Tom Thumb lettuce is an American heirloom butterhead lettuce variety known for its small size and excellent flavor. Dating back to the 1800s, this mini butterhead-type lettuce is bursting with flavor and buttery texture. A full rounded head of Tom Thumb lettuce is only 3″-4″ wide and grows in about 60 days.
Tom Thumb lettuce basics
Tom Thumb Lettuce is mini butterhead lettuce about the size of a baseball. This American heirloom variety is perfect for individual salads. The leaves are dark green in color with a light yellow interior.
This cultivar of lettuce is easy to grow. It is the smallest butterhead/bibb-type variety available (read about the main categories of lettuce) and most likely the oldest. If you need a larger-headed lettuce variety, consider Buttercrunch.
Tom Thumb is frost-hardy but prefers temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees F. Be sure to plant this variety of lettuce in full sun if possible (the plants like the sun for 4 to 8 hours during the day). Seeds sprout in about 7 to 10 days, and the plants are ready for harvest somewhere between 50 and 70 days after planting.
These amazing lettuce plants produce a nice little head that is 3-4″ across. They are so small you can hold them in the palm of your hand. They are a wonderful size for a small salad or lettuce wrap in the summer. Simply slice the head in half and drizzle on your favorite salad dressing and toppings!
Buying seeds for Tom Thumb lettuce
You can find seeds online or at the local nursery. It’s not the most common variety, but it’s not too hard to find either. Here are some great seed companies to check out (selections vary from year to year).
Each seed variety comes in packages varying from 200 to 1000 seeds. Lettuce seeds typically keep for a few years, so you don’t have to rush to plant them all at once. Stagger your harvest by planting a few more seeds every couple of weeks throughout the growing season.
Planting Tom Thumb lettuce
Like many lettuces, planting Tom Thumb seeds can be very easy. Whether you plan to sprout your seeds indoors or start them outside, following these tips and tricks will give you a successful crop.
Note that it is recommended to transplant seeds for head lettuce but to plant directly in the soil for baby greens.
Planting lettuce seeds indoors for later transplanting
Planting your Tom Thumb Lettuce seeds indoors is a cheap and easy way to get your crop started on the right foot. Indoors you are able to monitor their progress and keep them well-watered and alive. Once the time comes though, transplanting them can be a little more labor-intensive. Make sure you have the time and energy to move them outside when the time comes.
Buying lettuce seedlings
Buying the lettuce seedlings to transplant is an easy option because you have already bypassed the most difficult stage: starting the plant. This option can be a bit pricier if you need to purchase seedling plants from the nursery, as seedlings tend to be quite a bit more expensive than seeds.
Planting lettuce seeds outdoors
When planting your Tom Thumb seeds directly outdoors, be sure to space them about 6″ apart with rows about 12″ apart. Spacing is the hardest part of planting your seeds directly in the soil. Tom Thumb is generally not sown for baby greens, so pay attention to spacing.
The soil temperature should be between 40 and 80 degrees F. Place the seeds at a depth of 1/8 – 1/4″, just barely covered with topsoil.
Growing Tom Thumb lettuce
Tom Thumb lettuce prefers to be planted in cooler weather but in full-sun exposure or partial shade. Typically, direct sun in the morning is preferable to harsh midday or afternoon sun.
If you are transplanting seedlings, give them plenty of room to grow. Keep the soil moist by watering daily or using drip irrigation. I love using a fine mist sprayer on my hose to keep them watered.
Grab a nice nitrogen-rich fertilizer that will keep your Tom Thumb lettuce healthy. Also make sure to keep the weeds at bay. The creamy lettuce heads are ready to harvest in about 60 days and are wonderful on all sorts of salads and sandwiches.
How to harvest Tom Thumb lettuce
As you get ready to harvest, make sure you have a reliable harvesting knife at the ready. Harvest the entire head at the base by slicing right at the bottom near the soil line. To keep plants you aren’t harvesting growing, alternate the plants that you harvest. I like to harvest every other plant to allow the others space and light to grow.
Recipes for Tom Thumb lettuce
A head of Tom Thumb lettuce is the perfect size for an individual salad. Clean the whole head, place it flat on a plate, and drizzle with salad dressing and toppings for an adorable individual side salad. I recently came across this Tom Thumb salad recipe complete with a strawberry vinaigrette. What a delicious salad to make!
Tom Thumb Lettuce also makes a fantastic option for mini lettuce wraps. It’s the perfect size to stuff with chicken, avocado, cheese, dressing, walnuts, and any other amazing toppings. You can’t go wrong with a summer lettuce wrap made of Tom Thumb lettuce.
