Please convince me not to give up my allotment

[Fillyjonk]

Ok here are the downsides

1. It has terrible, terrible clay soil. It is like mud, really.

1. It is utterly infested with slugs. They even eat the tomatoes.

1. It is halfway up a hillside.

1. It is 40 minutes walk away even before I go up the hillside

I am getting bugger all OFF the plot because a. I am crap at going up there with the kids (no car, 40 minute walk, nowhere to shelter apart from a small shed filled with dangerous implements ) b. slugs

Pros are-I dunno. I quite like gardening, I suppose. Ds loves it, which is the only thing that has been keeping us going.

I am feeling very despondant about the whole thing atm

Please inspire me.

I may have imagined this but I think I read that nemaslug does not work well in clay soil.

Ditto what FMF said about pond liner. You could use an old bath but you'd need to put rocks or something in it to help wildlife climb in and out of it. Old butler sinks are small but good.

I dont think raised beds encourage slugs as such. I think your patch just has it bad.

Could you not go down of an evening with a torch?

ok thanks all

going up today with brood and my mum (very very experienced allotmenteer-though SHE says is a crap plot and she is not one to give in) to build pond. bit first need to call council to check we are allowed-can be planning permission issue, apparently.

really? We are on a council-owned allotty and evryone has one...

Ours can be a bit touchy with changing structural stuff. Particularly re trees and sheds/greenhouses.

I've been envious of the allotmenteers on my one today. They are all obviously retired or something and are on there doing bits It's right next to DD's school so i walk past every day!

ok no its fine, called the site secretary and the council

good news

we have been given today BOTH a huge old bath which we (mum and I) are going to semi sink and then build up sides with rocks and do rockery thing (want it VERY visible even though it'll have the grating -3x kids under 5 on plot!)

AND

quite a lot of willow, enough to make a start on a willow structure.

ds and my mum have been digging stuff all day, am not sure what but they've had a great time!

wayhey!

oh artichokes, thats it, they've split the artichokes...

Sounds good. Am rather as I have been stuck in the office with a headache all day.

YAY!!!!

I've been promised some globe artichokes too by our site manager.

My mum is much better than I am at being given stuff. I think it is because she looks like a typical allotmenteer, and also because she knows what she is talking about.

It may help that she has a straw hat and sometimes leans on her spade. She is teaching ds to do likewise