Slugs and Birds killing everything
This is my first year on the plot and pest pressure is insanely high for me.
Previously lost all my brassicas. I had sown them in modules and came back a week later to nothing in the ground. I have since netted about a half of my plot and had better success but some plants are still getting damage to their leaves.
My garlic was damaged underground and I would often find slugs or other insects inside the bulbs.
Now I am trying to grow some peas and beans via direct sowing but once they germinate they are gone within a couple of days.
I tried again with a cloche and slug pellets. This let the plants get pretty large, to the point they were filling up their cloche, so I removed it. I came back a week later to find only tiny stems in the ground.
Not sure how to approach. Plot neighbours have been lovely and offered pellets, spare netting, and spare sowings to fill gaps. Still, it's bloody rough going and hard to stay motivated. The plot was unworked for a couple of years before I had it, and covered in deep rooted weeds, so been slow and labourious to work it.