Lettuce Little Gem (Cos)

The lettuce that has earned a place in every kitchen garden and most supermarket baskets. Little Gem makes small upright cos hearts about the size of a tennis ball, with crunchy pale outer leaves and a tender yellow-green heart.

What sets it apart is that it does both things at once. Butterheads are soft but bland, icebergs crunch but taste of little; Little Gem manages genuine sweet lettuce flavour alongside a proper crunch. Children eat it without argument, which is not nothing.

It is ready in eight to ten weeks and stands summer heat better than most, which is what makes it the practical choice for a British salad season. One heart feeds one or two people, so you pick as you need rather than watching half a lettuce turn to slime in the fridge. It will not regrow from the stump, so sow short rows in succession rather than one long one.