandparents using the term, only my parents and my generation.

If you do get the neem oil, you'll need biological soap to mix it with. It works for me with aphids, and has the bonus that slugs aren't fond it.

I do remember the dreaded lurgy on the Goon Show in the 1950s

Thanks Wylie, those are definitely on the list! Dangerous visit to the garden centre may trigger a spending alarm...
I'm emailing Susie Dent re: lurgy!
How about the seaweed tonics & such like?

Hi Darren, having thought about this, I've come to the conclusion that the best products for next year, [or any year], are the products you actually need at the time,😊😊😊😊, Derek.

Sods law Derek....you need to learn to see into the future!

Hi Sue, if only we could eh, life would be so much simpler wouldn't it, 😊😊, Derek.

Be a bit predictable?!

Not only predictable, but, depending on what you see in the future, you might be inclined not to bother at all...!

Hi, that's probably why we can't see into the future !!😊😊😊, Derek.

Don't think like that Bamboo....

Why not Steragram? It's just a quip, and not said of out of bitterness or despair. Nothing like a bit of black humour to keep me laughing, I've always been the same in that, it's not related to recent developments in my life if that's what you're thinking, in fact, I'm 100% certain that's a quip I've made a few times in my life in appropriate circumstances. If there's one thing I'm very conscious of and deeply thankful for, it''s having been blessed with an irreverent, observational and broad sense of humour. Being able to poke fun at adversity has been a gift, and an absolute sanity saver...

Darren: been ruminating on your question; it's quite hard to come up with something really, but I'd recommend an investment in Erazer slug pellets (if you use slug pellets). They're a fair bit more expensive, but rain proof, and have a cap on top that you twist to open, but don't remove, meaning you can only sprinkle very, very lightly, because the top doesn't let out many at once. Thus saving not only money, but also making it possible to apply just enough to be effective, but not so many the soil appears bright blue where far too many have been put down... They might be more expensive initially, but longer term, they work out cheaper, and not having to reapply after rain is a bonus...

Not sure about all the existential stuff re: time! Surely when it comes to gardening then things are somewhat predictable year-on-year?
& you've only got £50 to spend! Not enough for a time machine?
What about diatomaceous earth? Has anyone invested money buying that with good results?

I have. It's a good product. Helps to deter slugs and adds to soil composition.

Sorry Darren - not meant to be 'existential', it was just for the crack and having a laugh...... at least Derek got it, and I'd really like to know how he gets those smileys on here, I can't..

As for diatomaceous earth, I've never tried it... it's pretty expensive here, but commonly used in the States.

Bamboo, Thanks for the comment re adversity - good to hear!
Darren, gardening seasons may be predictable but things you suddenly need may not be! Diatomaceous earth and Erazer slug pellets, among other things, I wouldn't have known about as good for the garden if it wasn't for Goy...

Hi Bamboo, I get the smileys because I have a touch screen laptop, which beside the normal keyboard, has an option of an on-screen keyboard,the smileys are on that, it's a H P Pavillion if that's any help, Derek.

Ooh, thanks Derek - mine's an Android tablet, and it does have an onscreen keyboard as well as an integrated physical keyboard, but it doesn't seem to want to come up on GoY, for some reason... it doesn't appear when I press the appropriate key. Just had a thought, if I disconnect the keyboard....😊 Aha, there you go, thank you so much! Oh, that's weird, it doesn't look like a smiley after I've posted it... hopefully it does to everyone else though.

Hi Bamboo, yes you've cracked it, smiley face showing, mine is the same, when I put it on, it just shows up as a blank square, but when it's been posted, it shows as a smiley face, well done, Derek.😊😊😊

It does look like a smiley ☺
It wasn't directed at anyone, just an observation...
My local GC is way too environmentally conscious for any type of slug pellets, I'd have to look online unless Wilko's sells them?
Thanks BG, I was thinking DE for houseplants. Just can't seem to get rid of the bugs on my overwintering indoors chillies, I've actually lost 4 or 5 plants so I'm happy to pay to get my ultimate revenge (evil emoji)!

Wilcos don't stock them and by the way, I misspelt the name, its Eraza - I got mine at Wyevale early this year, but Amazon has the 800g size for £5.47 at the moment... Surprised your garden centre doesn't stock them, most of them do, and if you gotta use slug pellets, they're a bit less damaging to the environment because you just can't use too many...

Wot no ☺?
My local GC is so environmentally aware they respectfully re-home slugs in a supportive & caring new situation

I 're-home' my slugs too by lobbing them over the hedges to my neighbor's side, lol! They should be real happy over there and they got to fly like Superman - leaping tall hedges in a single bound.

Do you get on with your neighbours?

Of course. They don't care about the slugs.

Only trouble is that, in the last few years, it's been discovered that slugs & snails have really good homing instincts. They hit the ground & immediately start the journey home🚀

He won't last the journey in my garden. Robin & mockingbird are in the watch tower.

Darn! Been enjoying the chat but I think I've hit around the £50 mark:
-Using rabbit food pellets as a localised soil improver seems pretty smart to me, especially in my tiny space

-Diatomaceous earth I've got to try! Breaks the lifecycle of houseplant pests, kills nuisance ants & flies in compost, etc...

-Neem oil & biological soap because I've only got a few fruit trees so I really want look after them.

-Eraza slug pellets. I'd love for my garden to be more balanced in terms of molluscs & things that eat them but I took over an overgrown space in inner city Manchester: loads of slugs, not many birds & haven't seen a hedgehog here ever...

I really don't have an issue with slugs except for the odd one here and there. I like to keep my bird feeder full during this lean time of year for them. They are fun to watch from the kitchen window. Whatever you decide, enjoy. Spending money is suppose to be the fun part - getting it is something else.

I know what you mean BG.

LOL ok, but really, you aren't compelled to do anything at all with this money. Bank it. When the need arises, you'll be glad you have it. 'A penny saved, is a penny earned'.

There was someone on here years ago who experimented with her excessive number of snails, which she'd always drive a distance away and release rather than kill them. She put a dot of red nail varnish on the top of each shell, then took them in the car in a bucket to wherever she usually dumped them (alive). And two weeks later, she noticed lots of snails with a dot of red nail varnish on their shells in her garden.... so it is true, Darren, they do have a homing instinct!

I get floods of the darn things because most gardens nearby haven't been maintained for years but hopefully that's changing...
It's only a 50 quid Xmas present to myself really & I don't need much else. I'll get a high-end casserole dish next year☺

Hi Darren, you can't grow much in a casserole dish 😊😊😊, Derek.

I'm just wondering what a 'high end' casserole dish is...! One of those very heavy, cast iron french jobs, presumably, forgotten what they're called, I remember buying one for my son a few years back at great expense (and more than £50!). They're all very well, but they are extremely heavy to lift out of the oven....

Le Creuset probably, they're definitely over-priced!
I could sterilise soil in one though Derek!

Ah, yes, that's it, Le Crueset.. only good for younger, strong people!

Hi Darren, well that is 1 use, but why on earth would you want to sterilize your soil, the only 'soil' that needs to be sterile is seed compost, which is already sold sterile, and possibly potting compost, but your soil needs some microbial content, Derek,😊😊😊.