vegetable · leafy green

Lettuce — Iceberg

The tight crisp one. Iceberg needs eight to ten weeks to compress into a dense round head, and pays you back in proper crunch.

Lettuce — Iceberg seedling
Seedling
Mature Lettuce — Iceberg
Ready to pick
Thrives
12–18°C
Water
High
Difficulty
Intermediate
Ready in
60–75  days
Spacing
30cm apart
Containers
Yes

How to plant it

  • Plant 30cm apart, in the coolest stretch of the season you can manage. Heat is what stops an iceberg hearting.
  • Water steadily and consistently. A drought followed by a downpour is what splits the head open.
  • Give it the full eight to ten weeks. A loose floppy iceberg is almost always one that got picked early.
  • Feel the whole head, not just the top. It is ready when it is firm right the way round.
  • This is the fussiest lettuce in the range. If it bolts on you, go loose-leaf next round and come back to it in autumn.