Hi Jon. I gave up trying to grow maincrop spuds years ago because of slugs and blight. I like to get my spuds to a good size before the blight hits, which it generally does early to mid-July. You should try Sutton's Foremost as a first early. Beautiful flavour, quick to bulk up and, crucially, they keep their new potato flavour and texture even if you leave them in right through July and August. Charlotte are very nice and you get some lovely big spuds, but I think they are trumped for flavour and texture by Nicola. Nicola are fantastic for jacket spuds, potato salad, gratin dauphinoise and oven chips done in groundnut oil, or just boiled or roasted as new spuds with lashings of butter. Great too for Mediterranean potatoes baked in the oven with olive oil, loads of garlic cloves and rosemary. OK, not so good for mash, I'll admit, but who wants mash in summer anyway!

As for tomatoes, I grow Sungold every year because I always plant them in my greenhouse soil and Sungold are disease-resistant. Plus they're as tasty as it comes. They have a tendency to split, no matter how careful you are with watering, but they're so tasty I'll forgive them that.

I love those Padron peppers that the Spanish have as tapas and I'm having a go at growing them this year. The humidity and summer coolness in Cornwall makes it difficult to grow peppers and cucumbers, but I always have a go, living in perpetual hope of a long hot summer!