[Mosslane]

I haven't really grown these types of things before and have some seeds to try.

I notice many people are sowing seeds or already have seedlings of toms and chillies. I don't want to start off anything that needs to stay indoors as we will be away for 4 weeks at the end of April not returning until the last week of May. We have no one that could water and tend the garden whilst we are away so they would just shrivel up and die

If I sowed them at the end of May when we return would I have any success?

[mumofstig]

You may get a late crop of tomatoes  but IMO you stand no chance with chillies as they are slow growing, at the best of times, after germination

[GreenOwl]

I'm not sure you'd even get tomatoes if you stared them off at the end of May.
What about an automated watering system using capillary matting?

[rich24uk]

Can't speak for tomatoes as I don't grow them but with the chilli you'd be hard pushed sowing them in may as they need a fairly long period of growth before they crop (at least 3-4 months for the faster growing ones like jalapeno).

If we have a prolonged summer you might get something from them, or you could attempt to over winter them inside with a view to see them grow into next year.