yes there are some outdoor varities of toms and cucs that I can grow etc. never grown peppers outdoors as I'm too far north. we have quite a wide range of temperatures during a day up here. Courgettes do ok for me outside even in pots but not a favourite food.
of course some outdoor ones do better and fruit longer in the more sheltered polytunnels etc.

tomatoes, peppers, zucchini all fine down here in London outdoors, well, most years anyway.

Even up here in the north of Scotland you 'can' grow tomatoes outside and courgettes, I love the SBG :) That said it is safer to grow in a greenhouse or polytunnel if you have as you are more likely to get a decent crop. We can't grow runner beans they simply take too long to get going, climbing French beans yes and broad beans are always a winner along with peas. We base what we grow around the local climate and soil conditions Tugb. though as most of our veggies were grown in a neighbour's garden and she decided she wanted a bigger patch of grass - no don't ask me why! We are very limited now.

To each their own, Sbg & MG! If it will help any, here's what folks in northern Arizona grow: eggplant, 'Ichiban'; sweet pepper, 'Yellow Banana', 'Mini Bell'; hot pepper, 'Numex Joe Parker', 'Serrano'; tomato, 'Glacier', 'Stupice'; cantaloupe, 'Minnesota Midget'; cucumber, Persian.
It sounds like London is becoming quite warm, for the UK, Bamboo. Next year, you could try watermelon or sweet potatoes! ;)

Hmm, methinks not, Tug - its not always warm (we had a pretty cold spring this year) and often there's just not the required level of UV intensity for long enough. I'd so love to grow persimmons though...

We do get odd weather at times, being an Island I guess, my peppers in the gh didn't really get going until september and such mild weather at the moment I'm still picking them

poor Cumbria just had over 35 cm....well over foot of rain in 24 hours.....pretty unprecidented.....

since the met office started nameing storms mid november we've had Abigail, Barney,Clodagh and now Desmond......think we were better off before ?

Perhaps better not to name them, eh? Just shrug the shoulders and say "What weather!" Changeable weather is our bugbear, or delight, depending on your point of view. We drove home from Scotland in the dark on Tuesday at 1.30 pm, and sat out in the garden (admittedly coated up) until well after 3pm today. Variety is the spice of life!

Agree Melchisadec we have all four seasons in one day at times and there is no use getting upset... Still this latest storm has certainly created a lot of problems for folk. Mind you when the storm 'just' hits Scotland it tends not to get named - lol!

'Fraid so, Moongrower!

Sigh, I would like to grow persimmons, too, Bamboo. Sadly, it isn't quite cold enough in the winter here, and is just a little too hot in the summer. If I moved to one of the outlying suburbs, such as Queen Creek, that might be possible, but my commute is long enough as is.
Pam, with storms like that, there is good reason for not naming...hmm..."He who must not be named". ;) I hope that folks are recovering from all the inevitable damage. It's undoubtedly at least as bad what we received when a tropical storm blew through here in 2014.
MG, it's probably like this: "Eh, Scotland. They always have bad weather!" Just like "Eh, Arizona. They always have drought!" As if half of our pine forest hadn't burned down in the last 10 years, and our smaller towns aren't always on hose bans! :/

I was amazed to discover that Persimmons can be grown in the UK. They first appeared up here sold as 'Sharon Fruits' from which I assumed they were a fruit grown mainly in the middle-east and imported from Israel. It was only recently that I learned they are grown in the UK and have been for centuries apparently. I must look in to it! My food crops weren't great this year because spring and summer were just too cold. Carrots, beetroot and cabbages all did well, as did salad leaves. My courgettes were a complete disaster. Potatoes, surprisingly good in planters. I remember seeing a pomegranate tree growing on the wall at Chelsea Physic garden...amazing! Must admit, when it comes to fruit growing, thats when I wish I lived in a warmer climate. But we do grow excellent berries in Scotland, really first rate raspberries and strawberries, which I love!

Scotlands famous for berries. ..Yorkshire for the Rhubarb triange, and fruit trees Kent nd across west to Somerset cider.....and gorgeous apples inbetween ?

Nothing beats Scottish raspberries!