Tom Thumb Lettuce and Little Gem Lettuce

I wanted to grow a type of lettuce as they seemed fast and easy to grow, which appealed as it gives less scope for messing it up.

Little gem and Tom Thumb lettuce was chosen as I could squeeze a few more in in my small plot, and the packets said even kids could grow them, which gave me a little confidence.

Originally planted on 12th March, the first seedlings came through on 25th March.  At 7 weeks, the two lettuces are below.  I'm not sure how big they should get, but have already had a couple of the tom thumb lettuces as they looked a bit overcrowded, but each lettuce was only just about enough for a garnish in a sandwich.  I'm hoping they can continue to grow a bit more.

tom thumb lettuce (left) and little gem lettuce (right)

I was expecting the little gem lettuce to be tightly packed leaves, like how you get them in the supermarket, but so far the leaves are all fairly open.  Perhaps as they grow they will form more of a head?

The Tom Thumb lettuces are very tasty, but still very small.  Hopefully I'll be able to resist picking them all until they get a little bigger.

Tom Thumb lettuce at 7 weeks