[Zippy]

Obviously it would be more economical and more environmentally friendly to sow seeds direct to your own soil than starting in pots of peat or even peat free compost, where possible.

However, apart from seed potatoes and onion sets, I have very little success sowing seeds direct. They mostly seem to get eaten off by slugs as soon as the seedlings emerge.

It would save a lot of time and effort to be able to do this successfully - any tips? I have sandy soil so clay is not a problem.

[JayG]

If slugs are eating your seedlings you need to do something about them. I use the "organic" slug pellets which do not harm other wildlife but there are many other ways of going about it.

Birds can also be a problem with some seedlings, you may have to consider netting as at least a temporary defence.