you'll need to follow in order to plant, grow, and care for iceberg lettuce in your garden.

Iceberg lettuce isn’t the trendiest or sexiest vegetable by any means. In fact, it’s been the brunt of many jokes in recent years for its bland, pale leaves slathered in fast food salad dressing. But garden-grown lettuces have historical roots far more interesting and palatable. In fact, the cultivation of lettuce goes way back to ancient Egypt and was even pictured in early Egyptian tomb paintings along with the god of fertility.

The leafy crisp green has been ubiquitous in salads and even herbal medicine for thousands of years. Iceberg types are a more recent breeding innovation from the 1920s, which have been continuously improved by small garden seed companies in recent decades. Iceberg lettuce is easy to grow, full of nutrition, and far more delicious than the tasteless, watered-down industrial types.

Given its bad reputation in modern times, there’s lots of reasons to grow your own lettuce. For one, garden grown iceberg lettuce is way more nutritious. You can also be sure that it hasn’t been treated with any toxic pesticides so common in conventional lettuce farming. Furthermore, it is way more flavorful. There are many garden iceberg varieties that are so loaded with flavor and texture that you’ll be surprised they’re even related to that bland wedge salad at a chain restaurant.

It’s time to upgrade your salads and sandwiches with crisp lettuce grown straight from the garden. Let’s dig into how to plant, grow, and care for this infamous hydrating salad green.
History and Cultivation

ceberg lettuce is one of the most popular types of lettuce grown in the United States. While many cool-weather lettuces cannot handle warm conditions, iceberg lettuce tolerates some heat as well as some cold.

Though most of it is grown in California, it is in fact a widely adapted crop that can be grown in gardens from USDA zones 1 to 11. It also has a fascinating history dating all the way back to ancient Egypt.

What is Iceberg Lettuce?
Iceberg lettuce is an annual vegetable variety of crisp head lettuce known for its pastel green leaves, white interior, and cabbage-like shape. Like all lettuces, it is a member of the Asteraceae or daisy family. The many layers of ruffles and ripples inside the lettuce heads make it attractive for many types of salads, and the large textured leaves taste great layered into sandwiches.

Iceberg lettuce got its name from the way the lettuce was originally packed and transported when it first became popular in the 1920s. Produce companies would cover the heads in crushed ice, making them appear like little icebergs as they made their way via trains to grocery stores around the country. The mainstream variety is actually called ‘Imperial’ or ‘New York’ and is quite bland compared to unique garden cultivars available in seed catalogues.

Today, this veggie is found in grocery stores and restaurants everywhere. You could almost call it the “all-American head lettuce” because it is such a ubiquitous backdrop for the classic flavor of cheeseburgers and wedge salads with blue cheese dressing.

Given its neutral and mild flavor, it is mostly cultivated for its juicy, crisp texture. It is one of the easiest lettuces to grow because it tolerates warmer conditions without bolting like other lettuces. It also packs a tender hydrating crunch for some of the best summer salads you’ve ever grown.

Where Does Iceberg Lettuce Originate?
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) has been cultivated in gardens and on farms for millenia. It is undoubtedly the world’s most popular salad crop and can be found in just about every cuisine on the globe. While cultivated lettuce has its origins from wild lettuce (Lactuca scariola) in the Middle East and parts of central Asia, it has come a long way since its cultivation in ancient Egypt, Chinam, Greece, and Rome.

The Latin genus name Lactuca comes from the root “milk” which refers to the milky latex-like sap found in lettuce stems and seeds. The word lettuce likely comes from the old French word “laitues” which means “milky”. But most of us never see the milky part of lettuce when it is cut from the base, instead we find the crisp green frilly leaves in our salads.

Lettuce was especially popular amongst Egyptians, who associated that milky sap with lettuce’s alleged ability to improve sexual performance and stamina. The Romans also associated lettuce with sexual potency and consumed the less-bitter leaves in salads with vinegar and oil as a pre-digestive appetizer for meals.

In China, lettuce was often consumed as “stem lettuce” stalks similar to celery, until later when looser leafed head lettuces were developed through natural breeding efforts. By the 16th century, Europeans had improved firm-heading types that grew more as compact rosettes with less bitterness. Colonists brought the lettuce to the New World via the Bahamas in the late 1400s and was one of the first seeds sown by early gardeners in America.

Is There Any Nutritional Value?
Contrary to popular belief, it does have nutritional benefits. Though it is about 95% water, it is a super low-calorie vegetable that can be a source of vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, and some trace minerals like magnesium, potassium and folate.

While it isn’t as jam-packed with nutrients as famous greens like kale and spinach, iceberg lettuce is still extremely hydrating and improves gut health with fiber and prebiotics. It is an excellent aid for weight loss and also a crisp, refreshingly neutral flavor for any salad.

Propagation
Iceberg lettuce is grown very similarly to other lettuces and is easily propagated by seed. If you don’t have a seeding setup, you can also purchase lettuce starts from a local garden store or nursery to get a head start on your lettuce-growing season. It is particularly popular amongst beginner gardeners because it germinates easily in cool spring weather and matures in less than 2 months.

Lettuce is remarkably hardy and the seeds can germinate in soils as cold as 40°F. However, it does not germinate in hot soils about 75°F. In fact, hot weather can cause lettuce seeds to go dormant, so avoid storing the seeds in a warm place. So store the seeds in a cool, dry place and prepare to sow them in trays indoors or directly in the garden in the early spring.

I recommend sowing lettuce in successions every 2-3 weeks for a continuous supply of crisp salads throughout spring and early summer.

How to Seed Iceberg Lettuce
Prepare seed trays with a high quality, well-drained seed starting mix about 3-4 weeks before planting out. I prefer to use 6 packs or 72-cell trays. As you fill the cells, be sure not to tamp down or compress the mix too much, as lettuce seeds are very small and need plenty of aeration to germinate.

Sow 2-3 seeds per cell very shallowly on the surface (about ⅛” deep), only lightly covering with a dusting of the mix on top. They can benefit from a little bit of light to germinate. Gently water and keep trays consistently moist for 7 to 10 days until germination. The ideal germination temperature for lettuce is 55° to 65°F. Once the lettuce seedlings have 1-2 true leaves, it is important to thin them to one seed per cell to ensure each plant has enough room to mature.

How to Direct Seed
You can also seed lettuce directly into your garden in the early spring. This is most commonly done for baby leaf lettuce, but you can also direct seed iceberg heads if you’d like. Sow seeds in cool soils about ⅛” deep and firm gently into the ground. For iceberg heads, sow 15-18” apart in rows 12-18” apart. For baby leaf lettuce, sprinkle 4-6 seeds per inch in bands about 2” apart.

Keep consistently moist and use row cover to keep birds and rodents out of the seedlings. You need to pay extra attention to irrigating dry or hydrophobic soils to ensure plenty of coolness and moisture for uniform germination.

Planting
Lettuce is a hardy annual cool-weather crop that can be planted while night time temperatures are still frosty. This veggie often one of the very first crops in the spring garden as well as a perfect late fall salad ingredient. It’s also cold hardy and can be transplanted as early as 2-3 weeks before the last frost date, or as soon as the soil can be worked.

Iceberg lettuce should be hardened off for 3 to 5 days before planting to allow them to acclimate to more extreme outdoor weather. If young plants are properly hardened, they can handle down to 20°F in the garden.
Maintenance
Lettuce requires little maintenance aside from regular weeding and irrigation. If a heat spell comes, sometimes I’ll toss some shade cloth over the lettuce patch to keep it from bolting.