The Lettuce Butterhead Tom Thumb, 'Lactuca sativa', has compact, sweet, tender, buttery heads that are perfect size for individual salads. This English heirloom, gourmet variety is a great lettuce for window boxes, indoor pots, and is a cute border plant. The mild and crunchy leaves are soft and buttery and not crunchy. The Tom Thumb Butterhead Lettuce has small, 4 to 5 inch small loose heads. The leaves are slightly crumpled and light green in color. Some say this is the best lettuce around!
The Tom Thumb Butterhead Lettuce is a cool season annual. Successive plantings of Tom Thumb can produce lettuce spring through fall. Plant in early spring, 3 to 4 weeks before the average last frost date, and successive plantings thereafter every 3 weeks until 5 weeks before fall frost. Tom Thumb like light, fertile, moist, and well drained soils. They will grow in light shade. Lettuce grows well near cabbage, beets, carrots, chives, garlic, and onion.